The National Girls Collaborative Project brings together organizations that are committed to informing and motivating girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The goal of the project is to encourage organizations from K-12 education, higher education, government, professional organizations, business, and community-based organizations to collaborate with other girl-serving organizations to increase their capacity for continuation and broader impact.   The Project is currently operating in California, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Wisconsin, and the South Central area of the United States (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas). Visit http://www.pugetsoundcenter.org/ngcp for more information.

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Regional Collaborative News

California:  University of California, Davis professor Kimberlee Shauman explores popular explanations for the underrepresentation of women in science in an effort to identify the real causes and the areas where changes in policy and practice can have a positive impact of the progress toward gender equity. This video clip was created during the California Girls Collaborative Project kick-off event.  Visit:  http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.asp?showID=11252 to view.

Midwest Rural-Urban (MRU) Girls Collaborative Project Kick-Off Celebration:  A Kick-off celebration will be held April 1, 2006 at Missouri State University to familiarize various communities, schools, businesses, colleges and girl-serving programs with the MRU Girls Collaborative Project and to get input from these groups regarding needs and challenges related to engaging girls in STEM.  Thirty-five $1,000 mini-grants will be distributed during the project to motivate and support innovative collaboration between organizations.  The former astronaut,  Dr. Mary Ellen Weber, will be the keynote speaker.  To register for the Kick-Off conference go to http://www.missouristate.edu/mru.

Massachusetts:  The Massachusetts Girls Collaborative Project second forum is a Program Fair, which will display STEM summer and year-round programs for girls grades K -12.  The fair is in Boston, MA at Wentworth Institute of Technology (WIT) on Saturday, April 8, 2006.  If you are interested in displaying your program or if you would like to attend, please contact [email protected].

NGCP Champions Board Member Honored:  The NSF-funded program HER-STORY: THEN, produced by Mary Darcy of WAMC/Northeast Public Radio, and narrated by Kate Mulgrew, just won a Gracie Award.  The American Women in Radio and Television, Inc. (AWRT), strives to encourage the realistic and faceted portrayal of women in entertainment, commercials, news, features and other programs.  The Women In Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics ON THE AIR! website is an audio resource for young girls, young women, parents, middle and high school teachers, college professors, guidance counselors, researchers, organizational leaders, and those interested in learning about the past, present and future role of women in science and technology education, fields and careers.  http://womeninscience.org

Events and Activities

AGELE 2006 Conference, Minnesota:  The Association for Gender Equity Leadership in Education (AGELE), announces registration is open for their annual national conference to be held July 29-August 1, 2006 in Minneapolis, MN.  Conference theme is "Reaching High Standards for all...Through Equity." AGELE is a national organization that provides leadership in the identification and infusion of gender equity in all educational programs and processes and within parallel equity concerns, including, but not limited to, age, disability, ethnicity, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status. AGELE provides a national network for individuals and organizations committed to instilling gender equity and reducing sex-role stereotyping for females and males.  Two extra-value preconference sessions will also be held, Title IX Coordinator training and Exploring Diversity Experientially.   http://www.agele.org

Essay Contest for Middle School Girls:  Beginning on March 8th at the  "Wow! That's Engineering?" event in Chicago, and continuing through April 19th, the Society of Women Engineers is holding an essay contest asking girls ages 10 to 17 to write, in 100 words or less, about an invention/innovation they would create, using technology, to make the world a better place.  Girls will enter to win the ultimate grand prize: a trip to IBM Headquarters in Armonk, NY, where they will spend the day working with a leading engineer at IBM. Additional prizes will include a week at Camp Invention, laptops, MP3 players and more.  http://www.developdesigndiscover.org/news_events/about.html

Help Capture Gender Equity History:  Education Development Center, Inc., has received a grant from the Ford Foundation to write a book on the positive impact of gender equity on our society. Titled "Living Life: Stories of Women, Men and Changing Roles in the 20th Century", this book hopes to capture the experiences of the women and men who framed - and continue to develop - gender equity in education.  The book will show how gender equity has evolved from the original concepts that led to the development of Title IX.  We need your help in telling this story!  In addition to in-person interviews that we will be conducting, we have created an online survey to begin the data gathering process.  Please forward this link to others in your networks who might be interested in contributing to this important work.  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=72421637167.  Read more about the book:  http://www2.edc.org/gdi/LivingLife.htm.

