General Motors (GM) recently selected four new partners and programs designed to encourage young people to enter technology and engineering professions as well as improve teacher training in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.
The new partners and programs are Code.org, Black Girls Code, Institute of Play and Digital Promise. Code.org has enabled 10 percent of K-12 students across the world to try the site's courses and the Hour of Code. Nine million girls are learning to code on Code.org, and 48 percent of online course participants are underrepresented minorities. GM's support will help Code.org train 1,400 computer science teachers who will teach more than 40,000 secondary students across the United States during the 2017-2018 school year.
Black Girls Code is dedicated to increasing the number of women of color in technology careers. GM will help Black Girls Code expand exposure to coding and technology to underrepresented girls in the Detroit area.
Institute of Play is a New York City-based organization that pioneers new models of learning and engagement through the design of learning experiences that are rooted in the principles of game design. The Institute will develop an eight-month professional development fellowship for middle-school and high-school STEM educators focused on using the power of games, play and digital tools to transform both teacher practice and student engagement.
Digital Promise was created to accelerate innovation in education and improve opportunities to learn. GM will support a research study and development of an online micro-credential curriculum for teachers in computational thinking.
"We need to remove the barriers and address the issues that are preventing young people from pursuing careers in technology and engineering," said Hina Baloch, GM manager. "Our partners bring the innovative thinking we need to ignite more interest in STEM careers and improve STEM education."
For more information, visit www.gm.com.
