One of the perpetual challenges of education is how to make the requisite academic content relevant.
While no one would argue that knowing the concepts, vocabulary, and procedures of an academic discipline is necessary, it is simply not enough.
That is why the C2 Pipeline project at Wayne State University in mid-town Detroit is so compelling. Its mission is to help more metro-Detroit youth become college-ready through after school support and enrichment activities, as well as summer programming.
It is sponsored by the College of Nursing and funded through a Michigan Department of Education 21st Century Community Learning Center fund.
Some of the enrichment topics include Anatomy in Clay, Fashion Engineering, and Traumatic Brain Injury.
They have even developed what seems to be a fun and engaging group activity- Empowerment Improv- to help develop critical thinking, problem-solving, public speaking, and interpersonal communication- so it can be implemented in many domains. It is available here.
To learn more about the great work being done at the C2 Pipeline at Wayne State, please see their website.
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