Engaging Girls in STEM

Although there has been a significant increase in the quantity and quality of STEM learning experiences in afterschool and summer learning programs through the states’ STEM through STEM system building efforts, women and minority populations are still drastically underrepresented in STEM fields. For example, although women make up half of the total U.S. college-educated workforce, they make up only 29% of the science and engineering workforce. Female scientists and engineers are concentrated in different occupations than are men, with relatively high shares of women in the social sciences (62%) and biological, agricultural, and environmental life sciences (48%), but relatively low shares in engineering (15%) and computer and mathematical sciences (25%).

This same trend is reflected in opportunities for afterschool STEM learning. According to a 2021 Report from America After 3 PM, Boys are more likely to have opportunities to participate in technology and engineering activities in their afterschool program than girls (42 percent vs. 36 percent). Boys are also more likely to have opportunities to participate in computer science activities than girls (43 percent vs. 39 percent). For math and science learning there is little to no difference in opportunities to participate between boys and girls.

The ability for students to successfully participate in the global workplace depends on their exposure to high quality science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) opportunities. Out-of-School-Time STEM can almost double the amount of time students have to question, tinker, learn, and explore STEM topics. The more time students spend participating in STEM learning opportunities after school and in the summer, the more interested they become in STEM subjects and majors. 

We hope to continue to build off our success of the STEM System building work and elevate new ideas and strategies to impact more youth and implement transformative programming to create more equitable and inclusive engagement of girls in STEM. The following Alaska programs worked in summer 2020 to engage kids in STEM and may be available summer 2021 and/or in the future.

Below we will gather resources, grant applications, professional development, and other tools meant to address systemic inequities and is geared toward transforming STEM learning experiences in afterschool and altering the workforce trajectory for underrepresented and underserved youth by creating groundbreaking and high-quality STEM learning pathways for students of all ages.

Learn2Code

Learn2Code.Live’s managed coding programs enable coding in K-12 classrooms “anywhere”. Complete with curriculum, Learning Management System, the required licenses and tools and passionate instructors who encourage and motivate students, Learn2Code.Live’s Live Classes provide a turnkey solution to enable and scale coding programs across grade levels and campuses.

UAA Summer Engineering Academies

Our friends at the UAA Summer Engineering Academies still have room in their online summer camps led by faculty and staff from the College of Engineering. This is a great program that fuels the dreams of future engineers!  

The UAA Summer Engineering Academies are a series of week-long, hands-on instructional sessions for students entering grades 3-12 in Anchorage and Mat-Su. Each academy is designed to encourage interest and provide exposure to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The academies also seek to support historically underserved and underrepresented students who have limited opportunities for these experiences. The academies are divided into 1-week sessions for elementary, middle, and high school students (grades 3-12). Each week explores a different topic. Topics include robotics, computer programming, structures, and other engineering fundamentals.

IF/THEN Initiative

IF/THEN is designed to activate a culture shift among young girls to open their eyes to STEM careers. IF/THEN seeks to further advance women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by empowering current innovators and inspiring the next generation of pioneers. Rooted in a firm belief that there is no better time to highlight positive and successful female professional role models, IF/THEN is designed to activate a culture shift among young girls to open their eyes to STEM careers by: (1) funding and elevating women in STEM as role models, (2) convening cross-sector partners in entertainment, fashion, sports, business and academia to illuminate the importance of STEM everywhere, and (3) inspiring girls with better portrayals of women in STEM through media and learning experiences to pique their interest in STEM careers.

DiscoverE - Girl Day + Distance Learning Activities

Girl Day is a worldwide campaign to engage girls in engineering. Thousands of people--engineers, educators, and others--act as Role Models, facilitate engineering activities, and educate girls about how engineers change our world. Key findings from DiscoverE's new report, Despite the Odds, found that this simple formula helps girls develop an interest in engineering, build their confidence in their problem-solving skills, and create a STEM identity. Use DiscoverE's extensive library of resources to make a difference in a girls' life.

Engineering Is a Versatile Career. There is perhaps no other career that spans so many areas—healthcare, agriculture, entertainment, business, and more. Check out the many and varied ways the work of engineers is making a difference in all our lives at DiscoverE’s Engineering Careers page.

Further, as we all navigate remote learning, DiscoverE is building a library of hands-on activities, articles for parents and educators, and video challenges you can use to engage kids in engineering at home! At-home activities include:

And more!

