Project-MOONSHOT ACADEMY

STEM for Girls

Disciplines/Subjects: sociology, education，design thinkings Key Themes: girls，gender equality, STEM/Math，pedagogy, learning interest The Incubator Track in MSA is a year-long, interdisciplinary program that empowers students to develop and launch social impact projects. Students will first define and understand a social problem, and then initiate an action to promote changes around that problem. Along with a variety of social science research and problem-solving methods, learners will also enhance their project management, leadership, and communication skills. The problem we want to solve is that middle school girls cannot maintain their interest in math through school courses. We have done several surveys, which include 50 students and 10 teachers to investigate high school students and middle school students about whether they are good at math or not and their score of interest towards math on a scale of 1-10. Girls have shown a distinct interest in math in middle school and the interest score of math for middle school girls is slightly higher than high school girls, which indicates that girls can not persist in interest in math. The reasons behind this question, include multiple factors, such as parents, teachers, grades, and environment. Our goal is to design a complete action that is effective for middle school girls to maintain their interest in math. The action would be developed based on the interests and hobbies of middle school girls. Our action design will be based on one of the factors that will affect the interest we find.

Sustainable lifestyle for youth

Disciplines/Subjects: sociology, environmental studies, design thinkings Key Themes: teenager, sustainable lifestyle, citywalk The Incubator Track in MSA is a year-long, interdisciplinary program that empowers students to develop and launch social impact projects. Students will first define and understand a social problem, and then initiate an action to promote changes around that problem. Along with a variety of social science research and problem-solving methods, learners will also enhance their project management, leadership, and communication skills. People’s exploits of natural resources and destruction of the environment are causing drastic climate change. However climate change sounds like such a big problem, and individuals can hardly relate to it (Markman, 2018). Specific and personal changes need to be made by individuals to combat climate change. Discover the power of sustainable lifestyles with me. I’m dedicated to inspiring and supporting teenagers in embracing eco-friendly choices every day. Let’s team up to build a greener, more sustainable world for everyone.

Entering the world of elderly

Disciplines/Subjects: sociology, design thinkings Key Themes: elderly, teenager, empathy The Incubator Track in MSA is a year-long, interdisciplinary program that empowers students to develop and launch social impact projects. Students will first define and understand a social problem, and then initiate an action to promote changes around that problem. Along with a variety of social science research and problem-solving methods, learners will also enhance their project management, leadership, and communication skills. The rapidly developing technology is convenient for citizens’ lives, but trouble has been brought to the elderly at the same time. Due to their dissatisfaction with social and emotional needs, the elderly suffer from loneliness and a series of severe consequences brought by loneliness. Loneliness may cause a variety of dangers that can threaten the health of the elderly. We discovered that providing support for the elderly to express and communicate with others reduces their sense of loneliness. We decided to aim at reducing the loneliness of the elderly by building a connection between them.

Adolescent Intervention

Disciplines/Subjects: Pyschology Key Themes: Adolescent, Well-being, peer support Welcome to the revitalization of our school's counseling center, a project spearheaded by a team of learners aimed at transforming an underutilized space into a vibrant hub for student well-being. The project goal is to create an inviting environment that encourages more frequent use by understanding and addressing the needs of our high school peers. Through a comprehensive process that includes needs assessment, design, implementation, promotion, and evaluation, the team will introduce interactive projects, educational posters, relevant books, and stress-relief equipment to make the counseling center a place where learners feel comfortable seeking support and spending time. This initiative not only promises to enhance the physical space but also to foster a sense of community and belonging among our learners, ultimately contributing to their overall mental health and academic success. Learner Task: A product design implemented and feedback gathered from the direct audience. You can choose the format of the final product. However, written or recorded rationale needs to be provided to showcase your thinking process.

The Science behind Well-Being

Disciplines/Subjects: AP Psychology Key Themes: Adolescent development, subjective well-being, family relationship, social-emotional learning Being embedded in the chapter of Developmental Psychology in the AP Psychology class, this project focuses on promoting both learners’ understanding of well-being and their research skills. Currently, in the most formative phase of their lives, learners often find themselves confused by changes in both their bodies and the environment around them. By connecting their subject well-being to one other variable of their own choice, learners are expected to deepen their understanding of their well-being in the context of adolescent social-emotional development through scientific lenses as well as certain psychological research methods.

Finding the Right Location with GIS

Discipline/ Subject：GIS, Design Key Themes: GIS Campus Map, Sign Design This was initially a "boarding project" course, where the teacher designed the research questions, project outcomes, and all the acceptance criteria in advance. However, the teacher, Mora, found this approach uninteresting. So, after analyzing examples of how GIS can impact everyday life, she would always ask the learners, "Do you have any issues you want to vent about, or projects you'd like to tackle, or problems you think can be solved using geographical thinking? Let's work on them together. If not, you can work on the project I've prepared. Your choice." In the fall semester of the 2024-2025 school year, a group of 9th-grade freshmen who wanted to create their projects found an area of interest: modifying the school's map and wayfinding system (landmarks and signage). As freshmen, they often found themselves lost on campus, unable to navigate properly. After some complaints in class, they decided to tackle the school's map and wayfinding system. Mora suggested they consult other members of the community to determine if this was indeed a real issue. They interviewed students, teachers, school administrators, and parents, and distributed surveys to all students, teachers, and parents. "Have you ever had difficulty finding a classroom on campus?" In the 175 valid surveys, 90% answered "Yes." "What do you think is the biggest problem with the school's map, landmarks, and signage system?" Missing or incorrect information on the map; the inner circle signage system provides no information. Based on the survey and interview results, they corrected errors in the school's map, added a more user-friendly "current location" feature, and focused on improving the inner circle wayfinding system. They thought this would solve the problem, but as the project progressed, an obstacle appeared: the school's classroom numbering was chaotic and irregular. To quickly locate classrooms, the room numbers needed to be rearranged. Without this, adding more maps and signage would still result in people getting lost. Reordering the room numbers for the entire school was far beyond their capability.

Project