K-12 Outreach
IGERT Outreach provides education and leadership to young people from surrounding elementary, middle, and high schools in the Boston area. IGERT PhD’s participate in various outreach activities, some of which include the following:
Young Scholars Program
T
he Young Scholars Program offers future scientists and engineers an opportunity for hands-on experience while still in high school. The program is open to Boston area applicants who have completed either their sophomore or junior year in high school. IGERT Trainees spend several weeks mentoring one or two students from this program and describe it as a very rewarding experience.
Experiences for Teachers, “RET”
The RET program provides Middle and High School teachers the opportunity to participate in a six week summer research experience and supporting professional development. IGERT Trainees train and mentor high school teachers in the area of Nanomedicine. The intent is to familiarize them in a new field to bring back to their classrooms.
Lesson Development
Some IGERT Trainees work solely on preparing lessons for high school teachers, enabling them to bring new topics such as Nanomedicine to the classroom.
Field Trips/Presentations
IGERT Trainees plan and host several field trips per year for middle and high school students from Greater Boston Area schools. Students are given tours of Northeastern University research labs, are presented with new research concepts, and at times, take part in mini lab experiments.
Science Fair Mentoring and Support
Both IGERT Trainees and Undergraduate Associates assist regularly in mentoring Boston Public School students at a variety of Science Fairs. Northeastern University also holds its own Annual Science Fair for the purpose of supporting local public school students interested in the sciences.