UC Project STEP :: Participants > Graduate Fellows

Biography
Taik is a doctoral student in the College of Education, majoring in Curriculum and Instruction. Before joining the STEP program, he was a mathematics instructor at the University of Cincinnati’s Veterans Upward Bound (VUB) Program. At VUB, he learned how to effectively teach academically under-prepared students, and to improve learning at the individual level. Most of the students entering the VUB program do not have basic mathematics skills. At VUB, he began a student’s curriculum with a pre-assessment (learner-centered assessment) test. Thereafter, he conducted an individualized topical-based lesson plan for each student (he developed several mathematics lesson plans), and finally ended the term with a post-evaluation test. The assessment test results clearly indicated that the students demonstrated great success in acquiring mathematics skills, and their participation in the VUB program increased their confidence in continuing their education further. Last year, he took several educational technology courses, which included: Computer Tools (MS Office and Applications), Designing Interactive Instructions I & II, and Instructional Design Media. In Korea, he was a certified high school teacher, and taught physics for more than four years. During that time, he published a research paper on an experimental education program and related teaching models that he developed for physics, which was funded by the government.