MIT launches MIT for America to strengthen STEM education from K-12 to community college

An Institute-wide effort with a national focus

MIT President Sally Kornbluth announced the initiative in a letter to the Institute community. According to MIT, the effort aims to address the national challenge of improving STEM education and helping it adapt to shifting societal needs. Kornbluth described it as "a natural extension of the Institute's long record of national service" and wrote that it is grounded in a belief in "potential over pedigree", in learning by doing and in the open sharing of knowledge.

MIT says the initiative will develop new programs and expand existing projects. Its faculty leaders stress that it will support programs that can be scaled up and that still offer direct, face-to-face guidance for learners and educators. "The goal is to provide programs that are both scalable and high-touch, and make an impact across the country," said Professor Eric Klopfer, a faculty co-director of MIT for America.

Cynthia Breazeal, the other faculty co-director, said the initiative is about bringing high-quality access to STEM and AI education across the country. "Talent is everywhere. We think opportunity should be, too," she said. Claudia Urrea, head of MIT for America and of the MIT pK-12 Initiative, said the aim is to find people who have not had the opportunity to discover their talent.

The gap the initiative wants to address

MIT points to large-scale needs in STEM education. According to the announcement, only 29 percent of U.S. students in grades 9-12 build circuits, and only 6 percent of students enroll in computer science classes, even though about 60 percent of high schools offer such courses. MIT for America intends to help communities build the capacity to develop STEM knowledge and workplace skills.

The initiative is organized around three priority areas, each building on work already under way at MIT.

Three priority areas: math, AI and making

• Mathematical thinking and problem solving: This area builds on the MIT for America Calculus Project, launched a year ago. MIT students and alumni volunteer to provide calculus tutoring to students in school districts across the country. About half of U.S. school districts offer calculus, but many may be under-resourced, according to MIT. The project has been growing with an increasing number of districts.
• Living, learning, and working with AI: This covers teacher education that helps instructors integrate AI into classroom learning, and programs that enhance AI skills and STEM education in technical-vocational schools and community colleges. The MIT RAISE program (Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education) is a leader here.
• Designing, making, and innovating: MIT plans to build out programs for hands-on learning, design work, fab labs and makerspaces, sometimes using tools such as national design challenges.

On AI, Klopfer said RAISE provides materials and training that help teachers hold conversations and run productive activities around AI. "If you try to force things, about AI one way or the other, that will fail," he said. Breazeal noted that about 1 million students took part in RAISE's Day of AI event earlier this year.

MIT also launched a related program, Pathways for AI Training and Hiring (PATH), on Oct. 1. Starting with a partnership with Georgia State University, PATH aims to bring AI training to two-year and four-year colleges so students can gain AI skills useful in workplaces.

For the making area, MIT cites its Regenerative Futures Challenge, a global program from the pK-12 Initiative in which students create climate and sustainability solutions. It also points to the Fab Foundation, which grew out of the Center for Bits and Atoms Fab Lab program and offers tools and curriculum to learners at 300 fab labs across the U.S.

Partners and what comes next

Partners in creating the initiative at MIT include the MIT Media Lab, MIT RAISE, the MIT pK-12 Initiative, the Office of the Vice President for Resource Development, and the Office of Innovation and Strategy. The leaders presented an overview in September at MIT's Alumni Leadership Conference, and they say alumni activity will be another key to success. "We know they care about K-12 education and access to community colleges," Breazeal said.

For schools, teachers and community colleges, the announcement signals more tutoring, teacher training and hands-on programs distributed from MIT, with a stated emphasis on reaching under-resourced districts. The source does not give budgets, timelines or a list of participating schools, so the scale of the rollout remains to be seen.