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The Importance of STEM
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ELIZABETH TAYLOR Director of STEM, Milwaukee School of Engineering Why is it important to introduce students to STEM at a young age? Research has shown that late elementary and middle school are critical points in a student’s development of ability and interest in STEM subjects. Seeing the spectrum of opportunities in STEM – from health care to fashion to rocketry – is critical to giving students the ability to fully evaluate their interests and talents. MSOE offers year-round STEM programs for K-12 students that range from single-day sessions to semester-long Continues on following pages
activities, such as coding clubs and a community robotics team. We focus especially on topic areas that students may not get exposure to in school, such as artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. What kind of hands-on STEM learning experiences can K-12 students expect with MSOE programs? In every program, students work collaboratively with others to solve problems. Depending on the program, they could be working on digital design, prototyping, artificial intelligence with our AI robots, and more. Students can expect to be challenged to think differently about both familiar and unfamiliar problems and learn to solve them in creative ways using science, technology, engineering and math. In 2020, we opened the We Energies STEM Center at MSOE. We also continue to work with nonprofit, community and corporate partners to ensure equitable access to STEM opportunities for educators and families, and the Center has been critical to supporting that goal. May 2022
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