News Roundup: Office of Community Education Partnerships
The Office of Community Education Partnerships bridges the research, practice, and service missions of the School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) and Northwestern University. Our tireless staff creates initiatives and partnerships that positively impact our home communities of Evanston and Chicago, and can be shared and scaled far beyond.
OCEP partners with faculty, students, colleges, departments, and centers from across the University. OCEP also supports Neighborhood and Community Relations at the University.
Read recent coverage of the programs:
Baxter Center for Science Education
The Baxter Center Launches Virtual Learning Series for Science Teachers
Nearly two dozen middle and high school educators joined the weekly Baxter Center for Science Education’s teacher virtual learning series to discuss research-based principles for online learning and the challenges with moving to remote classes.
Center for Excellence in Computer Science Education
SESP Facilitates Donation of Learning Games
SESP helped facilitate the donation of approximately 8,500 Osmo sampler kits to children and educators in Evanston and Chicago, including Evanston/Skokie School District 65, Chicago Public Schools (CPS), and community organizations.
CT-STEM (Computational Tools for STEM Education)
These Teachers Added Computational Thinking to Their Classes
Sue Juhl is a longtime Chicago Public Schools special education and biology teacher with a self-described “unhealthy fear of computers and any kind of programming.” But after working with Northwestern University’s Computational Thinking in STEM Summer Institute for just four weeks, Juhl unveiled a timely and relevant new curriculum that combines computer models, data, and algorithms with social emotional learning to help students recognize and mitigate the risk of COVID-19.
Digital Divas
- Digital Youth Divas Join STEM Ecosystem
Digital Youth Divas, Nichole Pinkard's after-school STEM program for middle school girls, goes far beyond project-based learning, The goal is to create a full “learning ecosystem” with mentors, parental resources and community support. - Digital Divas Connects Girls to STEM
Digital Youth Divas is a free program started by SESP's Nichole Pinkard to get middle school girls involved in STEM activities. The program begins in the fourth grade and tracks the outcomes through high school.
FUSE
FUSE Studios Expands to Southern California
- FUSE Expands to Southern California
Students in underserved elementary schools in Southern California will have access to Northwestern University’s FUSE Studios program this fall, thanks in part to a $150,000 grant from the Mazda Foundation. - Researchers Begin Developing Computer Science Ecosystem Chicago has a rich community of informal computer science educators, but the providers often work in isolation and the programs lack cohesion, according to the first study to comprehensively map the city’s computer science landscape.
- SESP: A Catalyst During Crisis
When SESP Dean and economist David Figlio created the syllabus for his popular undergraduate class, he had no idea he’d be teaching it during the worst economic crisis of anyone’s lifetime.
My CHI. My Future.
A Path to Greater Equity in Education
Northwestern University is celebrating the launch of a revolutionary new initiative by the City of Chicago to connect youth to hundreds of activities in a digital space where they can interact with the friends and mentors.
Northwestern Evanston Education Research Alliance (NEERA)
- SESP Receives $4.5 Million Grant to Train Education Researchers
The School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) has received a five-year, $4.5 million grant from the Institute of Education Sciences to help train doctoral students in the art of rigorous and relevant education research. - Northwestern and Evanston: Working Together for Equity and Excellence
The Northwestern-Evanston Education Research Alliance (NEERA) received a $650,000 award to support new research projects related to racial and economic equality and expand the collaborative work between Northwestern University and Evanston schools.
STEAMbassadors
- Northwestern Helps Support Evanston’s Summer Fest
Registration is now open for Evanston’s Summer Fest at Butler Park, a seven-week STEAM program that lets middle school-aged children explore everything from roller skating and drone racing to woodworking, creating beats, and podcasting. - STEAMbassadors: Mentors From the Community. For the Community.
Malik Madkins cried a little bit on the day he heard a student say, “let’s listen to our teacher.” Madkins, who is studying film and photography at City Colleges of Chicago’s Truman College, was the teacher. - Pinkard's New Grant Helps Create STEAMbassadors
Northwestern University professor Nichole Pinkard (PhD98) received a CME Group Foundation grant to launch an ambitious STEAM mentor training program for young adults from underrepresented communities.
STEAMVille
Online Enrichment in a Crisis
Within days of schools closing in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Learning Sciences professor Nichole Pinkard was inundated with calls from her family and friends, asking how they could keep their children engaged at home. Pinkard was in a unique position to help.