YSIMSTE :: York/Seneca Institute of Mathematics,Science and Technology Education

Outreach Projects

Youth Science & Technology Outreach Program: York (YSTOP) >>

Urban and Rural Youth as Environmental Scientists is a three-year program funded by the Ministry of Research and Innovation under its Youth Science and Technology Outreach Program. It will connect students from rural and urban schools with leading scientists and technologists at York University and Seneca College. The program is a joint initiative of York University, Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology and two participating school boards - Toronto Catholic District School Board and Simcoe County District School Board.

Youth Science & Technology Outreach Program (YSTOP) - Seneca
I CAN do this!: Inspiring and Engaging Youth in Science and Technology >>

Seneca’s YSTOP program, I CAN do this! involves the design and delivery of a comprehensive suite of experiences in applied science and technology aimed at connecting with and engaging at risk youth and their influencers: parents/guardians, teachers and the community. Hands on workshops, demonstrations, visits to the college and partner facilities will ensure that youth connect face to face with professional technicians and technologists, professional engineers and scientists and that parents/guardians, teachers and the community will have a better understanding of the role of these individuals, the variety of opportunities that exist and the pathways which lead to these careers. Activities have been designed with the statement "I see me there" in mind. They are fun, informative, engaging, and most important, inspirational. Each activity has the potential of involving senior science and technology students, post graduate students, alumni and advisory committee members.

York/Seneca Summer Science and Technology Program (YSSSTP) >>

The York-Seneca Summer Science & Technology Program (YSSSTP) began in 1992 as a York University and Westview Centennial Secondary School partnership, which sought to encourage Grade 11 students of the highly multicultural community surrounding the Keele campus of York University to actively engage in the world of science and technology. Now hosted by the York/Seneca Institute for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (YSIMSTE), this project-turned-program creates opportunities for Grade 11 students of four neighbouring high schools to develop their own career aspirations and post-secondary educational goals through participation in work placement sessions and classroom sessions. These two major components of the program are described in the following paragraphs, and reflect the experiences of our 2010 YSSSTP students.

Research Projects

The College Mathematics Project (CMP) >> The College Mathematics Project (CMP) 2007 study involving six GTA colleges and 10 partner school boards was completed in December 2007 and the final report was released in February 2008. The report is available at http://collegemathproject.senecac.on.ca.
Texas Instruments Navigator Project >> YSIMSTE researchers Margaret Sinclair and Graham Orpwood together with Ron Owston and Herb Wideman of IRLT are involved in the third (and last) year of a project to evaluate the use of the TI-Navigator.
Science and the City >> Science in the City is a four-year education adventure funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council. It brings together an intergenerational group of researchers; three classes of extraordinary elementary students working with their teachers, 7 university-based researchers (1 professor, 4 doctorate students and 2 masters students), parents and local organisations.
SEEPS >> The Faculty of Education (Research and Field Development), YSIMSTE, Manchester Metropolitan University and ECOSOURCE (A Peel based environmental organisation) collaborated to offer a five-day summer institute for principals and teachers (n=25) involved with ECOSOURCE’S whole school sustainability programme. This was the first time that the Sustainability Education in European Primary Schools (SEEPS) initiative had operated outside of Europe.
SEdA >> The Sustainability and Education Academy is a partnership between the Schulich School of Business, the Faculty of Education at York, Learning for a Sustainable Future and the UNESCO Chair on Reorienting Teacher Education to explore sustainability and schooling. It held its second seminar in May 2008, which was attended by 60 senior educators (directors, associate directors and principals) from school boards across Canada and the US.
Bird Sleuth >> Members of YSIMSTE have been involved with Bird Sleuth, an initiative led by Dr. Bridget Stutchbury, Faculty of Science and Engineering. In 2008, Dr. Stutchbury (in collaboration with Jennifer Fee) organized workshops and training seminars for teachers at Toronto schools as well as teachers-in-training at York’s Faculty of Education.