"They're building their interest so they go into middle school and high school getting ready for courses geared toward college level engineering and then they get into the industry and have the background to get ready."
-- Victoria Bosarge, Teacher, Mobile Alabama
Accomplished link
Almost 3,500 middle school students in Alabama and Massachusetts middle schools are learning about engineering in their math and science classes through an innovative curriculum that exposes them to engineering design challenges: The Engaging Youth through Engineering (EYE) middle grades Teaching Modules. Students exposed to EYE earn significantly higher scores on standard tests and report much greater interest in engineering and other STEM careers. EYE is ready to expand to schools serving thousands of students in states such as Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Mississippi and Washington, DC.
EYE costs between $3,600 and $6,000 to implement in a typical middle school. Costs fall to roughly $1,800 to 3,600 in subsequent years. Schools in 24 states have expressed interest in the curriculum.
Funders and PartnersThe J.L. Bedsole Foundation; National Science Foundation, The Toyota USA Foundation, Mobile County Public School System, Mobile Area Education Foundation
The programs in this database clear a high bar. STEMworks reviewed each program against the Design Principles for Effective STEM Philanthropy.
Identify and target a compelling and well-defined need.
Use rigorous evaluation to continuously measure and inform progress towards the compelling need identified.
Ensure work is sustainable.
Demonstrate replicability and scalability.
Create high impact partnerships
Ensure organizational capacity to achieve goals.
Offer challenging and relevant STEM content for the target audience
Incorporate and encourage STEM practices.
Inspire interest and engagement in STEM.
Identify and address the needs of under-represented groups.