Tag Archives: STEM

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Chelsea Clinton Promotes Gender Diversity In Tech Sector

25 Wednesday Jun 2014

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Interesting comments from the past US-presidential family… I will have to find Chelsea’s data. The article gives interesting anecdotes from women who were discouraged in middle school and high school. From the ASEE aggregator:

The Denver Post (6/24, Torres) reports that Chelsea Clinton took part in a panel discussion at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science on Monday, calling for greater efforts to promote gender diversity in the technology industry. The paper quotes Clinton saying, “There are fewer girls who are aspirational in the math and science fields in the United States than there were 20 years ago. We have significantly fewer women graduating with computer science degrees. We have significantly fewer women graduating with mechanical engineering degrees than we did in the mid and late 1980s.”

UK STEM Gender Gap increasing?

23 Monday Jun 2014

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From my good friend, Gord Stuart, another great and relevant article. I’m curious whether this is simply in response to confusion around a new educational system. Warrants further investigation in my mind…

From ACM TechNews: Female Tech Staff ‘in Decline’ in the U.K. BBC News. The gender gap in the U.K. information technology industry is getting worse, according to a new report from BCS, the chartered institute for IT, and E-Skills U.K. The Women in IT scorecard indicates women account for just 16 percent of the British IT workforce. Moreover, the study found the problem starts early, considering girls consistently outperform boys in computing A-level results, but only account for 6.5 percent of test-takers. Girls also make up only 13 percent of entries for computer science General Certificates of Secondary Education (GCSEs). Meanwhile, the proportion of women working as self-employed IT specialists has doubled over the past decade, and women earn 16 percent less on average than men. “The continuing decline in women entering the IT profession is a real threat for the U.K. and an issue that clearly we need to address,” says BCS Women chairwoman Gillian Arnold. E-Skills U.K. CEO Karen Price also notes “this joint report provides the evidence we need to face the problem head-on, and to develop hard hitting and effective interventions to solve it.”

LEGO Approves Female Scientist Characters

06 Friday Jun 2014

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While I suppose I should be pleased and simply agree that it really is about time they made these toys, I am actually rather offended by Lego’s press release and the media coverage. STOP MAKING THIS SUCH A BIG DEAL!!!  Just add the stupid figurines and get on with it. Sigh…  And a good thing the “minifigures” look trendy so they can still go shopping and do housework, eh? Sheesh! (on the other hand, I will definitely have to buy the telescope and minifigure for my astrophysicist daughter…the hair almost matches, too)
From the ASEE aggregator:

New minifigures from Lego: trendy women in STEM careers

Abby Phillip writes in the Washington Post (6/5) “Style Blog” blog that LEGO approved designs for female scientist, paleontologist, and astronomer characters, giving the company, “at long last…female figurines who do something other than bake and hang out at the beach.” The designs came fro the LEGO Ideas online competition. Ellen Kooijman, who submitted the designs said she sough to address the “stereotypical representation” of women in LEGO figures. The Phillip presents the move as part of the effort to address the low number of women in Science Technology Engineering and Math jobs.
        Boston.com (6/5, Salahi) reports LEGO’s Lego Friends series is aimed at girls, but “the female minifigures were designed in trendy outfits and accessories to go shopping, do housework, style hair, and bake.”
        Also coveirng this story are the Huffington Post (6/6, Samakow) and NBC News (6/6, Wagstaff).

Opinion: Students Should Be Dissecting Power Tools Instead Of Frogs

20 Tuesday May 2014

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Interesting idea…I think dissecting power tools in middle school might be better. I would have loved to have had permission to take those things apart – my husband says he always had opportunities to disassemble and [attempt to] reassemble appliances and tools as a kid. As I think about it, I seem to recall my brother did, too. But high school might be too late. AND don’t take away those frogs – we need budding biologists to be supported, too!
From the ASEE aggregator:
In a Bloomberg BusinessWeek  (5/19) op-ed, Harold L. Sirkin, a senior partner at The Boston Consulting Group and Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management professor writes that the key to developing students “who will produce the innovative new products and processes that will enable the U.S. to maintain its standard of living and economic leadership” is through having them “‘dissect’ power tools in high school.” Sirkin writes that although dissecting frogs is useful, “breakthroughs in the lab are not enough. Progress also depends on the tinkerers among us who can find novel ways to apply these breakthroughs to our lives.”

