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In a hospital, a STEMI is a severe heart attack. But at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and in Mississippi high schools, Dr. Rob Rockhold is giving STEMI a new meaning: Science Teaching Excites Medical Interest. “With STEMI, our aim is to train teachers to make them more fluent in techniques to engage their students directly,” said Rockhold, deputy chief academic officer and professor of pharmacology and toxicology. Rockhold, the principal investigator for STEMI, and his collaborators received a five-year, $1.1 million award from the National Institutes of Health's Science Education Partnership Award program. SEPA funds innovative science, technology, engineering and mathematics education initiatives. STEMI will help science teachers from eight high schools create “flipped” classroom-style video lessons on diabetes, obesity and nutrition. The long-range goal is that the modules will increase the students' health literacy and “contribute to solving major Mississippi health issues,” Rockhold said. Flipped learning is a 21st-century teaching method that places the first stage of learning, remembering facts, into the hands of the students. Teachers might assign videos or online tools for their pupils to study and review before class. During class time, the teacher can then engage the students in learning activities that apply their new knowledge, rather than lecture at them.
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