EducationDive: Using MOOCs to Serve Under-Resourced High Schools

In an article for "EducationDive," reporter Tara García Mathewson spotlights the college's and Boston University's Project Accelerate as unique pilot programs with the potential to diversify STEM pipelines from high school to college. By providing easy access to high-level course content for free, the massive open online course (MOOC) programs are reaching students who might otherwise not have received such instruction.

Davidson Next is a partnership with Davidson, the College Board and edX that uses the MOOC platform to make modules covering concepts in AP Calculus AB and BC, AP Macroeconomics, and AP Physics 1 and 2 available to teachers and students nationwide. Project Accelerate is an AP Physics MOOC pilot program working with seven schools in Massachusetts that do not offer AP Physics.

Daniel Seaton, a research scientist in Harvard's office of the vice provost for advances in learning, and a contributor to the Davidson Next project, said these projects are truly unique.

"What differentiates them from other MOOC creators is they're actively trying to find ways to take that content and integrate it into traditional settings," Seaton said.

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