Grant recipient: Michigan Science Center
The Michigan Science Center will enroll 10 middle school students to become peer STEM instructors. Peer instructors will work with the PLC Education Manager and each other, to delve into self-led projects that will culminate in live webcast presentations of their chosen topics. The STEM topic covered will be determined by the individual student’s interest, overseen by the PLC
Lead. The PLC program is composed of 1) an opt-in after school project, at the Science Center, that will cultivate interested students to become peer STEM instructors and will culminate in broadcast presentations 2) connecting various audiences with the peer instructors’ live presentations through web-based episodes. The presentations will be aligned with Next Generation Science Standards, and have properties that can be visually demonstrated. The programs are designed to maximize student engagement and retention, particularly of concepts in STEM subjects. Consistent with research that identifies key challenges to increasing student engagement in STEM.