Join the Master Plant Science Team!
Are you a graduate student or post-doctoral researcher interested in a chance to get involved and trained in K-12 outreach?
Would you like to develop your leadership and facilitation skills and connect with both scientists and K-12 teachers without leaving your desk?
Do you have a handful of hours per week to commit during BOTH the Fall and Spring PlantingScience Sessions?
Consider joining the PlantingScience Master Plant Science Team!
What is the MPST?
PlantingScience facilitates a partnership between scientists, teachers and students. In order to make that partnership flow, each teacher is assigned an MPST member to serve as a scientist liaison. In this role, MPST members facilitate communication between the teacher, the scientists, and the PlantingScience Staff.
Responsibilities:
- Participate in online mentorship training
- Facilitate communication between mentors and the teacher, and vice versa.
- Recruit scientist mentors to mentor student groups.
- Mentor 1-2 student teams and respond to student teams when assigned mentors are called away
- Submit weekly liaison reports on the progress of your teachers’ teams.
- Nominate the best of your teacher’s teams for star project awards.
Benefits:
- Inspire middle and high school students with a new appreciation for plants and science
- Give back to K-12 education and support innovative teachers in their efforts to bring real science to their students
- Gain communication and mentoring experience and skills
- Sponsored benefits by participating scientific societies include free membership and other benefits (see society brochures for details).
- PlantingScience t-shirt
Selection Criteria
MPST members are selected based on:
- Past PlantingScience experience as a mentor and/or past MPST member.
- Evaluation of the writing sample requested in the application, with an emphasis on the applicant's use of an appropriate tone, age-appropriate vocabulary, and adherence to best practices in mentoring.
- Availability of (and eligibility for) sponsorship opportunities within their chosen partnering society.
Master Plant Science Team Sponsoring SocietiesThe following societies offer sponsored positions on the Master Plant Science Team. Before applying, please read through the recruitment brochure for the society whose sponsorship you'd like to pursue: |
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Botanical Society of America sponsors graduate students and post-doctoral researchers. |
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American Society of Plant Biologists sponsors graduate students and post-doctoral researchers. |
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Canadian Botanical Association/L'Association Botanique du Canada sponsors graduate students and post-doctoral researchers. |
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Ecological Society of America sponsors graduate students only. |
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The American Society of Agronomy/Crop Science Society of America/Soil Science Society of America will sponsor graduate students and post-doctoral researchers who are currently members of one of these societies. |
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The American Phytopathological Society will sponsor 1 graduate student or postdoc. |
Click here to apply now!
The application will close in August, 2022.
Please see the brochures linked above for specific due dates for each society.