High School Enterprise

Michigan Technological University, Houghton MI

Investigators

Abstract

This project will extend, expand and assess an after-school program in which students from grades 9-12 engage in active, applied STEM learning. High School Enterprise (HSE) teams will participate in "virtual" companies that provide technical services to actual clients and develop products intended for ultimate distribution through the marketplace. HSE team projects will be STEM-based. Like athletic teams, HSE teams will be coached by specially-trained high school teachers and will have access to expertise and mentoring from professionals in academia and industry. The teams will write business plans, solve real-world problems, perform testing and analyses, build prototypes, manufacture parts, stay within budgets, and manage their projects. This project will implement and evaluate the HSE program in a broad range of schools and among diverse groups of students, including students who are underrepresented in STEM fields. Pilot schools include rural and inner city, small and large, and schools that are culturally, ethnically and geographically diverse. At the conclusion of their HSE experiences, students will demonstrate proficiency in the top applied workforce skills identified by U.S. employers as essential to enter and contribute to the STEM workforce, they will be more disposed to enter STEM careers, and they will be better equipped to undertake the work that prepares them for these careers. The High School Enterprise program will help avert the looming shortage of professionals needed to enter and sustain the domestic high-technology workforce by increasing the interest in and preparation for engineering education. The program will be an after-school activity that should be highly effective in motivating thousands more high school students, especially underrepresented students, to pursue careers in science and engineering. HSE relies on academic, industry, and community partnerships for success. This is also its key to sustainability because the program will ultimately benefit the partners that support it.