来自MIT的年度挑战: 成为 STEAM 超级英雄 MIT challenges-to be a STEAM Superhero -唯寻国际教育

来自MIT的年度挑战: 成为 STEAM 超级英雄 MIT challenges-to be a STEAM Superhero图片_1

安达励志，志在高远

Be Ambitious

成为 STEAM 超级英雄

今年，麻省理工学院为我们设置的在校挑战主题是 STEAM 超级英雄，这个概念将诺德安达教育集团的学生与当前的尖端研究联系起来，同时加强学生的跨学科学习能力。

超级英雄是流行文化的重要组成部分。最初，超级英雄是漫画书爱好者和科幻迷青少年的“精神食粮”，他们的粉丝群已大幅增长，并在电影大片将这些漫画书中的人物带上大荧幕之后，捕捉了数百万大片观看者的想象力，因为他们能够使用特殊能力或超能力救人于危难之中，在世界末日到来时拯救我们的星球。

来自MIT的年度挑战: 成为 STEAM 超级英雄 MIT challenges-to be a STEAM Superhero图片_7

对于超级英雄，人们更关心的一个问题是：奇幻世界和科幻世界中的超级英雄所拥有的超能力，或者漫画出版商和电影制片商所创造的成千上万的人物是否具有现实依据？我们愿意相信他们有据可循。

所有这一切与诺德安达教育学校提供的 STEAM 教学有什么关系呢？答案是息息相关！

来自MIT的年度挑战: 成为 STEAM 超级英雄 MIT challenges-to be a STEAM Superhero图片_15

今年麻省理工学院的挑战主题是 STEAM 超级英雄！在麻省理工学院 (MIT)，从航空航天系的高科技器具和可穿戴设备领域，到机械工程系受到动物启发而进行的改进，再到生物工程系的救生技术，英雄主义元素遍布整个校园。对于麻省理工学院在这三个领域取得的显著突破和进步，人们曾经认为是幻想或科幻小说的情节。如今，所有的这些可穿戴设备和技术进步都代表了麻省理工学院教授的不断努力，彰显了他们正在从事的超级英雄事迹。现在，诺德安达教育集团的学生有机会参与其中，接触麻省理工学院植根于其教研的教学文化。

“我们学校提供的挑战麻省理工学院的机会能够真正帮助学生接触到麻省理工学院正在开展的当前最新研究”，诺德安达教育集团的课程和学生成绩主管 Mark Orrow-Whiting 说。

将麻省理工学院伟大的前沿研究工作与当今流行文化中的超级英雄联系起来是 STEAM 学习有趣而独特的切入点，能够使学生学习到诺德安达教育一直以来倡导的一些 21 世纪必备技能。

来自MIT的年度挑战: 成为 STEAM 超级英雄 MIT challenges-to be a STEAM Superhero图片_31

去年麻省理工学院的挑战主要围绕着引领未来这一主题展开构思。学生们探索了未来的交通运输需求，包括无人驾驶汽车、可持续燃料来源，以及如何改变航空旅行（包括飞机设计）以减少环境中的碳排放量。

在麻省理工学院，一切都与跨学科、基于项目、共同协作、以学生为主导的学习息息相关。这就是他们的教学理念。诺德安达与其合作的目的在于帮助我们的教师，通过他们让我们学生获得与麻省理工学院的学生相同的体验。

Be a STEAM Superhero

The theme of this year’s MIT Challenges is STEAM Superheroes, a concept connecting Nord Anglia Education (NAE) students to current, cutting-edge research while reinforcing cross-disciplinary learning.

Superheroes are a huge part of the popular culture. Originally the fodder of comic book geeks and sci-fi obsessed teenagers, their fan base has grown substantially, capturing the imaginations of millions who watch cinematic blockbuster after blockbuster of these comic book characters brought to life on the big screen, as they save people from dangerous situations, and planets from Armageddon using their special or superhuman powers.

A question about superheroes that has crossed the minds of many is: Are the powers of superheroes in the realm of fantasy and science fiction, or do the thousands of characters created by comic book publishers and movie makers have some grounding in reality? We’d like to believe that they do.

What does all of this have to do with STEAM learning at Nord Anglia Education schools? The answer is everything!

This year’s theme for the MIT Challenges is STEAM Superheroes! At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) elements of heroism can be found all across their campus, in the areas of high-tech gadgets and wearables at the aeronautics and astronautics department, to animal-inspired improvements at the mechanical engineering department and life-saving technologies at the biological engineering department. These three areas highlight advancements that were once the stuff of fantasy or science-fiction. Today, these wearables and technological developments each represent the on-going work of an MIT professor, and gives a snapshot into the superhero stuff they’re working on. Now, NAE students can grab a piece of the action and connect to the teaching and learning culture of MIT rooted in the research of MIT faculty.

“The opportunity to do challenges with MIT in school is really about helping our students to work on current, latest research that’s happening right now at MIT”, says Mark Orrow-Whiting, Director of Curriculum and Student Performance at Nord Anglia Education.

Linking the heroic, cutting-edge research work happening at MIT to superheroes in today’s popular culture is a fun and unique entry point into STEAM learning, enabling them to pick up some of the 21st century skills NAE schools have been working hard to promote, says Orrow-Whiting.

Last year’s MIT Challenges were centred around similar ideas, under the theme Navigating Tomorrow. Students explored the needs of the future of transportation, including driver-less cars, sustainable fuel sources and how air travel (including aircraft design) could change to lessen its carbon footprint on the environment.

“MIT is really all about interdisciplinary, project-based, collaborative, student-led learning. That’s what they do with their students. The collaboration with Nord Anglia is about helping our teachers, and through our teachers, our students experience those same things.”