The Compass Project is a part of the Access Network!
Our primary goal is the improvement of the student experience in the physical sciences at UC Berkeley through peer-to-peer or near-peer interactions, especially for students who are typically underrepresented in the physical sciences. We also aim to increase the retention of underrepresented students by fostering a strong sense of community and belonging, and to provide our participants with opportunities for professional development. We believe that a person’s academic achievement should be bound solely by the horizon of their intellectual curiosity, and that the breadth of innovation of people from all backgrounds is essential to the vitality of the physical sciences. Guided by these beliefs, the Compass Project seeks to nurture a community-focused environment that will empower students, particularly students from underrepresented backgrounds, to succeed in pursuing their scientific interests and contribute uniquely to the physical sciences community.
As we continue to grow, we work hard to stay true to the values that motivated the formation of Compass in the first place. The most important of these are:
Community
Community is central to Compass’s identity as an organization. Whether it’s balancing academic responsibilities with other parts of life, feeling that you “don’t belong” as a scientist, or trying to persevere through times of low confidence, many of the challenges faced by students of science have little to do with what is taught in the classroom and yet can have a profoundly negative effect on a student’s ability to complete a class, or even a degree. This is of particular concern for students who don’t have family members who have been to college and who may not be well-equipped to anticipate and deal with these challenges constructively. Compass creates a strong, welcoming community in order to help confront these challenges. By joining a network of mentors, peers, and friends, Compass students find the knowledge and support they need to succeed in college.
Scientific Thinking
Traditional physics courses focus heavily on science content (like Newton’s laws, conservation of energy, and Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle) but often fail to provide students with the opportunity to practice the methods of science (like asking and refining scientific questions, developing models to describe physical systems, conducting experiments to make measurements and test hypotheses, communicating results to others, and recognizing that mistakes are a an inevitable part of the scientific process). Compass’s classrooms focus almost exclusively on these critical components of scientific thinking. By doing science like real scientists, Compass students learn skills that can help them in their classes, their research, and their lives, whether they become scientists and engineers or pursue careers as artists, entrepreneurs, or politicians.
Diversity
Diversity among the practitioners of science is essential at all levels because the unique experiences of each scientist contribute to the range of ideas within the scientific community. Compass strives to create a diverse community by actively reaching out to groups traditionally underrepresented in science, including women, people of color, and those who are the first in their family to attend college. We structure our classroom and teaching techniques to encourage learning regardless of our students’ backgrounds, and we educate ourselves about and encourage respectful dialog around issues of race, gender, and income in the sciences.