Group items tagged

SMS is a partnership between the University of Miami and Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The Miami-Dade Public School System is the nation's 4th largest. The SMS program pairs graduate student fellows in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) disciplines with local middle school science teachers. Our three goals are to: * Improve communication and teaching skills of the graduate students * Enhance the professional development of the middle school teachers * Advance the scientific curiosity of and learning of the middle school students

"Adopt the World (ATW) was designed to raise global awareness among teachers and students in Miami-Dade County. Social studies teachers with Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) developed a detailed list of criteria which were used to frame the ATW curricular "modules". As part of the MAIA curriculum, UM graduate students designed the teaching modules with accompanying lesson plans for inclusion in MDCPS' secondary school social studies classes.These curricular supplements provide current material which can be utilized by teachers without increasing their workload. Over five-hundred (500) MDCPS teachers and thousands of students have had access to these modules."

Although still in development, the office is preparing to serve as a liaison between classroom-based knowledge and community-related problems. "The idea is basically to link the university more directly with local community partners and level the resources of the university to address community needs," said Dr. Robin Bachin, director of the civic engagement project. "We're looking at creating opportunities for students in existing courses where they can have an experiential learning component."

Here's a link to the final combined student project highlighting Miami's emerging art scene for the Fall 2010 UM School of Communication course, CEM 345: Intermediate Electronic Media Production.