STEM+ Learning at the Computer History Museum
Lauren Silver
In 2011, the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA launched an innovative new program designed to bring STEM+ learning to underserved high school students. Called Get Invested: Case Studies in Innovation, the project received initial funding from the HP Catalyst Initiative. The Catalyst network consists of six consortia of researchers and educators from 35 countries, all focused on different aspects of STEM education. Get Invested belongs to the “New Learner” consortium, which engages formal and informal education organizations in creating new models of student-driven STEM learning that are engaging, lead to higher school completion rates, and promote “learning how to learn.”

Get Invested teaches students about the concepts, challenges, opportunities, and processes involved in innovation; incorporating historical inquiry, object-based learning, and entrepreneurial thinking with 21st century skills and STEM knowledge and concepts. In the first year, the Museum partnered with schools in San Jose, CA and Monterrey, Mexico. For six months, student teams worked to develop proposals for innovative technology-based solutions to compelling social challenges. They participated in a variety of activities that made use of resources from the Museum’s vast archives, interactions with professional mentors, and peer-to-peer collaborations within their schools and across global lines. The program culminated in a formal “pitch” to Silicon Valley venture capitalists who offered real-world feedback about the students’ ideas.

A formal evaluation revealed that participants became more interested in and motivated to engage with STEM learning. Teachers uniformly credited Get Invested as being the vehicle for instilling their students with a greater understanding of critical 21st century knowledge and skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, and problem solving. Students stated that their studies and relationships in and out of class improved, and many expressed newfound interest in STEM careers. Teachers said they themselves benefited from collaborating with outside partners, trying out new pedagogies, and assessing students’ learning without grades.

The Silicon Valley Education Foundation recently presented the Museum with a STEM Innovation Award, honoring Get Invested for excellence in engineering education. In our second year we are focusing on building for long-term sustainability and scalability, modifying the curriculum; expanding collaborations to include non-STEM teachers and younger students; and adding to our library of virtual resources. Ultimately, we aim to create a flexible, self-sustaining program that can be adopted by educators anywhere in the world, creating new partnerships, and having an even greater impact on STEM education. You can learn more at www.computerhistory.org/education/getinvested.

Lauren Silver is Vice President of Education at the Computer History Museum.

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