mentions: a popular TED talk Smith gave in 2006 and Time magazine’s
D-Lab, the project aimed to develop creative solutions to problems facing people
in the world’s least-affluent countries — and then hoped those residents would
embrace the solutions.
thanks to a major new U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) grant to
D-Lab and MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning, D-Lab’s instructors
and researchers will implement this strategy even more broadly — providing
greater continuity to projects around the world, says D-Lab founder Amy Smith, a
senior lecturer in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Awareness of D-Lab has grown in recent years, thanks in part to some prominent
mentions: a popular TED talk Smith gave in 2006 and Time magazine’s
selection of her in 2010 as one of the world’s
100 most influential people.
The program now employs about 20 people and encompasses 16 courses that reach
about 400 students each year. Even though D-Lab does little to publicize its
activities, staffers are increasingly hearing that this program was a major
reason why participating students chose to attend MIT.
with the new USAID support, “we can harness the alumni of IDDS as a kind of an
extremely diverse and dispersed design consultancy,”
While some students have already managed to turn class projects into ongoing
organizations — building better water filters in Africa, bicycle-powered washing
machines in Latin America, and wheelchairs in India, for instance — the new
funding should enable more such activities, Smith says, by “incubating ventures
and training entrepreneurs.”
The emphasis has shifted,” Grau Serrat says, “more from designing for poor
people to designing with poor people, or even design by poor people.”
Another reason some students are applying to MIT. Undergrads are making a difference globally.
"the innovative MIT classes and field trips known collectively as
D-Lab, the project aimed to develop creative solutions to problems facing people in the world's least-affluent countries - and then hoped those residents would embrace the solutions."
"The program now employs about 20 people and encompasses 16 courses that reach about 400 students each year. Even though D-Lab does little to publicize its activities, staffers are increasingly hearing that this program was a major reason why participating students chose to attend MIT."
"All of D-Lab's classes assess the needs of people in less-privileged communities around the world, examining innovations in technology, education or communications that might address those needs. The classes then seek ways to spread word of these solutions - and in some cases, to spur the creation of organizations to help disseminate them. Specific projects have focused on improved wheelchairs and prosthetics; water and sanitation systems; and recycling waste to produce useful products, including charcoal fuel made from agricultural waste."
"All of D-Lab's classes assess the needs of people in less-privileged communities around the world, examining innovations in technology, education or communications that might address those needs. The classes then seek ways to spread word of these solutions - and in some cases, to spur the creation of organizations to help disseminate them. Specific projects have focused on improved wheelchairs and prosthetics; water and sanitation systems; and recycling waste to produce useful products, including charcoal fuel made from agricultural waste."
In the 1980s, when the Second International Mathematics Study (SIMS) and Second
International Science Study (SISS)[5] were conducted, U.S.
students inched up a little bit, but not much
In the 1990s, in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study
(TIMSS)[6], American test performance was not the best but
again improved:
In 2003, in TIMSS[7] (now changed into Trends in
International Mathematics and Science Study), U.S. students were not great, but
again improved:
Over the half century, American students performance in international math and
science tests has improved from the bottom to above international average. The
following figure shows the upward trend of American students’ performance in
math
There are other studies and statistics, but this long list should be sufficient
to prove that American students have been awful test takers for over half a
century. Some has taken this mean American education has been awful in
comparison to others.
The Numbers Don’t Lie, but What Truth Do They
Tell
"Over the half century, American students performance in international math and science tests has improved from the bottom to above international average. The following figure shows the upward trend of American students' performance in math."
"Over the half century, American students performance in international math and science tests has improved from the bottom to above international average. The following figure shows the upward trend of American students' performance in math."
"Build Community - The school should bring all learners together into a supportive community that nurtures both the individual and the group. The community should permeate all possible spaces, in the classroom, in the home and Online.
2. Encourage Critical Thinking - The school should actively encourage learners to think critically, continually asking the question, "Why do we teach what we teach?"
3. Reward Risk Taking - The school should actively encourage learners to risk failure in the pursuit of understanding.
4. Focus on all Learners - The school should surround the learner with ideas and information, encouraging the learner to pursue a wide variety of paths to knowledge, and supporting the personal growth for all who inhabit the community.
5. Value Diversity - The school should actively encourage and value the input of those both inside and outside the community with a diversity of opinions and experiences. The school should consistently check that it is inclusive and supportive of learners from diverse backgrounds.
6. Nurture all learners - The school should provide opportunities and encouragement for all members of the community including teachers, students and parents to learn and grow.
7. Pursue Innovation - The school should actively explore, pursue and assess new ideas and technologies, while always keeping the learner at the heart of the pursuit.
8. Teach Empathy - The school should actively and explicitly teach learners to think beyond themselves, encouraging students to value kindness and generosity.
9. Break down the walls - The school should provide access and opportunities for learners to reach outside the walls of the school to the neighboring, national and global community. "