Meritor Inc. is contributing $100,000 to The Henry Ford's Innovation Education Incubator, according to Chip McClure, chairman, CEO and president.


The funding will help the Dearborn, Mich., museum launch a pilot program that brings digital education resources into classrooms and helps teachers meet state and national education standards. The IEI is a virtual education R&D program that generates innovative teaching and learning practices and products.

Meritor's pledge will help test the resources that The Henry Ford created to help educators promote 21st century skills in their classrooms. The pilot will involve two phases of educator recruiting, training and evaluations over the course of the next year.

The pilot will produce data and feedback needed to refine The Henry Ford's education products and process for widespread distribution and adoption in classrooms.

Educators from Henry Ford academies in Dearborn and Detroit, as well as Henry Ford Teacher Fellows representing a mix of public, private and charter schools in Michigan, will be the Innovation Education Adopters with the test pilot.

The Henry Ford has developed prototype digital resources, including Educator Digikits, Innovation 101 and ExhibitBuilder, that can change how public, private and charter school educators fundamentally teach and how the current generation of students learn.

For example, the recently launched Innovation 101 curriculum incorporates interviews of current-day innovators like Bill Gates, Dean Kamen, Steve Wozniak and others into innovative lesson plans that promote 21st century skills.