MAS Initiative: Project Engage
Project Engage! is an innovative educational program that engages 6-12th grade public school students in independent science and technology research experiences. Students learn to ask stimulating questions about their world, design experiments to uncover answers, analyze their data, and communicate their findings. As students engage in these self-driven research experiences, they develop key 21st century workforce skills, such as critical, independent thinking, problem solving, the ability to work in teams, and effective written and oral communication.
Project Engage!, however, is not just about the students. The goal of this ambitious initiative is to cultivate a culture of research in public school districts across Massachusetts. To this end, the program also engages teachers, school administrators, parents and members of the community. Many teachers require training to incorporate inquiry-based teaching methods into their classroom and they need assistance with the time-consuming task of guiding students’ research. School administrators are challenged to seamlessly integrate these activities into an already challenging curriculum and identify the requisite resources. Parents are often unaware of the critical role research experiences can serve in their child’s educational development and they may wish to learn how to participate in the research effort. Finally, the community plays an important role in encouraging the students and teachers and rewarding their successes.
Project Engage! was designed through a collaboration of science education professionals, including representatives from the Massachusetts Academy of Sciences (MAS), the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, the Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair (MSSEF), the Marlborough Public School District, the Everett Public School District, and the Intel Corporation. The MAS takes a leadership role by recruiting scientists from industrial and academic sources to serve as role models and mentors for the 6-12th grade students and teachers. The MAS also provides a dedicated website that students, teachers, mentors, and parents use to communicate, track progress, and showcase student successes. The MSSEF provides access to key teacher professional development resources and hosts a forum for showcasing student’s efforts: the annual Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair.
Few middle and high school students, much less their parents, could describe what a biotechnology scientist does at her lab bench, the kind of tasks performed by an electrical engineer, or the training required to design computer science tools such as “tweeting” or “texting”. It is time to educate our children and the public regarding the exciting and challenging careers that await the well-trained scientist. There is no better approach than to put our students into the role of the scientist and provide them with the skills they need to tackle scientific questions and invent solutions. Project Engage! challenges all of the key stakeholders, from teachers and students, to parents and STEM professionals, to participate in this long overdue reformation to STEM education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
We invite you to stay updated on the various components of Project Engage! by visiting the program's website.
