A program aiming to give kids a new strategy to learn reading is the goal of a new program developed by researchers from the MIT Integrated Learning Initiative, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Florida State University, reports Kate Snow for NBC News. Currently serving 45,000 North Carolina third graders in 102 schools, Reach Every Reader is “weaving reading across subjects, like science and social studies,” rather than having just one class dedicated to reading, she says.
New York Times reporter Siobhan Roberts spotlights Yulia’s Dream, a free math enrichment and research program for exceptional high school students in Ukraine organized through the MIT Department of Mathematics. “Mathematics is often misunderstood as a solitary endeavor,” says Lecturer Slava Gerovitch. “One cannot be a successful mathematician without being integrated into these international networks for the exchange of knowledge.”
Celtics forward Jaylen Brown spoke with Dana Jacobson of CBS Mornings about his mission to help improve equality in the City of Boston, highlighting the Bridge Program at the Media Lab, which is aimed providing opportunities in science and technology for underrepresented communities. “I think education is one of the most powerful devices that we have and is one of the ways our social mobility is being controlled at a very early age,” says Brown. “Being able to have my students… get to learn directly from MIT professors, MIT scientists, NASA astronauts, you get to directly benefit from those stories and life lessons. My goal is to build the next leaders, the next generation of leaders for the world.”
Celtics forward Jaylen Brown signed his supermax contract extension in front of high school students participating in the Bridge Program at the Media Lab, an effort focused on providing opportunities in science and technology for underrepresented communities, writes Adam Himmelsbach for The Boston Globe. Brown noted he found out the deal was finalized during a robotics session with the students. “I was learning,” he said. “I was a part of the curriculum. We were doing some teaching, doing some active engaging, some workshops. So I was able to put my phone down and just get right into class with the Bridge students.”
MIT is part of the Transfer Scholars Network (TSN), an initiative aimed at opening a pipeline between community colleges and four-year colleges for transfer students, reports Michael T. Nietzel for Forbes. “As a part of TSN, we hope to send a message to community college students everywhere that you belong and you can succeed at a school like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,” says Jeremy Weprich, senior assistant director of admissions.
Los Angeles Times reporter Sara Cardine spotlights a book by four MIT students that offers encouragement and insights on growing up. “Upperclassmen, and adults for that matter, you think they have everything together,” explains undergraduate and co-author Mina Fahmi. “It helps to be reminded everyone’s still trying to figure things out.”
“Points of You,” a book by four MIT students that offers real-life accounts of growing up, is highlighted on Women’s Health’s list of the 15 best self-help books of 2018. “The book addresses mental wellness, finding purpose, and navigating relationships,” write Jessica Magala and Korin Miller. “And, while no one has the right answers, it helps you see the points of view of four very different people.”
Writing for The Boston Globe, Vanessa Nason highlights how students from the Salem public schools participated in a competition to develop code for MIT-designed robots on the International Space Station. “The teams were tasked with solving a challenge developed by MIT students. They worked for five weeks coding small robots to perform maintenance functions on the ISS.”
BetaBoston reporter Elizabeth Preston writes that MIT graduate students are explaining complex aerospace engineering topics to a class of fifth grader students in Georgia. Teacher Alana Davis says of the MIT students that, “I don’t think they realize what a difference they’re making in these kids’ lives.”