About Us
The Wright Fellowship program seeks not to develop a whole new curriculum -- the elusive perfect curriculum of science education. Rather, we honor the diverse interests and objectives of each year's Fellows, thereby creating a wide spectrum of educational units, modules, workshops, and projects, among numerous teaching aids that can help improve science instruction for the next generation.
Below is a sampling of the science-educational activities now underway at the Wright Center, many involving partnerships with other educational organizations.
- The annual Wright Lecture Series at the Boston
Museum of Science and at the University of Geneva reaches out to the
public domain, sharing science concepts with the general citizen.
- Numerous workshops are held during the summer months,
led by master science teachers who disseminate their innovations to
national and international teachers.
- A variety of science education resources are produced,
such as educational wall posters, instructional videotapes, software,
CD-ROMs, textbooks, hands-on activities, and teacher guides.
- The Science Visualization Laboratory produces broadcast-quality
animations and videos for classroom use, in partnership with Paramount
Communications and Smithsonian Institution.
- A partnership with MIT, Harvard, and other colleges,
as well as with Draper and Lincoln laboratories, in the NASA-funded
Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium.
- A close working relationship with the Ferryway
(Malden) School to develop interdisciplinary science curricula as
well as test educational products of the Wright Center.
- Teacher/scholar fellowships awarded to teacher
teams from around the country, chosen for their creative interdisciplinary
lessons integrating science with other academic disciplines (such
as art, history, & English).
- Seminars and symposia emphasizing the role of women
and underrepresented minorities, such as one on Girls and the Physical
Sciences, cosponsored with the National Coalition of Girls Schools.
- A research agenda embraces the concept of systems
thinking in teaching and learning, urging educators to teach science
more holistically.
- A partnership with the Foundation for the Future
(Seattle) designed to improve science literacy in the 21st century.
- A program with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to help improve teacher training in the state.