This poster was presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting held in Washington, DC. It describes a project that uses museum-based exhibits, girls' activity groups, and social media to enhance participants' engineering-related interests and identities.
This poster was presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting held in Washington, DC. It discusses the second season of SciGirls, a multimedia project designed to encourage and empower more girls to pursue careers in STEM.
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Twin Cities Public TelevisionRita Karl
This poster provides an overview, program goals, evaluation plan, and research questions for the AISL project, Techbridge Broad Implementation: An Innovative Model to Inspire Girls in STEM Careers. The poster was presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting.
The middle grades are a crucial time for girls in making decisions about how or if they want to follow science trajectories. In this article, the authors report on how urban middle schoolgirls enact meaningful strategies of engagement in science class in their efforts to merge their social worlds with the worlds of school science and on the unsanctioned resources and identities they take up to do so. The authors argue that such merging science practices are generative both in terms of how they develop over time and in how they impact the science learning community of practice. They discuss the
This article is the culmination of an extensive inquiry-focused interactive experience involving female middle school students and five university scientists, which demonstrated that middle school girls 'perception of science and scientists can be successfully improved. The study exposed students to adult professional scientists over a period of a few days in laboratory and field exercises. Based on student journal entries and pictorial illustrations, as well as attitude surveys, the experience resulted in a keen appreciation of the sciences among the majority of participants and both a
This study evaluated a 2-week residential program aimed at enhancing the science interest and persistence of high-achieving 8th-grade girls. Questionnaires were administered to 38 program participants (14 of whom were of minority ethnicity) and 173 applicants who did not attend the program, at 3 time points: preprogram, 1 year postprogram, and 4 years postprogram. Outcomes, measured postprogram, included science self-concept and interest, persistence and aspirations in science, science activities, science course-taking in high school, and plans for a science college major. There was no main
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Toby JayaratneNancy ThomasMarcella Trautmann
This study was designed to contribute to a small but growing body of knowledge on the influence of gender in technology-rich collaborative learning environments. The study examined middle school students’ attitudes towards using computers and working in groups during scientific inquiry. Students’ attitudes towards technology and group work were analyzed using questionnaires. To add depth to the findings from the survey research, the role of gender was also investigated through the analysis of student conversations in the context of two activities: exploring science information on a hypertext
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Jessica GoldsteinSadhana Puntambekar
Much of the work done in the field of tangible interaction has focused on creating tools for learning; however, in many cases, little evidence has been provided that tangible interfaces offer educational benefits compared to more conventional interaction techniques. In this paper, we present a study comparing the use of a tangible and a graphical interface as part of an interactive computer programming and robotics exhibit that we designed for the Boston Museum of Science. In this study, we have collected observations of 260 museum visitors and conducted interviews with 13 family groups. Our
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Michael HornErin SoloveyR. Jordan CrouserRobert Jacob
Young people’s participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is a matter of international concern. Studies and careers that require physical sciences and advanced mathematics are most affected by the problem and women in particular are under‐represented in many STEM fields. This article views international research about young people’s relationships to, and participation in, STEM subjects and careers through the lens of an expectancy‐value model of achievement‐related choices. In addition it draws on sociological theories of late‐modernity and identity, which situate
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Maria Vetleseter BoeEllen Karoline HenriksenTerry LyonsCamilla Schreiner
Montana’s Big Sky Space Education: NASA ExplorationSpace at ExplorationWorks CP4SMP grant goal was to stimulate youth and adult interest in human space exploration and STEM careers in communities across Montana, through exhibits, field trips, STEM classes, and public presentations by ethnically diverse NASA women scientists and engineers.
Project partners included Dr. Dava Newman, MIT Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics; Gui Trotti, Trotti and Associates; Dr. Angela DesJardins of the MT Space Grant Consortium at MT State University; the Montana Girl’s STEM Collaborative; the Montana Women’s Foundation ; Boeing; and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
The grant’s objectives were:
stimulating general public interest in NASA’s human exploration of Space, facilitated through exhibits about space exploration and space careers, and
supporting STEM education, especially in robotics, computer science, and electro-mechanical inventions in elementary through high school students.
Outcomes included public awareness of this NASA mission, increased awareness of the role of the ISS, and increased interest of elementary girls in technology classes. This grant also led to the procurement/development of space-themed exhibits, including the national touring Black Holes exhibit, and exhibits on the ISS and the Mars rovers created by ExplorationWorks.
Four exhibits were produced: the Knowledge Station, MarsWalker, NASA Women in Aerospace (including Newman’s Biosuit) and “Women in Space,” a national touring exhibition showcasing Dr. Dava Newman’s prototype Mars BioSuit and NASA’s ethnically-diverse women scientists and engineers.
NASA CP4SMP grant support also opened the door to:
a Boeing Corporation investment in robotics systems appropriate for 1st through 8th graders,
expansion of our after-school Girl Tech for low-income girls,
the introduction of after-school and summer Sci Girls for 4th through 6th grade girls,
an annual Girl’s STEM Round-up STEM career immersion day for 5th through 12th grade girls, showcasing young Montana STEM career women as mentors
challenges in accommodating all the children and youth who wish to enroll in our year-round robotics classes.
the introduction of Girl Scout robotics-focused (“Bots and Bling”) Overnights at ExplorationWorks. Families travel 4 to 6 hours to participate in the Overnights, made possible by an ancillary grant from the Montana Women’s Foundation.
Girlstart will implement a comprehensive suite of informal STEM education programs that directly reach 2,500 4th-8th grade girls and their parents. This project will increase interest in and understanding of STEM disciplines by inspiring and engaging girls and their parents; it will establish linkages between formal and informal STEM education; and it will stimulate parents to support girls’ STEM learning endeavors by becoming informed proponents for high-quality STEM education. Over the course of 48 months—from fall 2012 to fall 2016—Girlstart seeks to develop new, robust, NASA-rich curriculum for its nationally-replicated Girlstart Summer Camp program, as well as year-long curriculum for its recognized Girlstart After School program. Curricula will be prepared for a range of ages and abilities and include links to electives, higher education majors, and careers. Girlstart will also conduct public and community STEM education programs throughout the region in NASA content areas. In addition, Girlstart will develop relevant, hands-on exhibits at the Girlstart STEM Center in Austin, Texas. Through this project, Girlstart will: (1) Increase facility and mastery in STEM skills. (2) Increase participants’ interest in pursuing STEM subjects and careers. (3) Increase participants’ understanding and mastery of the scientific method and the engineering design process as systems for problem solving and scientific discovery. (4) Increase participants’ understanding that there are multiple applications of STEM in everyday life. (5) Increase participants’ understanding of higher education as key to expanding career options. (6) Increase participants’ confidence and interest in conducting STEM activities. (7) Increase participants’ awareness of STEM careers.
This toolkit provides materials to better prepare role models to engage girls in STEM. The toolkit provides instructional materials, activities, and professional development resources.