Who is judging the MIT student competition?
A committee of MIT faculty, a curriculum development expert, and faculty from Prospect Hill Academy will select the winning proposal.
How will the MIT student competition proposal be assessed?
The proposal should:
- Be well-written and easy to understand.
- Address a problem related to global scarcity.
- Consider the social, political, economic, and technological challenges.
- Be grounded in relevant literature.
- Clearly and explicitly state why you would like to and how you will help high school students to make a personal connection to the presented global scarcity issue and gain a deeper understanding of its impacts on the global community.
- Provide up to three recommendations on how to authentically address this problem.
Is prior experience in K-12 education required for MIT students?
Prior experience in K-12 education is not required. However, MIT students will need to provide in the application compelling reasons for your interest and examples of how you will effectively engage high school students in your global scarcity issue.
Does the submission need to be from a team of two MIT students or may I enter as a single team member?
Teamwork is a key element of the MIT Generation Global Fellowship. Your ability to select and work with a team member (another MIT student) to develop and submit a proposal is a part of the challenge, though we are now accepting single entries to the competition. If your entry is selected, we will match you with a team member.
Will there be more than one MIT winning team?
This year we are only able to select one MIT team (consisting of two students) because this is a pilot program and we have only one participating high school. In the future, we plan to have multiple high schools participating and we will be able to select more than one winning team.
What does the MIT winning team get to do?
The winning team of two MIT students will have the opportunity to:
- Develop a problem-based curriculum based on your global scarcity topic under the mentorship of a K-12 curriculum development expert and a high school teacher from Prospect Hill Academy (PHA) in Central Square (Cambridge).
- Implement and co-teach this curriculum with the PHA teacher during a two-week summer pilot program for PHA rising 10th and 11th graders. The capstone project will be a portfolio of key assessments and recommendations which will be presented to a panel of experts.
- Live on MIT campus. Living costs will be covered for the duration of the fellowship (May 26 – July 10, 2015.)
- Receive a monthly stipend of $1500.00 for the duration of the fellowship: May 26 through July 10. For the days in May and July, this will be prorated at 49.00/day.
When does the MIT student fellowship take place?
The fellowship for MIT students will take place on MIT campus and will start on May 26, 2015 and end on July 10, 2015.
What kind of support and mentoring will the MIT winning team receive?
The MIT team will work with a curriculum development expert throughout the duration of the fellowship. In addition, the students will receive formal instruction from an expert in the field as well as input and guidance from the participating Prospect Hill Academy faculty.
Will I get MIT credits for this fellowship?
You will not get MIT credits for participating in this fellowship. However, you will have the opportunity to enhance your MIT experience through learning how to practically apply social science methodology to address global problems. You will also be exposed to in-depth instruction on developing curriculum for problem-based learning. And you gain real teaching experience to rising 10th and 11th grade high school students.
What are the goals of the fellowship?
CIS aims for this program to help MIT students, local high school students and high school faculty develop a passion for and the social science skills to address and tackle global issues. MIT students who participate will have a unique opportunity to learn how to transfer their knowledge and passion into a curriculum for high school students. These MIT students will be a part of a teaching team and will gain real teaching experience in K-12 pedagogy. By the end of the fellowship, all participants will be able to:
- Connect real-world relevance to the global issue
- Apply cross-discipline knowledge to look for solutions to the stated global problem
- Acknowledge and trouble shoot constraints in pathways of seeking solutions
- Explore and develop authentic solutions to the problem
- Understand that there can be multiple solutions to any given problem
Why Prospect Hill Academy (PHA)?
Prospect Hill Academy was chosen to be the MIT Generation Global partner school because it met several important requirements: It is a local public school that is located near MIT campus; it has the capacity and interest to co-pilot the MIT Generation Global Fellowship; and it has a diverse student body.
How many Prospect Hill Academy students will be involved? How are they selected?
There will be approximately 15 students from Prospect Hill Academy who are selected to participate in MIT Generation Global. The high school students, who will all be rising 10th and 11th graders, will be selected through an application process. PHA faculty, MIT faculty, and a curriculum development expert will select the students.
How is the Prospect Hill Academy faculty selected for this fellowship?
The Prospect Hill Academy faculty will be selected through an application process. The applications will be reviewed and a final decision made by a committee of PHA faculty, MIT faculty, and a curriculum development expert.
Who is the sponsor of this competition?
The MIT Center for International Studies (CIS) is home to the newly launched MIT Generational Global. The Center focuses on research and teaching in a wide range of international subjects, among them development studies, comparative politics, international relations, social movements, security studies, and international science and technology. CIS has effectively worked with MIT students through its MISTI program and now wants to add to the MIT student experience by offering them an opportunity to work on global issues with local high schools.