Principal Investigator Eboney Hearn
Project Website http://web.mit.edu/stem/index.html
The middle school years can make or break a child’s future academic and career success. Dealing with multiple issues all at once -- peer pressure, the changes that come with puberty, and perceived gender roles -- in an impersonal public school environment can be discouraging for many students and throw even the most talented students off the college track. MIT’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Program is a free, year-round program for talented, local middle school students that provides math and science enrichment at a critical juncture in their lives, improving their chances for achievement.
The STEM Program brings together students, their families, MIT, and local communities to encourage young people’s interest in the technical fields. Together, we prepare students for high academic performance, foster their lifelong love of math and science, and create new pathways for them to pursue academic and professional careers in the technical fields.
The STEM program has three components:
(1) A five-week summer institute -- The summer institute is for students entering the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth grades. Students take college-level courses in subjects ranging from physics and chemistry to probability and statistics. Taught by MIT undergraduates, the courses combine lectures, projects, and experiments. Students also take field trips to places such as the Museum of Science and participate in recreational activities.
(2) A nine-month mentoring program -- This program takes place during the academic year and pairs participating students with MIT undergraduates pursuing degrees in math, science, and engineering. One Saturday each month, students and their mentors gather on MIT’s campus for brunch and a series of structured and unstructured social and academic exchanges.
(3) Seminars -- Seminars are for the parents of STEM Program students that provide useful information and insight about succeeding in an academic environment and applying to private high schools and colleges.The STEM Program curriculum
The five-week summer curriculum is intensive and challenging. Students engage in stimulating coursework that develops their curiosity and understanding about math and science and improves their analytical and critical-thinking skills. Students are divided by grade into four levels:
(*) Level I -- Comprising students entering the sixth grade, Level I focuses mainly on algebraic topology and biology.
(*) Level II -- Students entering the seventh grade learn physics and chemistry, which prepares them for academic careers in engineering and science.
(*) Level III -- Students entering the eighth grade take courses in vector mechanics, probability, and statistics to develop their mathematical and engineering skills and intuition.
(*) Level IV -- Students entering the ninth grade concentrate on mathematical and scientific analysis and synthesis, and take courses in pre-calculus and robotics.