TechREACH: Technology and Research Experiences through After-School Clubs for High-Risk Students

“TechREACH”项目旨在接触华盛顿州东部农村地区服务不足的中学生和教师。该项目的目标是提高对STEM和IT的兴趣，建立学校和社区受众的能力，并增加追求STEM职业的学生人数。项目合作伙伴包括华盛顿州立大学MESA、Digipen技术学院和Red Llama软件公司。项目活动包括由认证教师领导的课后俱乐部、为期两周的夏季技术研讨会、电子辅导、教师专业发展、家长外展和大学预科支持。课后俱乐部将使用nsf资助的MESA真实世界数学通过科学模块，通过与科学家和导师进行研究来调查当地社区问题。修改后的模块将使学生在一年级学习华盛顿苹果产业，在二年级学习社区设计，在三年级学习可再生能源。暑期研究活动将为学生提供深入了解机器人（一年级），动画（二年级）和视频游戏编程（三年级）。IT技能和内容将强调地理信息系统、全球定位系统、机器人、网络编程、三维建模、三维动画软件和视频游戏编程的使用。该项目将为6所农村学校的180名12-18岁的学生提供服务。

The "TechREACH" project is designed to reach underserved middle school students and teachers in rural, eastern Washington. The project goals are to increase interest in STEM and IT, build the capacity of school and community audiences, and increase the number of students pursuing STEM careers. Project partners include Washington State University MESA, Digipen Institute of Technology, and the Red Llama software company. The project activities include after school clubs led by certified teachers, a two-week summer technology workshop, e-mentoring, teacher professional development, parent outreach, and college preparatory support. After school clubs will use the NSF-funded MESA Real-World Mathematics through Science Modules to investigate local community issues by conducting research with scientists and mentors. The modified modules will enable students to learn about the Washington apple industry in Year 1, community design in Year 2, and renewable energy in Year 3. Summer research activities will provide students with an in-depth understanding of robotics (Year 1), animation (Year 2), and video game programming (Year 3). IT skills and content will emphasize the use of GIS, GPS, robotics, web-based programming, 3-D modeling, 3-D animation software and videogame programming. This project will serve 180 students ages 12-18 in six rural schools.