Written by After some weeks of research I am finally ready to start to write about and blog about my thoughts on STEM and encouraging girls. I am starting to think about how I can break the task into smaller more manageable topics: 1) exposure 2) marketing 3) techniques 4) tools. I think that the first key area to focus on is the exposure and marketing.
I have read many interesting articles from scholars and teachers around the world who are dealing with the same task that I am. How do I reach the girls? How do I get them hooked? I think that the answer to this question lies in the marketing of STEM to girls at the young ages of grades 7-9. This is a critical time in a students life and a time where interest is developed. I think that its an age where students start to realize what there passions are and start to make choices or engage in activities that embody these interests. We need to expose girls to math, technology, programming and other areas of STEM at this age and this can be done through activities or cross curricular connections.
I think that there are many connections with programming, physics, chemistry, biology, and math can be made to build interest and expose students to a wide range of topics that they may not otherwise see. One article that I read from the NY times even went as far to say that teacher influence plays a large role in the areas in which students have interest. Teachers who have a passion for certain topics, go above and beyond to play engaging and interactive lessons that teach students using hands on activities or allow them to make there own connections in the classroom.
The marketing phase also interests me. As a computer science teacher in an all girls school I have been focused on engaging interest and improving exposure to computer science. I have added a unit on programming to my communication technology course that occurs close to course selection time. The unit was a crash course in programming, very short but enough to give them a true taste of what programming is. By presenting programming to them in a short unit, we have presented the material, they can build there own understanding and think about how interested they are in the topic. They can make an informed decision through this. This is one way that we can bring some context to STEM in that it needs to be presented to these students in a simple, relatable and engaging manner. Marketing is definition something that I am looking into in the next few months.
Hi Kyle,
This is an exciting beginning for sure. In terms of marketing, I don’t know if you have an ICT course that students are a part of, but that has been a real boon for our students in getting them exposed to coding, design, and now 3D printing. Embedding this work directly into the curriculum, and giving the teachers and students the support they need to experiment, explore and experience in STEM has been incredible!
On the other side, there are some great programs that we run as clubs here at BVG. BioBuilders is a great one that combines Biology with Genetics and Engineering. It is run out of MIT and we run it as an after school club.
Can’t wait to read more!
garth.
I agree completely that the key is connecting to other disciplines and passions. I believe students tend not to chose tech courses because they don’t really understand what computer science is and how big of an impact it can have on whatever it is they already love. Art, Math, Science, Geography, all impacted significantly by technology.
In terms of marketing, I have found the most success in cases where I can integrate art or animation in anyway possible. It’s engaging and creative in a different way.
Good luck, and have fun!
Hi Kyle!
Great post! Just saw Garth’s tweet about it… which prompted me to come and read it (thanks @gnichols for pulling me back to the blogging with your tweet!). I’ve recently been enlisted in helping Villanova with their STEM program. I will likely be teaching the Gr. 11 STEM students math/tech/compsci in some fashion next year, and I can tell you it is really difficult to convince the female sector of our current Gr. 10 STEM crew to continue with the set of courses in our high school program (including AP physics!). I mention this because we have just had the Guidance chats about next year’s course selections and it is blatantly apparent that the entire grade is generally unaware about what the courses next year will be about and why they are important – let alone the overall vision for the program. (And that does not mean Guidance has not attempted to communicate this, it just points out that experiencing it is different than hearing about it, but us Cohort 21ers already know that!)
On that note, I agree with you – it is important to start the process earlier (much earlier!), especially because I find that most female students at VC have had no prior exposure to computer science and/or programming and therefore have absolutely no idea what it actually entails. When I spark a casual conversation on lunch duty, it is common for the ladies to say that they are not interested in architecture and therefore do not want to take the compsci/tech component, or that they do not like computers and therefore will definitely not like programming… :S
Now, granted, this is the first cohort of STEM kids to go through the program at VC, and so, the program is still evolving. But, I believe we are heading toward an era where the computer programming skillset will become increasingly mandatory for admittance/success/etc. at the post-secondary level.
I really like your idea for presenting programming to your girls early on in Gr. 7. Hopefully they will see it throughout the middle-school grades, so that they are well-versed in what it is about and why it is so important (and awesome, fun, etc.). I think if you can make sure it is not just drag-and-drop software they work with, it is even better. I mention this because while the drag-and-drop programming platforms allow students to ‘program’ without syntax and practice flow-charting, I am not sure it gives them enough of a taste for the ins and outs, and I feel like it is more transparent to get into some of the coding early on. I really like Python. It’s free, it is low-syntax I’d say, and I think it would be middle schoolable.
Sorry for the long response- but to Garth’s point about extracurriculars, I know we run exclusively on afterschool programming here at VC and it is really helpful to have goal-oriented challenges. While it is helpful for the whole club, I find it is particularly helpful for the ladies. I will always have a group of boys show up for practices regardless of an end goal, but I will often have girls miss so they can attend something else (arguably also worthwhile). As soon as there is a goal, especially a team/group oriented one, I find my attendance for the girls drastically improves. While this is not based in any serious research, I would recommend getting your girls involved in team programming even in Gr. 7. Even if the end goal is a grade-wide school competition, it will allow your students to see that there are different roles within computer programming/science, and that you can be the expert at figuring out the algorithm, the flowcharter extraordinaire, or the syntax genius! (I usually have teams of 4 – two stronger coders, two algorithm/flowchart developers.)
Finally, while a lot of students tell me they won’t need computer science to be a doctor/lawyer/etc., and I often remind them these skills are transferrable to all post-secondary pursuits, I feel that they just might not have enough metacognition at this age to truly ‘get’ it. It reminds me of my Gr. 8 Keyboarding course. Our teacher was mean. We all hated it. It was stupid and pointless and we did not get why she was so stubborn about us using the correct fingers on the keyboard. Why did we have to be fast at typing anyway? It wasn’t like we were going to really be using it much – writing by hand was faster wasn’t it?
Except that looking back on my middle school career when I was in Gr.11-13, it was arguably the most important course I took. Looking back now, it is probably still in the top 3 for my K-13 education. I went back and thanked Mrs. Hall on more than one occasion because it was important to be able to type quickly, correctly, and without looking at your fingers or the computer monitor. I could not see that in the moment, and I don’t think it would have mattered what Mrs. Hall or anyone else said about the importance of the course. But, being exposed to it in middle school instead of during the regular Gr. 9/10 courses, was a huge advantage. I saw immediately in high school how those skills were transferable.
Good luck and keep us posted on how it goes!
🙂
-Elissa
I have not had a chance to read many articles on the topic myself, but instinctually, I agree that marketing of STEM to girls in grades 7 to 9 is essential. With the young learners that I teach, there is little to no difference between interest and engagement in science between the genders. Their ideas and theories are phenomenal! I look forward to reading more!
Hi Kyle
I never thought about this in terms of marketing before. With the programming being done in the Junior school – starting in Grade 2 – we need to think about how to build on the basics and how to put some programming into our Middle School.
Given the conversation at today’s meeting, there is some room for dreaming.