MUSE in Minnesota: Materials and Understanding for STEM Education, a statewide K-12 professional development initiative

In June of 2007, the MN State Legislature awarded funding to the Science Museum for MUSE in Minnesota. MUSE in Minnesota is driven by a vision of a STEM-literate Minnesota citizenry and a mission to promote rigorous STEM education for all and to eliminate the racial achievement gap. In addressing this vision and mission, it is designed according to the following Guiding Principles:

• STEM education and 8th grade algebra readiness are critical to success in higher education and the work force.
• Addressing Minnesota’s achievement gap in STEM requires explicit attention to cultural competence at both the individual and institutional level.
• All students can learn, and student learning is the arbiter of success.
• Continuity and coherence within STEM curricula, classrooms, schools, districts, and regions are essential components of systems change.

This extensive effort lays a foundation for a long-term initiative that will ultimately contribute to increasing the STEM workforce in Minnesota and sustaining public awareness of STEM as an essential literacy for civic engagement. Through MUSE in Minnesota, the Museum will expand its capacity to serve as an incubator to mobilize and support partnerships throughout the state. These partnerships – both existing and potential – will deliver rigorous professional development and provide sustained support for classrooms, schools, and districts engaged in STEM reform. MUSE in Minnesota will collaborate with an array of partners including the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU), the University of Minnesota (UMN), SciMathMN, and the Minnesota Department of Education’s (MDE) Math and Science Teacher Academies (MASTA), the associated School Redesign effort, and the Math Science Partnerships.

Over the course of two years, MUSE in Minnesota will work with these partners and districts around the state to create an infrastructure that will provide professional development, enhanced STEM curricular materials through Science House materials, and exemplary classroom and school lessons through the Outreach Program.

Beginning in the winter of 2007–2008, MUSE will: 1) develop and deliver a broad array of STEM workshops and seminars throughout the State, 2) engage schools and districts in a sustained effort of systems change around STEM teaching and learning, 3) conduct regional planning and network building to facilitate and support professional development work, 4) acquire educational resources for Science House materials, and 5) design and implement a system for program and materials distribution throughout the State. The emphasis in Year 1 of this effort will be to build an effective statewide system and to pilot programs; in Year 2 the emphasis will be to implement programs on a broad scale.