Enhancing STEM Education to Communities with Low Access to STEM Resources

摘要

In the Baltimore community, supply of STEM education is being rapidly outpaced by demand. This year, our team sought to develop methods of tech instruction through collaboration across communities and groups as well as innovative systems which allowed for the same degree of learning with fewer resources. As a high school robotics team, we had access to many STEM resources, and we felt it was imperative to reach out and do our part this season, especially as, as little as 5 months ago, we had no outreach program whatsoever. Due to this, our success this year is an example of how outreach programs can be built with minimal resources and limited time, while still significantly aiding STEM education. On our way to developing this, we met with a series of roadblocks, including logistical constraints such as time, space, and transportation, which impacted both us and the communities we were attempting to impact. However, by partnering with existing organizations, using connections of our team members, and developing personal connections with our students, we were able to build our STEM education program from the ground up. Throughout this season of our robotics program, we have experimented with different levels of hands-on and virtual learning, have aided schools in Baltimore in developing STEM curriculum, and have organized workshops throughout our local community. We have shown that, through a combination of virtual and hands-on learning, strategic partnerships, and personal connection, an outreach program can be built with minimal resources and achieve a high degree of success.