i2 STEM Week is an immersive program that transforms middle schools into STEM learning labs. During STEM Week, regularly scheduled course periods are replaced by hands-on curriculum developed by MIT and a number of other leading STEM organizations. Over the five days, teachers and students work in teams to solve real-world problems in a classroom where hands-on experimentation, critical thinking, and collaboration are encouraged and used as teaching techniques to engage and inspire students.
i2 programs are designed to be implemented with teachers and students of all backgrounds and abilities, including English language learners.
Current Program Registration
Registration is now open for Massachusetts STEM Week 2020. Please email massstemweek@i2learning.org to get started.
Complete STEM Program
5 Full Days of Curriculum | 4-5 Hours Per Day
Curriculum
i2 Learning has partnered with over 20 of the world’s leading STEM organizations to develop 60 unique hands-on STEM courses. All courses are 20-25 hours of hands-on, project-based curriculum, designed to be taught over the course of a week. The courses can be run for students of all abilities and backgrounds in grades 4–8 and all curriculum maps to the Next Generation Science Standards.
Professional Development
i2 Learning provides face-to-face training for all i2 courses. Because the curriculum is designed to integrate multiple subject areas (including disciplines beyond STEM, such as English language arts and history) i2’s professional development workshops are designed to include teachers from all fields.
During the i2 professional development, teachers assume the role of learners and experience the same activities and pedagogical strategies they will later implement with their students during the school day. Ideally, the workshops run over two consecutive days, though it can be broken out into four half day sessions over a longer period of time if necessary. The first half of the first day of training is focused on project-based learning. The remainder of the time is spent on the specific activities that will be implemented in the course. All materials and supplies necessary for the workshops are provided by i2.
Course Kits
i2 Learning provides complete course kits containing all materials needed to run each of the courses. Some courses have technology requirements such as laptops and internet access that i2 does not provide and these requirements are discussed with schools before choosing an appropriate program. Teacher and student guides are available for each course, with some course booklets available in Spanish.
24/7 Support and i2 Online
i2 Online provides educators a platform with access to curriculum, activities, worksheets, tutorial videos, a finished product gallery, and a variety of “just-in-time” support tools. Through i2 Online, teachers can share their experiences with other teachers and give and get support during course preparation and while class is in session. Teachers also have access to curriculum trainers through interactive webinars and email.
STEM Week Locations
i2 STEM Week has been run for over five years in more than 2,000 classrooms around the world including annual district and state wide programs in Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey. This year we ran our first STEM Week program at the Knox Middle School in San Diego.