CTICE sponsors a range of K-12 programming that is designed to enhance public school education, introduce a new generation of urban youth to potential careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers, and create a new pipeline of students to the nation’s premier engineering schools.
The CTICE program focuses on the Harlem community, Columbia University's neighboring community. CTICE's approach, however, differs from many other efforts to address the issues of urban STEM education.
- Engineering and applied science. CTICE promotes engineering education, which is often absent from K-12 curricula. Engineering clearly demonstrates how science works in the real world, and it is an proven approach to teaching mathematics.
- Community-based learning. CTICE’s programming engages K-12 students in the same sort of real-world community-based learning projects that college-level students experience. Both the “Engineering Design via Community Service Projects” and “Columbia Kids Care” fully integrate community-based learning into their programs.
- Inquiry-based learning. CTICE promotes inquiry-based learning, a hands-on approach to education that engages students in the learning process, promotes self-discovery and creative problem solving, and fosters critical thinking skills.
- In-school and on-campus programming. CTICE’s programs not only bring local public school students on campus so they can experience a college learning environment first hand, but also put University students and staff into local schools to enhance K-12 instruction.
- Individual collaboration. In CTICE’s approach, students, teachers, and staff work together to design, implement, and sustain all programs. Undergraduate students graduate students, public school teachers and administrators, parents, and University staff and faculty work together and learn from each other as they enhance the K-12 STEM curriculum, improve instruction, and work with middle and high school students.
- Institutional collaboration. In addition to individual public schools, CTICE works with other institutions of higher education (such as Teachers College), national educational associations (such as National EPICS), and local community groups (such as the Morningside Area Alliance) to maximize the positive impact from limited available resources.
CTICE develops, implements, and sustains a series of K-12 STEM programming, which takes place on campus and in local public schools.
- Elementary School Program – a Saturday science enrichment program for 5th and 6th-grade students residing in the General Grant Houses, a New York City Housing Authority complex on West 125th Street.
- Hayden Engineering and Applied Science Program – a science, technology, engineering and mathematics enrichment program for middle and high school students, primarily from northern Manhattan.
- Harlem Robotics League – a hands-on program involving several Harlem public schools in which middle school students learn engineering principles and practice through robotics design.
- Engineering Design via Community Service Projects – a summer high school program, modeled on the SEAS First-Year Design Course, that teaches engineering design and related skills through community-based learning projects.
- Columbia Kids Care – a summer camp where middle school-aged students learn about engineering through a community-based design project.
CTICE’s K-12 programming has received generous support from the National Science Foundation, the Boeing Company, the GE Foundation, and the Charles Hayden Foundation.
For more information about any of these programs, please visit the specific course or program pages on the navigation menu.