Are female students excelling in science, technology, engineering, and math?

Leading off the post, author Sara Bernard states that:

“The goal of achieving gender balance in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields still holds — and, thanks, to a surfeit of programs for girls such as IBM’s Exploring Interests in Technology and Engineering (EXITE) or TechBridge, in Oakland, California, many people say that the gap is closing. Others argue, however, that a large gap still exists, often due to persistent stereotypes and biases that keep girls from having positive educational experiences that inspire an interest in STEM. Do you see many female students excelling in and pursuing these subjects, or does more need to be done to encourage them? Tell us what you think.”

This question really resonated with me as a Middle School Technology Education Teacher. When I started as the advisor for Boone’s TSA Chapter, I made a decision to recruit a student membership that was truly reflective of the school’s population. At present, we’re at a population of approximately 70% Latino, 25% Black (including Jamaican and Haitian Creole students), and 5% White/Other. I also made the decision to push female involvement – specifically among our minority students. This last decision was based more on a gut feeling I had after teaching Math at Boone for two years – noticing that many of our minority students were living in environments that promoted – whether for reasons cultural or other – domestic skill development in lieu of career and technical skill enhancement.

The first year our TSA club produced two Latinas who earned 1st place in the state of Florida for their respective events, with one other finishing in the top 10. One of these girls continued on to place in the top 10 nationally. Last year, these students each placed 1st in their events at State, and all made the top 10 at our national conference.

We just had our first TSA meeting of the year, and 11 out of 16 students in attendance were females. These girls are smart, eager, and are all very interested in securing officer positions for our chapter. I have high hopes for a great year for Boone TSA, and I believe these young ladies – many who are in either 6th or 7th grade – will play a large role in our success.

Is your school taking steps to encourage more female and minority interest in science and technology? Perhaps you have an exciting and inspirational story to share!
Technorati Tags: STEM, Technology Education, Science Education

• Ohm’s Law
• Balloons and Static Electricity
• Faraday’s Electromagnetic Lab
• John Travoltage (check it out, you’ll be amused!)
• Battery Voltage
• Semiconductors

These simulations are very easy to use and are written in Java and Flash. I especially like the flexibility they provide in that they may be run using a standard web browser (a very light footprint file must be downloaded) or saved to your computer’s hard drive for use when Internet connectivity is not an option. You may download any number or all of the modules provided on the site, and PhET will notify you of updates via email. Did I mention that these applets are free? Very cool.

I played around with the circuit construction simulation and found it to be very well designed. I chose to run it via my Firefox browser and it functioned perfectly. I created a short demonstration of this applet’s functionality, which can be seen below:

We cover a lot of different subjects in my class, and tools like this will really help me provide my students with enrichment activities – even when my schedule may not allow time to work in the shop. If we do end up moving on to more advanced projects, these applets will function as a great precursor to working with actual hands on materials. In short, students will be more familiar with how various components fit together, which will lead to increased learner success – not to mention a smaller amount of wasted materials!

One final word. There are some excellent lesson plans and project ideas associated with the applets on this site, which have been contributed by educators from all over. As you use these simulations and their associated resources, be sure to head back to the PhET website so you can share any lessons or projects you have developed.

Technorati Tags: technology education, circuits, java applet, virtual learning