Written by As the flurry of report cards start to wind down, after a busy busy holiday season I finally have time to sit down and think about my action plan. The first goal for me was to come up with a subject matter to concentrate most of my efforts and to ensure that I can greatly benefit from this project. I rate myself pretty high in terms of the tech integration into my computer science and communication technology courses because by default I have to be, and there is such a clear connection.
The one recurring theme I keep thinking about in my brainstorming for this post was the idea of girls and technology. I have been constantly researching and trying to pinpoint ideas and strategies to help girls become more interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) as it is a highly in demand discipline that is suffering from a lack of female interest. I think this is an interesting topic for action research, one that could greatly influence my teaching practice in many ways.
I want to know if there are any teaching strategies or techniques that I can use to better my students in this field in any of my class TGJ, ICS3U/ICS4U, and MHF4U. Are there little steps that could be taken that eventually could grow and foster into something more? I think that this is an interesting topic that many schools are exploring now as the research presents some startling facts. Like this one regarding women and computer science degrees. 
My action research project will be framed around this question:
How can I get girls hooked on STEM fields and learning about technology, math or computer science? How do we get students hooked, and how to we get them to buy into what they has to offer? Can I do things in my own teaching practice or even in the form of extra/co-curricular activities to help encourage this innovative field? What are some tips and techniques that have worked and how have they been implemented?
Great topic for your action plan!
As a female teacher of technology curriculum, I also find that my classes tend to be male dominated. While not directly related to technology, you should check out this TED Talk by Sheryl Sandberg (if you haven’t already) http://www.ted.com/talks/sheryl_sandberg_why_we_have_too_few_women_leaders?language=en. In it, she refers to this awesome website called Makers, which has a ton of videos about women in technology: http://www.makers.com/browse/women-in-tech
I look forward to hearing what strategies you uncover and test out in your classroom.
– Les
Hey Kyle,
What a great action plan! I think one aspect to explore while perusing the research would be to explore ways in which to maximize the concept of TPACK in your teaching. Do the girls in your class respond better to different pedagogical approaches? Do they enjoy driving their learning? Perhaps they’re looking to solve a real-world problem – like you with this action plan?
I came across the Think Tank Conference and it seems like it’s geared to your specific questions. http://www.stemefg.org/index.php/think-tank-and-conference/ I would peruse the website and then definitely add Dot Harris and Linda Rosen to your Twitter following list.
I am also a big fan of using informal polls with students. I find that in conversations in the halls, during clubs or at lunch help me to understand what’s going on in the minds of young people. Everyone is different so you’ll get varied responses, but they are always interesting.
I’ll keep an eye out for anything coming out with respect to girls and STEM. You should connect with @aruston (BSS) & @lmustard (SCS) at the F2F on Friday!
Hey Kyle,
Great questions posed here. Thanks for sharing some of your brain!
While I don’t have any answers to your questions, I’m going forward this post to some of my colleagues at BSS who I think really nail it when it comes to getting girls excited about STEM and STEAM pursuits. Hopefully they can leave a powerful comment or two to help you push your plan forward!
Hi Kyle,
Looks like we are planning to tackle the same issue. I find it particularly alarming that female graduates of computing programs have been declining since the early 80s. Perhaps we can share successes and failures over the next few years.
See you tomorrow.