STEM Education Center

Nurturing the capacity of educators to facilitate meaningful and culturally responsive STEM teaching and learning

Community Engagement

Empowering PK-12 STEM Educators

A great teacher can spark a love of STEM in future generations of students. Thus, STEM Education Center is committed to working with current and future educators to guide relevant, integrated, and inclusive STEM learning experiences with their students and communities.

We extend the impact of WPI’s approach of STEM learning to the formative PreK-12 levels through professional learning and academic programs.

We believe that everyone has the capacity to do STEM and the values for our work are inspired by Indigenous ways of knowing and doing:

Respect

We respect the knowledge and experiences of the educators and schools/organizations we partner with by listening to their needs and goals when developing professional learning development, trainings, and programs.

Relationships

The impact of our work can be measured by the enduring collaborations we have with our partners to develop deeper and broader connections as we work within a STEM learning ecosystem.

Reciprocity

Authentic problem-identification and problem-solving in a local context allows for the co-construction of relevant and meaningful knowledge by educators, students, and community members.

Responsibility

We have the responsibility to create the conditions for students and educators of all identities to joyfully learn and thus we support culturally and linguistically responsive instruction and practices.

Our Commitments

STEM Education Center supports the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Educational Vision and goal to "support students to thrive by creating affirming environments where students feel seen, engage in deeper learning, and are held to high expectations with targeted support."

We commit to continue learning, having conversations, and working with co-conspirators to shift the narrative as to what “STEM” is, who has access, who leads, and how we educate. More than ever, now is the time to reimagine education that nurtures all beings in a flourishing ecosystem.