White House Science Fair To Encourage Girls To Study STEM

20 Tuesday May 2014

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I hope there is some way attendance and academic interest is tracked to measure the success of a “specific focus on girls and women” in a science fair like this. From the ASEE aggregator:
 
USA Today (5/20, Jackson) reports that the Administration “is hoping its annual White House Science Fair will encourage more girls to take up science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education,” noting that the May 27 event “will also feature the usual assortment of robots, machines, and other science projects.” The article quotes a White House blog post saying, “With students from a broad range of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) competitions, this year’s Fair will include a specific focus on girls and women who are excelling in STEM and inspiring the next generation with their work.”

US News Session Considers NAEP Technology And Literacy Test

26 Saturday Apr 2014

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Several articles are posted about this US News STEM Solutions Conference. I always find it interesting when academics feel they can decide how best to engage youth without including youth in the discussion. That being said, they are coming up with good theories on how to make curriculum more engaging. I wonder if I can test these, too… From the ASEE aggregator: 

Panel Considers How To Make STEM Education More Engaging The US News & World Report Share to FacebookShare to Twitter (4/24, Leonard) reports that the session “Music, Magic and More” at the STEM conference focused on the delivery of STEM education, considering the question: “How can…[educators] not kill a student’s natural curiosity in the world around them?” Speakers at the session “included Parag Chordia, scientist and technology entrepreneur; Alan McCormack, professor of science education at San Diego State University; and Seymour Simon, children’s science book author.” Simon argued said that teachers shouldn’t “spoil” STEM subjects “by making it too dry and technical,” and added “make big numbers real to people.” McCormick said that testing “Present new problems involving a higher level thinking and concepts they learned,” instead of simply repeating concepts they learned.

Engineering Emergency | Change the Equation

19 Wednesday Feb 2014

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Just received an email with this link:  Engineering Emergency | Change the Equation.

I am curious where women fit into this equation…  Still, this is a concern for our American neighbours and, therefore, a concern for us.  Fairness is necessary for all and that should really include equal access to higher levels of mathematics and physics courses in high school.  What this page does not tell is whether high schools that did offer those courses were open and accessible for these students — oh, and what is the percentage of white student who attended high schools that did not offer these courses? Continue reading →

West Kentucky University Receives Grant To Help Steer Early Learners Into STEM

18 Saturday Jan 2014

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Part of the issue. There is more we must also do later in education to support these early learners when they finally make their post-secondary decisions. From the ASEE aggregator:
WKYU-FM Bowling Green, KY (1/16, Autry) reports West Kentucky University has received a $150,000 grant from the PNC Foundation to create videos that will expose children to STEM. Dr. Julia Roberts, executive director of the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science at WKU, said, “The hardest thing about changing the number of scientists, engineers, and mathematicians in Kentucky relates to the fact that unless you stimulate interest early and students are really prepared to be successful when they go to college in those areas, then it’s not going to happen.”

Spelman College President Wins Award For Encouraging Women To Pursue STEM Careers.

10 Tuesday Dec 2013

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From the ASEE aggregator:

The PBS’ NewsHour (12/10) reports Spelman College’s Beverly Daniel Tatum is one of four college presidents to receive the Carnegie Corporation’s annual Academic Leadership Award. The foundation cited Tatum’s work in encouraging women to pursue STEM careers. In an interview with correspondent Gwen Ifill, Tatum said “when they come to Spelman, they are exposed to faculty who represent a very diverse group of faculty, men and women – 52 percent of our STEM faculty are women. A third of them are women of color, so that they’re a broad range of role models and they see that the sky really is the limit.”