WEPAN Conference, Pennsylvania:  WEPAN is a non-profit organization dedicated to achieving equity in the engineering workforce. WEPAN’s mission is to be a catalyst, advocate and leading resource for institutional and national change that enables the success of all women in engineering.  Building Bridges, the conference theme, is a metaphor for WEPAN’s commitment to building partnerships and programs that advance women in engineering. The conference is June 11-14, 2006 at the Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh, PA.   http://www.engr.utexas.edu/wep/wepan2006

Techbridge Summer Training Institute, California:  Are you interested in developing a program to engage and promote girls' interest in technology and science? Would you like to gain girl-tested curriculum and learn strategies for success?  The Techbridge Summer Training Institute at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, CA is August 7-9, 2006.  This workshop will teach participants all facets of starting and successfully running a program in technology, science and engineering for girls.  Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, California created Techbridge to address the severe shortage of females in technology and science.  This year, Techbridge is serving over 300 girls across 16 after-school programs and a summer academy in five school districts. Best practices and lessons learned will be explored while providing training on the curriculum and program model.  http://www.techbridgegirls.org/programs_institute.html.  

Resources

Bibliography on Gender and Technology in Education:  Created by Jo Sanders, this annotated bibliography covers nearly 700 articles and is available at http://www.umbc.edu/cwit/itgenderbib/ in both the PDF and Endnotes format. A companion review article is at:  http://www.josanders.com/pdf/gendertech0705.pdf.

Changing Our World: True Stories of Women Engineers:  During National Engineers Week, the Extraordinary Women Engineers Project Coalition (EWEP) launched  Changing Our World: True Stories of Women Engineers, a colorful, 256-page celebration of the contributions of women engineers to every aspect of modern lifehttp://www.engineeringwomen.org/stories.html

Gender Chip Project: How best to reach young women than through story-based learning? In 1998 filmmaker Helen De Michiel brought together several young women majoring in the sciences, engineering and math at Ohio State University in Columbus. They agreed to meet regularly over the next three years of college, and create a community to share experiences and struggles as women stepping into traditionally male domains.  The documentary reveals how women are finding new ways to honor their own growth, motivations and experience as they imagine how to make the science and technology workplace a comfortable environment.  Companion resources are available.  http://www.genderchip.org/documentary.html

International Symposium on Women and Information and Communication Technology:  The First International Symposium on Women and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) took place June 12-14, 2005 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Two hundred and fifty participants representing six continents and 28 developing and developed countries, including leaders from business, government, non-government agencies, and education, gathered to explore ways to increase girls' and women's participation and leadership with Information and Communication Technology to effect economic, social, and political change.  Conference Proceedings are available at:  http://www.umbc.edu/cwit/symposium.html.

New Web Site Features Women in Science for Middle School Students:  The Web site iWASwondering.org is a project of the National Academy of Sciences intended to showcase the accomplishments of contemporary women in science and to highlight the varied and intriguing careers of some of today's most prominent women scientists. The site draws from and accompanies the publication of a ten-volume series of biographies entitled Women's Adventures in Science (WAS), co-published by the Joseph Henry Press and Scholastic Library Publishing.  http://www.iwaswondering.org.

On-line Tutorials Available:  In her book, "Why So Slow? The Advancement of Women" (MIT Press, 1998; paperback, 1999), Dr. Valian asks why so few women are at the top of their profession, whether the profession be science, law, medicine, college teaching, industry, or business. To provide an answer, Dr Valian integrates research from psychology, sociology, economics, and neuropsychology. The data and theory from "Why So Slow?" are the starting point for the gender tutorials on this site.  Dr Valian is working to keep the material current and useful. The audience is future and current scientists around the world - undergraduates, graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and faculty. http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/gendertutorial/tutorials.htm

SWE 2004 Literature Review of Women in Engineering:  The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) announces the availability of its 2004 Literature Review of Women in Engineering. This publication compiles articles that examine programs designed to increase the number of women and minorities involved in STEM as well as studies the experiences and impact of women engineers in industry and academe.  A team of researchers at New Mexico State University collected nearly 300 sources published in 2004 and early 2005. Priority is given to research that has been subjected to peer review such as journal articles and books from academic presses.  http://www.swe.org/stellent/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&ssDocName=swe_002385&ssSourceNodeId=110

Using Games to Promote Girls' Positive Attitudes Toward Technology:  Studies show that women make up only 35% of the IT workforce, and the schism between boys' and girls' interests in math and science is well documented. Richard Van Eck chose games, naturally engaging experiences, as the basis of a two-semester study involving 92 fifth- and sixth-graders participating in game playing and authoring experiences in the classroom. He analyzes the differences in experience, attitude, and interest level between boys and girls. His results suggest that the use of a wide variety of games experienced in mixed gender groups may improve girls' attitudes toward technology. http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=209

 

 

Karen Peterson, PI, National Girls Collaborative Project
CEO, Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology
21540 30th Drive SE, Suite 310
Bothell, WA  98021
 
voice:  425-368-1028
web:    http://www.pugetsoundcenter.org
e-mail: [email protected]