Explorations: Advancing Texas Workforce through Experiential Learning in Digital Health Technologies

The project will help meet the nation’s growing need for a highly skilled STEM workforce, particularly in the emerging fields of biotechnologies and artificial intelligence (AI) in health. To increase participants’ access to emerging career pathways, this project seeks to bridge the gap between academic learning and workforce needs, particularly in the field of health technologies, through the Rice University and Methodist Hospital partnership. The project will engage high school teachers, high school students, and community college students in hands-on learning that combines real-world applications in health technologies and artificial intelligence to help them discover and prepare for exciting careers in digital health. It will also strengthen problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills, while giving teacher participants new tools and strategies to bring engaging, real-world learning into their classrooms. In this year-long program, participants will explore real-world healthcare challenges by conducting needs assessments, designing and prototyping hardware-based solutions, and using AI tools to support diagnostics and decision-making. They will work in collaborative teams to develop functional prototypes within time and material constraints, and will gain experience in iterative design, problem-solving, and project execution. Formal training in technical communication will prepare participants to present their solutions through oral, visual, and written formats to expert and public audiences. Teacher participants will participate alongside students and deepen their understanding of digital health content and develop classroom-ready lesson plans grounded in experiential learning pedagogy. Expected outcomes include increased proficiency in digital health technologies, deeper understanding of the needs assessment process, experience in designing and prototyping of hardware-based solutions, improved teamwork and communication skills, and the dissemination of project-based lessons by participating educators. The ExLENT Program, support by the NSF TIP and EDU Directorates, seeks to support experiential learning opportunities for individuals to increase their interest in, and their access to, career pathways in emerging technology fields. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.