DIGITS

Welcome to DIGITS www.DIGITS.us.com

Young people today want the latest technological gadgets, cures for diseases that afflict their families and friends, and efficient communications systems that meet their instant messaging, on-demand lifestyles.

But somehow, these same young people have not made the connection… from what they study in school… to the kinds of careers they can choose and the goals they can set for their lives.
DIGITS is a classroom program that opens the minds of sixth grade students to the exciting and limitless opportunities that studying math and science provide. The program enables students to meet and talk with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professionals – STEM Ambassadors – who serve as role models and inspire students to continue to study math and science in middle school, high school, and beyond.

DIGITS is offered free of charge to all public schools in Massachusetts with a sixth grade and requires little or no preparation on the part of the sixth grade teacher. 97% of the participating teachers surveyed after the DIGITS presentation would recommend the visits to others.

DIGITS GETS DOCUMENTED, POSITIVE RESULTS

Students showed a statistically significant increase in their interest in math/science as a result of the DIGITS program in their schools.

In March of 2011, The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (DHE) released a report reviewing the impact of their recently funded student interest projects, one of which is DIGITS. Of the fourteen projects reviewed, DIGITS was one of only 5 that showed measureable results in improving student interest in math and science.

• “Results of pre-post surveys of students showed a measureable improvement in students’ positive attitudes toward STEM subjects and jobs.”
• “The percentage of students who indicated they would be interested in participating in a science fair or a math computer club also increased after the classroom presentations.”

The DHE commissioned this report with the purpose of discovering best and promising practices and lessons learned from programs funded with STEM Pipeline Fund grant money.

Click here for a copy of the report, Increasing Student Interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM): Massachusetts’ STEM Pipeline Fund Programs Using Promising Practices.