Presentation on how schools can recruit more girls in STEM

1. Katie Campbell
Wallace Middle School, Hays CISD
Twitter: @kteachcampbell
@wmsgtt
Email: katiecampbell2@hotmail.com

2. Presenter: Katie Campbell
 PLTW Gateway Teacher for 4 years
 Teacher for 9 years
 Former Science and SPED Teacher
 Have the largest Gateway program in Hays CISD

3. Talk with Someone Nearby:
What do you notice about this?

4. My Gateway Enrollment
I teach PLTW Gateway I, II and III.

5. My Gateway Classes (Continued)
 I have one class that is an all girls STEM class—with 21
girls.

6. Clarification
 STEM in this presentation refers to PLTW classes
where classes combine Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math in project based learning.

7. Why should we care about girls in
STEM?

8. Young children are great engineers
 They build
 They create
 They experiment
 They have a “try again” mentality
 So what is happening?
Image from: http://ed342.gse.stanford.edu/polly-
pockets-and-legos/

9. When should we get girls involved
in STEM?
 The earlier the better!
 PLTW Launch
 http://saturnvstem.weebly.com/
 In 2008, when Hays CISD started Saturn V, we were
only one of two elementary programs in Texas.

10. Why aren’t girls taking STEM
classes?
 Studies show girls lose interest in math and science in
middle school
 Girls are typically interested in careers where they can help
others (e.g., teaching, child care, working with animals)and
make the world a better place. (Girl Scout Research
Institute)
 http://www.girlscouts.org/research/pdf/generation_stem_f
ull_report.pdf

11. Talk with Someone Nearby:
What can we do to support girls to study STEM and sign up for
PLTW Programs?
Image from: http://truththeory.com/2012/04/05/you-can-make-a-difference/

12. Making the Case: The need for an
all-girls STEM class
 How can we retain and reach our girls?
 Why aren’t girls continuing with STEM at our school?
 Can we actually do it? (Scheduling, numbers, teacher
availability)
 Could getting more girls involved in STEM increase
our Math and Science scores?

13. What my girls say…
 I surveyed my all-girls STEM class at the beginning of
the year and they said:

14. Survey from my girls:
Who is better at math?

15. Survey from my girls:
Who is better at building?

16. Teaching in an all girls STEM class
 It’s orderly!
 It’s productive!
 It’s safe!
 It’s wonderful!
 “We get to be
ourselves!”
-6th grader

17. After “Hour” of Code: What girls think
about coding

18. How can you recruit more girls into your STEM
program?
 Have more female teachers leading up STEM programs
“An after-school math or science club that's headed up and
championed by a female teacher, for example, can go a long way
in getting girls to consider STEM degrees and careers.” McCrea
(2010)
My girls don’t totally agree with this. The “right teacher makes a big
difference.”
Source
http://thejournal.com/Articles/2010/09/08/Engaging-Girls-in-
STEM.aspx?Page=2

19. How can you recruit more girls into
your STEM program?

20. How can you recruit more girls into your STEM
program? (What I am doing!)
 Talk about the lack of girls in STEM even with your
BOYS!
 Stop your boys from talking negatively about your
girls!
 Showcase what your girls do! Bulletin board, pictures
of girls working, put projects in the library, etc!

21. How can you recruit more girls into your STEM
program? (What I am doing!)
 When recruiting, specifically mention that this is a
class not just for boys, but for girls, too!
 Have girls speak about your class or have girls doing
demonstrations during orientations/recruiting events!

22. What else can you do to recruit
more girls?
 Girls are turned off by the word “nerd” or “dork.”
 Let girls know of the career opportunities that are out
there.
 My girls love to think of engineers as “Superheroes.”

23. Engineers are Superheroes!

24. Keeping Girls in your STEM classes
 It’s not easy!
 Girls don’t want to be alone—safety in numbers!
 According to my girls. “Girls like to be social.” They
“love” working together.
 Failing (softly)
 Mentors/Parents can help
 Changing how we speak to girls-encouragement about
hard work, its ok to get messy!

25. YOU Make a Difference—what you
say matters!
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP3cyRRAfX0#ac
tion=share

26. National Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day
 February 26th
 DiscoverE (formerly the National Engineers Week
Foundation) has some great resources!
 Image from: http://www.discovere.org/resources-downloads

27. Contact Information
 Katie Campbell
 Twitter: @kteachcampbell
 Email: katiecampbell2@hotmail.com
Thank you for coming!