#Stem girl middle school plus#

At this Edutopia site you can exchange posts with people who discuss how they involve middle grades kids in different STEM experiences and programs.ĥ. Girls who are interested in STEM careers do hands-on science experiments at earlier ages, go to science museums, and engage in extracurricular STEM experiences earlier. Plan field trips and extracurricular activities to give girls contact with STEM-related fields. You’ll find specific suggestions for ways to help your girls in that line of thinking that at this site: Engineer Your Life: Ways We Can Inspire.Ĥ. Assure them that they can successfully grapple with difficulties and overcome obstacles. Encourage them to choose high-level course work in the maths and sciences and seek out challenges. Let’s help our middle grades girls set higher academic goals for both high school and college. Encourage girls to set higher academic goals and aspirations for themselves. Show this to your girls – it will make them believers.ģ. This inspiring video Girls in STEM spotlights some extraordinary young role models and their exciting STEM projects. Teachers can intentionally and continually reinforce that belief. Girls interested in STEM fields believe that they are smart, and firmly believe that they can do anything boys can do. STEM girls have higher confidence in their academic abilities than girls not interested in STEM subjects. Empower our girls to believe in themselves. Science wasn’t my favorite anymore.” How about offering STEM work to specifically involve girls in acting as architects, designers, and engineers? You might get some ideas from sites like this.Ģ. “We just had to do book work and questions. According to a middle school girl interviewed by the Girl Scout researchers, she had some “pretty fun” science activities in elementary school. Provide our girls with engaging STEM work.

#Stem girl middle school plus#

Armed with that knowledge, plus additional information from the Girl Scout Research study, I’m posting a MiddleWeb Alert! MiddleWeb Alert: Six Things Teachers Can Do to Support STEM Girl Power!ġ. A new study by the Girl Scout Research Institute points out that girls start losing interest in math and science during middle school. They’re ready to tackle 21 st century challenges and make a difference in the world. These girls are ready for new and innovative STEM careers. They are intrigued by solving puzzles and problems and understanding how things work. Not surprisingly, today’s girls are overwhelmingly interested in STEM. And I just want you to know that the times – they are still a changing, and so are the challenges. You know now that women are accepted and encouraged in engineering, as well as other STEM-related fields. My pioneering friend, we’ve lost touch over the years. (Obviously, in those days getting women into math, science, and technical fields wasn’t just about educating the girls it was about educating the guys.) The reason? They didn’t have women’s restrooms. One company told you that you were the most qualified candidate who applied, but they were not going hire you. I’ll never forget the responses you got from private industry. Then you began your round of job interviews. You persevered and graduated with a degree in metallurgical engineering – not an accomplishment generally celebrated in those days. And you would not give in to well-intentioned advice from colleagues and professors that you needed to find a different profession if you wanted to get a job. Remember when we were in college together in the Dark Ages? You were the only girl in the school of engineering. I hope you are sitting in your engineering office reading this.