Hayden Program
Through a generous grant from the Charles Hayden Foundation in 2007, CTICE established the Hayden Engineering and Applied Science Program at Columbia University. An academic enrichment program designed to improve the science, technology, engineering and mathematics knowledge among middle and high school students, the Hayden Program includes activities at both local public schools and at SEAS for middle and high school students, primarily in upper Manhattan.
The Hayden Program is built around the practice of inquiry-based learning, which emphasizes hand-on learning and in-class experimentation. Students learn to ask questions, plan and conduct investigations, use appropriate tools and techniques to gather data, think critically and logically about relationships between evidence and scientific concepts, construct and analyze alternative explanations, and communicate arguments.
Inquiry-based learning activities engage students in the learning process, sparking their curiosity and interest. This approach not only fosters collaborative work but also independent thinking among students. It enhances understanding of science concepts, different scientific disciplines, personal and social perspectives about science, and the history of science. Students who use inquiry to learn science engage in many of the same activities and thinking processes as scientist who are seeking to expand human knowledge of the natural world.
The Hayden Program’s in-school activities include both science demonstrations and experiments in the classroom, after-school enrichment programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Undergraduate and graduate students go into local public schools, mentoring students and working with teachers to enhance the K-12 curriculum.
In addition, every other Saturday during the academic year, nearly 100 middle school students from local public schools come to Columbia University for science enrichment classes as part of the program. In addition to support from CTICE and the SEAS Dean’s Office, several professors from the SEAS now participate in the Hayden Program on campus.
For more information about the Hayden Program, please contact Evelyn Roman-Lazen, director of K-12 Programs, at er2430@columbia.edu.