Welcome to DIGITS www.DIGITS.us.com
Young people today want the latest technological gadgets, cures for diseases that afflict their families and friends, and efficient communications systems that meet their instant messaging, on-demand lifestyles.
But somehow, these same young people have not made the connection… from what they study in school… to the kinds of career they can choose and the goals they can set for their lives.
DIGITS is a classroom program that opens the minds of sixth grade students to the exciting and limitless opportunities that studying math and science provide. The program enables students to meet and talk with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professionals – STEM Ambassadors – who serve as role models and inspire students to continue to study math and science in middle school, high school, and beyond.
DIGITS GETS DOCUMENTED, POSITIVE RESULTS
The project’s independent evaluator reports:
- Students showed a statistically significant increase in their interest in math/science as a result of the DIGITS program in their schools.
- 97% of the participating teachers surveyed after the DIGITS presentation would recommend the visits to others.
DIGITS is offered free of charge to all public schools in Massachusetts with a sixth grade and requires little or no preparation on the part of the sixth grade teacher.
DIGITS was created by the STEMTech Alliance – a unique coalition of six Massachusetts science and technology associations representing over 1500 companies and 300,000 people who work in software, Internet, telecommunications, biotechnology, medical devices, engineering and clean energy. The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education’s STEM Pipeline Fund funded the program’s development and its implementation during the 2009 – 2010 academic year.
