Source: 

If you’re the parent of a girl, you probably tell her she can be anything when she grows up—even President of the United States. Somehow, though, a lot of girls don’t hear or believe this message. Women are underrepresented in all of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) fields, and many girls believe they are not as smart as boys in these areas. That’s why it’s more important than ever to encourage girls and young women to pursue STEM opportunities, just like these schools and districts are doing.

ROBOTS ON THE RUNWAY

Eleven years ago, when he was teaching chemistry and physics at Austin (TX) ISD’s Anderson High School, John Sperry started a competitive robotics team. Today, he runs the 350-student robotics and engineering program, which offers 23 different technology courses in five pathways: mechanical engineering, robotics, manufacturing, software engineering, and electrical engineering. “Part of our challenge is to always be redefining what STEM engagement looks like,” says Sperry. One way he engages his female students is by having everyone try to solve big problems. For example, students repurposed a control system to try to create a better-functioning knee brace. The students presented their brace during National Instruments’ NIWeek in front of 5,000 engineers, and the lead student, a senior girl, went on to study mechanical engineering and now works for NI. Another project that a lot of girls enjoyed was the Robot Fashion Show. “We bought two-foot-tall French robots from RobotLAB that you can program in dozens of languages. They have onboard cameras to look at their surroundings and can recognize faces and avoid obstacles,” says Sperry. He partnered with University of Texas at Austin’s textiles and apparels group to produce clothing for the robots, and his students programmed the robots to exhibit specific behaviors as they walked the runway. “It was a lot of fun and generated buzz for kids of all ages to see what STEM education can look like.” After doing this work for several years, Sperry has learned a lot. He says that you have to change your curriculum to encourage diversity. “It can’t be about traditional robotics activities. They are great, but you have to mix things up and rethink where you’re getting the most bang for your buck. We try to have fun and see how far we can take the activities we do.”

TOOLS THEY USE
ANDERSON HIGH SCHOOL, AUSTIN, TX

COMPETING AND WINNING

Perez Elementary in McAllen, Texas, was extremely proud of the Programming Princesses when they placed third in the 2016-2017 Wonder League Robotics Competition this year. The two third-grade girls prepared hard, meeting every afternoon to perfect their coding skills. It’s all part of Librarian Cynthia Cooksey’s master plan to have students do real-world coding during library time. “Two years ago, we bought our first Dash & Dot robots. We started with Code.org but I wanted to do more hands-on work so the students could see the impact.” At first, Cooksey heard a lot of “I don’t want to” from the girls, so she started a girls-only, secret after-school club. The girls “hid” in an alcove and coded. It took a while, but once it caught on she got more and more requests to join. Boys are allowed to come, but Cooksey says the girls love coding with other girls and do better when they are part of an all-girls team. Before the Programming Princesses, there was a team of six fifth-grade girls called the Coding Chicks. Another group, the Damsels in Dash, is made up of five girls in grades 3-5. They placed first in the state but did not make it to the final competition, where four teams from Perez Elementary competed. “We’ve taken a lot of pride in encouraging our girls into STEM fields and telling them about what jobs are out there. By teaching them to code, we show them that the sky is the limit.”

TOOLS THEY USE
PEREZ ELEMENTARY, MCALLEN, TX

ALL-DISTRICT INTEGRATION

When Stephanie Miller became superintendent/principal of Congress (AZ) School District #17 in 2011, the preK-8 rural school was high-performing but she felt it needed more STEM development. She secured a three-year grant from the Science Foundation of Arizona to increase project-based learning (PBL) around STEM and develop STEM career paths. To shift the culture, the district embedded LEGO WeDo 2.0 into classroom instruction, integrated STEM learning throughout all grades, and started an after-school STEM program. “With after-school programs, you get a lot of ‘I wouldn’t be good at that,’” says Miller. “If you put programming into class instruction, you reach the children who were too shy to sign up or didn’t know they had a natural ability.” By developing their own curriculum with LEGO WeDo and incorporating a lot of engineering and programming components, students got a broader understanding of STEM fields. They used Defined STEM, an online curriculum featuring project-based lessons that develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, to help students learn and discover STEM careers. “Defined STEM has lots of women in their videos. When students see that, it’s eye-opening,” says IT Director Suzanne Sims. Teachers focused on social and emotional learning, helping students learn how to get along with others and work with different people to find answers to problems. Teachers created STEM-based units that are taught in core subjects. Now they are starting to do passion projects in the new makerspace. Every week, a community volunteer comes to the makerspace to help with woodworking projects; there’s also a deconstruction station where children take things apart. All students, even kindergarteners, build things so that girls don’t think of construction as a male job. “Through all of this exposure, girls are becoming interested in STEM careers. They are empowered and believe in themselves,” says Miller.

TOOLS THEY USE
CONGRESS (AZ) SCHOOL DISTRICT

To view the full article click here.