Recommendations for Success in Biomechanics Outreach

Elsevier

Available online 27 January 2023, 111462

Journal of BiomechanicsAuthor links open overlay panelAbstract

Student engagement in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) through informal outreach events is critical to the current educational pipeline. National Biomechanics Day (NBD) is a STEM outreach event that is an international celebration of the science of biomechanics with the goal of introducing high school students to the field. While NBD has experienced global success and substantial growth in recent years, it is an equally rewarding and challenging endeavor to host an NBD event. In this paper, we provide recommendations and mechanisms for biomechanics professionals to support their success in hosting biomechanics outreach events. Although these guidelines are framed around hosting an NBD event, the underlying principles can apply to hosting any STEM outreach event.

Section snippetsAssemble a team passionate about educational outreach

The first step in coordinating a successful NBD event is to assemble a team that is passionate and enthusiastic about STEM and biomechanics outreach. Hosting these events takes significant time and energy, so starting with a team of volunteers who have a genuine desire to participate in the event is of the utmost importance. A team that knows why they want to help host the event will bring a natural passion and eagerness that positions the event for success. Encouraging involvement from staff,

Determine event logistics

After positioning the event for success by recruiting a capable and passionate team, the next step is to plan the event’s logistics. There are several essential questions to ask at this stage that will help to define the outreach event and plan it accordingly. Some of these questions include, “Will the event be in person or virtual?”, “When and where will you host your event?”, “What activities will you have and what resources do you need?”, and “How many attendees can you support?” among

Identify and leverage available resources

Once a plan and goals for the event are in place, the next step is acquiring the resources needed to accomplish these goals. The Biomechanics Initiative has many funding opportunities that can be invaluable to your hosting efforts, especially for underrepresented populations. These are typically released in the fall, ahead of the official NBD celebration in April, to allow time for planning, grant review, and successful event execution.

Exploring opportunities for local funding is also an

Promote the event and spread awareness

After planning and acquiring the resources needed to host your event, the next step is promoting it. One promotional strategy we have used is providing students with an introduction to biomechanics in the months leading up to our NBD event. This serves as an opportunity to increase awareness of the event and generate interest from students, teachers, and school administrators. Some examples of how we have accomplished this include coordinating field trips to our biomechanics lab, participating

The Big Day: Host your outreach event

After you have done all the hard work and preparation necessary to plan and arrange the event, the final step is hosting the big day. A collective goal that our team has each year during this stage is to be prepared for the unexpected. Equipment may malfunction, staff may become ill and be unavailable to work, or bad weather may interfere with your activity plans. One critically important recommendation is to perform a trial run of some or all of your planned activities. This will help you

Track outcomes for future use

One of the final considerations during the implementation stage is ensuring that outcomes are tracked during the event. Measurement is not just about the numbers; it tells a story about your event, including the number of young minds you inspired and the growth of your events year over year. The metrics tracked should ideally align with the purpose and goals set forth when the event was planned. This will reinforce that the time and energy spent on your event was worthwhile. Some examples of

Share details from the event to tell your story

The final step in hosting a biomechanics outreach event is sharing the experience through social media or other media outlets. Sharing your event through videos, photos, and stories can bring awareness to the work being done in your lab and your outreach activities. In addition, we encourage you to tag the official NBD accounts in social media posts to help us promote your events to the global biomechanics community. The Biomechanics Initiative has seen increased networking throughout the

Uncited references

Board and Foundation, 2022, Shultz et al., 2019a, Shultz et al., 2019b.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Cody A. Reed: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft. Luke W. Adams: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft. Lisa N. MacFadden: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Supervision, Resources, Project administration, Conceptualization.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge Drs. Paul Devita and Felipe Carpes.

References (16)

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© 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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