Communications of the ACM
STEM Partnerships Connect Students to Schools and Libraries
Students examine a quadrotor as part of flight controller class at a branch of the Howard County Library System in Maryland.
Credit: Howard County Library System
Public libraries have started partnering with local schools to provide science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education to students. The 2014 Digital Inclusion Survey of 3,392 libraries, conducted by the American Library Association and the Information Policy and Access Center at the University of Maryland, found that one in six libraries are hosting maker spaces focused on STEM, where students can work on robotics. The study found those numbers are higher in city libraries, where 25 percent of libraries offer maker spaces.
The STEM classes that library instructors teach correspond with the school curriculum so students can transition back and forth. "We work in concert to leverage our funding and expertise for the best possible chances of academic success of our students," says Howard County Library System president Valerie J. Gross. The Howard County Public School system currently has career academy programs for high school students to study fields such as biotechnology, animation, and computer science. However, fewer options exist for the lower grades. The school system is planning to revamp its curriculum to align with the Next Generation Science Standards, focusing more on applications so students can put their knowledge into practice.
The school and library systems also co-host several science-based competitions throughout the year.
From Center for Digital Education
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Abstracts Copyright © 2014 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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