Girls Who Code

Excerpt form girlswhocode.com

“Girls Who Code is on a mission to close the gender gap in technology and to change the image of what a programmer looks like and does. The gender gap in computing is getting worse. In 1995, 37% of computer scientists were women. Today, it’s only 24%. The percent will continue to decline if we do nothing. We know that the biggest drop off of girls in computer science is between the ages of 13 and 17. Girls who code is changing the game. We're reaching girls around the world and are on track to close the gender gap in new entry-level tech jobs by 2027.”

Girls Who Code promotes the following values:

  • Bravery - We believe being brave is about being resilient, persistent, and ambitious.

  • Sisterhood - We believe that diverse ability, culture, identity, and opinion makes our organization stronger.

  • Activism - We’re not just preparing our girls to enter the workforce - we’re preparing them to lead it, to improve it, to completely and totally transform it.”

National Girls Collaborative Project - Girls STEAM Ahead with NASA

Free Resources

This Girls STEAM Ahead with NASA (part of NASA's Universe of Learning) webinar will provide a brief overview of the program and its resources, including a range of computer-based and paper-based activities, along with exhibits and poster series. We will then delve deeper into some Girls STEAM Ahead with NASA activity-based resources. In addition to the content, there will be time for questions and comments in order for the NASA’s Universe of Learning team to best support your program efforts with the Girls STEAM Ahead with NASA materials.

SciGirls Strategies - How to Engage Girls in STEM

The bold goal of SciGirls is to change how girls see science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and how the world sees girls. SciGirls engages girls, sparks and strengthens their interest and confidence in STEM subjects before high school, when girls are deciding what kind of person they want to be. SciGirls empowers you to create a more gender equitable and culturally responsive learning environment that inspires, engages, and helps girls thrive in STEM. This book outlines our educational approach, rooted in what research has revealed engages girls in STEM. These strategies have also been proven to work with all learners. Everyone benefits from a gender equitable approach to STEM!

The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE)

Broadening Perspectives On Broadening Participation in STEM Toolkit

To help informal STEM education (ISE) and science communication groups reflect on and strengthen their efforts to broaden participation in STEM, CAISE’s Broadening Participation in STEM Task Force has developed a suite of professional development tools. If you are a staff leader or trainer working on broadening participation, these resources can help support your work. You can use them to plan and lead reflective discussions about current practices, with an eye to developing goals, strategies, and priorities that can make your ISE and science communication work more inclusive.

Society of Women Engineers - SWENext

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is the world’s largest advocate and catalyst for change for women in engineering and technology. For more than six decades, the Society of Women Engineers has given women engineers a unique place and voice within the engineering industry. Their mission is to empower women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, expand the image of the engineering and technology professions as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrate the value of diversity and inclusion.

The Society of Women Engineers’ youth program, SWENext, is a way for girls to become a part of the Society of Women Engineers engineering community as a student through the age of 18. Although the program focuses on girls, all students are encouraged to get involved. Any student 13 or older can become a SWENexter. For those younger than 13, a parent will need to be the primary contact.

Mission:

  • Empower females under the age of 18 to prepare for careers in engineering and technology.

  • Provide programming to help females under the age of 18 to develop leadership skills and self-confidence to succeed in a career in engineering and technology.

  • Expand the image of the engineering and technology professions as a positive force in improving the quality of life.

  • Demonstrate the value of diversity and inclusion.

  • Provide programming to empower females under the age of 18 to become advocates for peers and younger girls.

Adults can stay connected to SWENext by signing up for the Adult Advocate or SWENext Educator Newsletter.

Brite Program: An interdisciplinary, innovative program for girls

“Brite is a bold, interdisciplinary program built especially for girls ages 13-16. In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, the World Science Foundation (WSF), National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP), and The Hello Studios are joining forces to bring a high-quality STEM-centered program.”

Brite consists of three new courses that explore unique topics: such as the intersection of art and science, the strategies of women working with dangerous creatures, and the challenges of conducting experiments on the human brain. Each week features keynote speakers from cutting-edge fields with careers as diverse as working at YouTube, the National Forestry Service, and our nation’s top universities.

Individual and collaborative activities anchor the program with a 1:1 device structure that allows for immersion in Brite, its platform and learning tools. The courses are augmented with behind-the-scenes tours of museums, parks, labs, and studios. Each week culminates with “Britefest” hosted by the girls themselves, sharing the projects they have been working on all week. Participants and programs will receive certificates and digital badges upon completion.”