The need for rigorous and engaging STEM education in middle school classrooms has never been more apparent than today. This session will introduce participants to a collaboration between i2 Learning, Citizen Schools, and the Boston Public Schools. They engaged 6th, 7th, and 8th graders in week-long, immersive STEM courses focused on themes not traditionally found in schools, such as Building an Interactive Friendly Monster, Kinetic Sculptures, and Surgical Techniques. In addition to the scaffolded hands-on activities that students engaged in throughout the course week, important connections were made to STEM career paths through thoughtful use of classroom volunteers. Session participants will have the chance to engage in a hands-on activity from the i2 Learning Surgical Techniques course. Additionally, participants will hear from a variety of stakeholders about the experience of putting together this multifaceted partnership, including: a Boston Public School teacher on the classroom and curriculum experience, a STEM professional on the volunteer experience, an i2 Learning team member on partnering with the district, and a Citizen Schools team member on partnering with the private sector. This session will be informative for individuals from school, nonprofit, and private sector organizations who are interested in building a collaborative partnership to bring hands-on STEM learning into the classroom.
As high school internships become a valuable tool for STEM career exploration, how can educator-industry partnerships support equitable access to these opportunities? High school STEM internship opportunities remain highly competitive, leaving many traditionally underrepresented students out of the loop. Science Club for Girls observed this disparity among the girls we serve, and reached out to our STEM industry and research partners to create our High School STEM Internships program in response.
Join us for a panel discussion on leveraging relationships to create targeted internship programs that are accessible to industry and research professionals, utilize educators’ skills to maximize student learning and career exploration, and can be targeted to serve underrepresented students. The Science Club for Girls internships will be referenced as a model for creating localized, targeted partnerships that suit community needs. The panel incorporates industry, student, and program perspectives for an inclusive discussion. With all key voices present, we can delve into benefits and challenges on all sides, engaging educators and STEM professionals to consider whether they could support targeted small-scale internships to increase access to STEM internships throughout a diverse student population.
Moderated discussion will be centered on relationship development, intentional inclusion and support for diverse students, and educator-driven components to increase the learning depth, while decreasing the load on industry, in smaller-scale internships. We look forward to sharing our experiences and hearing from other educators and STEM professionals about what works in our communities.
A panel of high school teachers/liaisons and university faculty will share their experiences with a partnership program (Project Accelerate) bringing AP® Physics 1 to underserved students in schools that do not offer AP® Physics as part of the school program of study. Project Accelerate blends together supportive formal structures from a student’s home school, a private online course designed specifically with the needs of underserved populations in mind and small group recitation and laboratory experiences. Funding for this program has been increased and Project Accelerate is looking to increase the number of partner sites.
Underserved high school students in many communities don’t have access to Advanced Placement® courses because of low student enrollment and lack of trained teachers. Project Accelerate serves as a model offering a solution to a significant national problem of too few underserved high school students having access to high quality physics education, resulting in these students being ill prepared to enter STEM careers and STEM programs in college.
Boston University is in the second year of piloting this model with four Boston Public Schools (BPS) high schools and three small suburban high schools. The course is structured to work seamlessly with a typical high school schedule with assessments designed to encourage early success. Students receive midterm progress reports, quarterly grades and AP credit on their high school transcript. During the 2015-16 academic year, thirty weeks into the pilot year, we have an 88% retention rate, 90% recitation attendance, and an average course GPA of 3.3.
The Reverse Science Fair is an annual event that brings Medford High School students and graduate students from Tufts University together in order to discuss applications of the scientific method and careers in science. Tufts graduate researchers from a variety of science departments at the university set up a poster session at the high school. The high school students are asked to speak with researchers about both the research being presented and about the process of doing the research. High school students are able to discuss real science and meet with young scientists in a low-pressure environment. Because the graduate students are close in age and come from diverse backgrounds, they relate well to the high school students and become role models. The high school students are able to see where they themselves can go in the future if they pursue science. The graduate students also gain valuable experience from the event, in presenting their own research to an audience that is not familiar with their field. After attending the Reverse Science Fair, high school students carry out their own science fair projects during the next several months. Student projects are then judged in the school science fair by the same graduate students that came to present earlier, reversing their original roles.
This roundtable discussion is designed to encourage high school and university partnerships by discussing the Reverse Science Fair and engaging members of both levels in conversation about how to organize and run such an event.
The Cape Cod Regional STEM Network Teacher-in-Residence program paired 10 teachers from across six different school districts will five different museum/non-profit sites: Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, Chatham Marconi Maritime Center, JFK Hyannis Museum, Cape Cod Media, and Cape Cod Maritime Museum. The selected teachers received a stipend and spent two full weeks at one (or two) program partner sites. During that time, teachers gained new insights on STEM in the contexts of their residencies and in projects relating to the Cape’s amazing resources: our ocean, our historic places, or our emerging tech fields. They also collaborated with experts and museum staff on approaches to better engaging young people in STEM beyond the classroom. During this session, we will overview the program and share evaluations and what we learned about building community and collaborating in STEM. We will also have a panel discussion where participants can hear from a participating teacher and the education director at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History who served as a site leader to learn about what different individuals and organizations gained from this experience.
Funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Council, we have developed a physics curriculum taught through the lens of clean energy applications, specifically photovoltaic, solar thermal, and wind energy applications. The curriculum was delivered during the 2015-2016 academic year to senior physics students at Boston Green Academy (BGA). To create a bridge to workforce and higher education, juniors and seniors from BGA were hired during the summer of 2016 to design, assemble, test, and market demonstration stations for educational use to teach science and engineering knowledge and skills associated with photovoltaic, solar thermal, and wind energy. Long-term goals are to sustain this small company, run by and for students, throughout the academic year to support authentic learning and workforce development. This session will report on the results of the first year and engage the audience in discussion about this and similar efforts.
There are a range of job opportunities, at all skill levels, in STEM fields such as biotechnology and high tech. Making sure there is a connection between the programs that train people for jobs in STEM fields and the companies that are hiring is critical to avoid a mismatched skillset. Join us as we discuss best practices for industry/academic partnerships that support workforce development.
What is needed to assemble a successful STEM Team in your city or town? During this session, members of the Easton STEAM Education Team will discuss the genesis and evolution of their group and its accomplishments to date. Participants will have the opportunity to brainstorm resources and assets in their own communities and then share out with others to gain ideas for developing and strengthening STEM support for their own districts. This session is best suited for K-12 Educators and Administrators who are looking to generate support for STEM initiatives and interest, but business/industry leaders are welcomed to get ideas on how to approach the educators in their region and offer their perspectives.
We would like to share the process we used to begin dialogue with the business community, why we believe a model that is inclusive of diverse stakeholders has been a benefit, and how we have leveraged the relationships we have built to provide greater support for the initiatives of the school department and opened communication with the citizens of the town.
We will show you that once a team is formed and you chart your course, you will inevitably encounter paths you did not imagine. From there, you will develop relationships and collaborate with businesses, politicians, and citizens in your community in a way that is of great benefit to your students. There are limitless possibilities!
