Unique STEAM Approach with MIT Collaborations at Oakridge
- 18 July 2023
Oakridge International, a Nord Anglia Education School in Bengaluru fosters creativity and innovation via its innovative, interdisciplinary STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) approach. The school empowers students to engage in hands-on problem-solving, collaborative cross-functional activities, and intriguing challenges precisely devised in collaboration with the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) by integrating these various disciplines.
Through this exclusive educational framework, Oakridge inspires students to realise their full potential by creating and building a better future. Every year, MIT invites students and teachers from all Nord Anglia Schools to attend a workshop, where they get the chance to interact with eminent scientists from MIT and explore their labs for experiential learning and other interesting activities.
Global Campus is Nord Anglia’s exclusive online learning platform, where students from our schools around the world learn and develop their problem-solving and creative thinking skills. Through Global Campus, students have access to one-of-a-kind learning activities from our exclusive collaborations with MIT, UNICEF, IMG Academy and Juilliard.
STEAM MIT – Global Campus is an excellent platform for sharing and exploring MIT’s world-class challenges and activities. There are several types of MIT STEAM challenges on this GC platform. These challenges have enhanced students’ learning by using the “4Cs” (creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration).
Each year, the MIT team creates three challenges that bring active MIT research into Nord Anglia classrooms to inspire Nord Anglia students. Oakridge Bengaluru also uses some aspects of previous MIT Challenges in the unit plans and summative assessment.
As a globally connected international school in Bengaluru, Oakridge aligns and integrates the MIT challenges with the curriculum, regularly practise these activities across all segments. As a result, it has improved and encouraged greater participation.
Another fascinating section of the Global campus STEAM-MIT is MIT Abstracts which gives students the golden opportunity to interact, listen and ask questions to MIT professors, students and alumni. Parents are highly appreciative of the fact that students are getting the golden opportunity to interact with eminent scientists and scholars.
MIT Home Lab is a unique challenge section and has been modified to suit the current situation. It was helpful during the pandemic. Students can use prevalent household materials and participate in innovative home lab challenges. Teachers connected these activities with their curriculum and hence the participation of students has also increased.
In addition to these online STEAM MIT challenges, Oakridge takes campus-wide steps to foster learning across all segments – launching programmes such as STEAM in Action, Project Based Learning, and 3Rs Sustainability Design projects. These STEAM activities have been implemented and displayed at Student Led Conferences, Science Days, exhibitions, gallery walks, and numerous other internal events. Many teachers registered at Nord Anglia University and finished the tutored course “Bringing steam into the classroom” as well as other similar courses to enhance the STEAM learning.
Each year, the MIT team designs three challenges to inspire Nord Anglia students by bringing active MIT research into Nord Anglia classrooms. Students from Oakridge International School Bangalore have consistently been chosen by MIT’s eminent scientists for their final videos of MIT Challenges: – Question/Answers and Projects over the last three years across 84 Nord Anglia schools. Oakridge recognises and highlights the accomplishments of its Young Scientists.
Students and teachers are enthralled with MIT STEAM programmes. GC – STEAM activities have a significant influence, as evidenced by parent input. Students have showed passionate participation in all these activities, demonstrating their experiments and ideas.
A curious mind is regarded to be the best tool for increasing creativity and innovation.
Ms Indrani Roy
STEAM Lead
To know more, www.oakridge.in/bengaluru
