Science Coach Launches Tool for Teachers to Remotely Support Student Project-Based Learning
ST. LOUIS – Science Coach, a program of BioSTL, has launched a new Innovation Curriculum – a direct-to-student, online, self-guiding framework that steps 6th-12th grade students through an actual research or innovation project while they acquire skills and knowledge relevant to high-demand STEM careers. The curriculum helps students along as they gain research skills used in the industry and allows them to submit high-quality research to regional and national competitions.
Through Science Coach this year, Missouri students have discovered that pomegranate peel powder effectively cleans up oil spills and symptom-causing toxins of the Strep bacteria can be blocked. They’ve also engineered a unique, more comfortable prosthetic leg; a novel solution to improve gas mileage in tractor trailers; and a natural herbicide for commercial farming applications to reduce runoff into streams and rivers, among other discoveries.
Science Coach’s Innovation Curriculum empowers students to conduct strong independent research while being mentored by highly-trained instructors. This program builds upon Science Coach’s proven methodology, developed over 13 years of experience, for guiding students to championships at national and international science and engineering competitions. The program finds success with the curriculum’s ability to tap into students’ natural curiosity about matters of significance to them; the program then supports students with coaching, materials, and resources as they ask questions, research, design tests, develop procedures, consider ethics, and ultimately carry out experiments and communicate results, just as STEM professionals do.
As schools use technology to support blended and remote models of learning, parents and educators are looking for innovative ways to keep students engaged online. The challenge of teaching innovative project-based classes online is magnified when students each choose a different topic. Science Coach’s methods make it easy for students to pursue their own interests with individualized learning while providing structure for an instructor to guide them through questions that arise.
“Last spring, many parents discovered that after two to three hours, their students were finished with their schoolwork for the day and were without structure or direction,” Jill Malcom, Science Coach’s Executive Director, said. “We do not want to lose those innovators to the couch! This tool helps students do a project that they are interested in and teaches them how to invent in the traditional sciences, engineering and even in the digital/computation disciplines.”
Science Coach continues to offer its program in a traditional model that is taught directly by the teacher, in addition to this new direct-to-student model. This program is designed for maximum flexibility and is perfect for independent learning, homeschool, public school, micro-school, learning pods, and private school settings. The program can be accessed on an affordable monthly or academic year basis, and the methodology curriculum can be integrated into existing courses or can stand alone. Science Coach is the only provider in the nation that specializes in teaching these research skills while introducing students to relevant careers in the field.
For more information or to purchase the Science Coach Innovation Curriculum, visit
sciencecoach.org/invent
About Science Coach
Since 2007, Science Coach, a non-profit program of BioSTL, believes that the scientific process is the best tool to excite, prepare, and empower 6th – 12th grade public, private, and home-schooled students to choose questions of personal interest, create procedures to test hypotheses, arrive at answers with validity, and build confidence in solving real world problems. We value teachers as professionals and know that they, because of their role and relationships with students, are a powerful conduit to teach students the scientific process. By intentionally supporting teachers in a year-long, job embedded professional development program and a comprehensive support ecosystem, we help students conduct, communicate, and compete successfully with their high-level research projects at national and international levels, and, for some, transform the innovation into a marketable product. While 70+% of Science Coach students continue into STEM pathways, 100% are better equipped to live in an increasingly scientifically literate world. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
About BioSTL
Since 2001, BioSTL has laid the foundation for St. Louis’ innovation economy with a comprehensive set of transformational programs that advance St. Louis’ leadership in solving important world challenges in agriculture, medicine, health care, and other technology areas. BioSTL has introduced nationally-acclaimed initiatives in startup creation and investment (BioGenerator), strategic business attraction (GlobalSTL), physical environment (including the Cortex Innovation District and BioGenerator Labs), entrepreneur support (Fundamentals), seed and venture capital, a diverse and inclusive workforce, and public policy. Find us online at biostl.org and follow us on twitter @BioSTL.