British International School Of Chicago, Lincoln Park's New Steam Curriculum Helps Children To Solve Environmental Problems In Cities Around The World

The collaboration will see students benefit from an educational approach honed in one of the world's leading higher education institutions. Students will adopt a multidisciplinary approach to learning and problem-solving with a focus on developing robust intellectual curiosity for real-world application. It is this sense of curiosity and exploration that underpins much of MIT's approach to learning. BISC Lincoln Park students will be encouraged to question their world, identify problems and come up with solutions for their community all with the guidance of MIT staff.

Students will be challenged in three phases to solve a real-life problem facing their local community.

• First, students will have to describe what makes them curious in order to stimulate inquisitive thinking. In the second phase, MIT will challenge students to identify and describe an environmental problem in their city and the impact on the overall health of the city including air, food, water, energy, transportation and waste.
• They will then use the skills they learned through the guidance of MIT experts and STEAM teachers to question and delve deeper through research, analysis and the collection of data.
• The final stage will focus on addressing the problem and creating a solution which students will present at MIT.

The curriculum develops transferable skills students will need in order to meet the challenges and uncertainty of the future workplace. Traditional schooling with siloed academic subjects does not adequately prepare students for the fast pace of technological change in the modern world. BISC Lincoln Park believes that a curriculum based around STEAM will encourage interdisciplinary learning, and will help students develop transferrable skills such as creativity and advance problem-solving for jobs of the 21^st century.

Learn from the best

The collaboration also entails professional development at MIT for STEAM discipline teachers at BISC Lincoln Park Teachers will have an opportunity to attend annual workshops at MIT which will expose them to the latest thinking, research and tools in STEAM. BISC Lincoln Park teachers will also learn new ways to support student creativity, invention, reflection, risk taking and perseverance through the termly STEAM challenges. BISC Lincoln Park teachers have already completed their professional development this summer at MIT with workshops about combatting climate change, food production technologies, city planning and gaming among other topics.

Finally, the collaboration between BISC Lincoln Park and MIT will provide teachers and students with the annual opportunity to visit the respected institution. While at MIT, they will participate in a range of STEAM related activities, such as robotics, coding, and bioengineering among other things. Students will also have the opportunity to interact with, and learn from, some of the world's most renowned academics in the subjects of STEAM. This will ensure that BISC Lincoln Park students are exposed to the thinking and philosophy underpinning an institution at the vanguard of STEAM education.

"Our Lincoln Park campus is committed to challenging our students with the STEAM curriculum that MIT helped developed for our schools," said Principal Mel Curtis. "That's important, as we're preparing our students at an early age to build the necessary skills to succeed in the 21^st century."

Andrew Fitzmaurice, Chief Executive Officer at Nord Anglia said, "As educators, we have an enormous responsibility to ensure that today's students are well-prepared for tomorrow's workplace. Traditional schooling teaches subjects individually, and fails to encourage students to tackle challenges in a holistic way. Nord Anglia enhanced STEAM curriculum will encourage students to think across subjects, collaborating and honing their creativity to help tackle real-world challenges. Helping them to develop these key transferable skills will stand them in good stead."

"No academic institution in the world has MIT's track record when it comes to interdisciplinary learning and problem-solving. As with our partnership with The Juilliard School, we are delighted that our students and teachers will be able to learn from the best in the world," Fitzmaurice said.

John Durant, MIT Museum Director said, "MIT's motto is Mens et Manus, or Mind and Hand. We believe that creative problem solving is of central importance to teaching and learning about science and technology in the 21st century. The MIT Museum is delighted to be collaborating with Nord Anglia to bring MIT's distinctive approach to learning to Nord Anglia teachers and students worldwide."

The initial programme will launch in 13 schools in October 2016, and is set to expand to educate more than 35,000 students at Nord Anglia's 43 international schools in following years. This new venture comes one year after Nord Anglia launched its performing arts collaboration with The Juilliard School.

For further information, please contact:

Media:

James Haenes, Director of Communications, 773-506-2097, [email protected]

About British International School of Chicago, Lincoln Park

BISC Lincoln Park is an internationally-minded private institution preparing students two-years old and up to succeed through a values-based education at a state-of-the-art, five-story campus with a true-to-the-heart Chicago neighborhood feel. Founded in 2001, the school's mission is to provide an ever-evolving experience for ever-evolving learners. BISC Lincoln Park recognizes the uniqueness of each child through learning that promotes challenge and personalized education at all levels. To learn more about BISC Lincoln Park's unique, international private school experience, please visit: www.bischicagolp.org.

About Nord Anglia Education, Inc.

Nord Anglia Education is the world's leading premium schools organization. Our 43 international schools are located in China, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and North America. Together, they educate more than 35,300 students from kindergarten through to the end of secondary education.  We are driven by one unifying philosophy – we are ambitious of our students, our people and our family of schools. Our schools deliver a high quality education through a personalized approach enhanced with unique global opportunities to enable every student to succeed. Nord Anglia Education is headquartered in Hong Kong SAR, China. Our website is www.nordangliaeducation.com.

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SOURCE British International School of Chicago, Lincoln Park

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