In the media, we hear Jennifer Hudson say, ” I got this! ” She muses about building her first mansion. Similarly, we hear about Beyonce and the birth of her child. I guess it could be jealousy, that I pay so much attention to it. But then JLo.. we see her and some other women splashed about the media. I guess except for Hillary Clinton , and a few astronauts, girls don’t see accomplished women or successful STEM people. They see Angela Jolie, or Snookie,Lady GAGA or Nicki Minaj, and Paris Hilton coms to mind. So what does that tell girls about thinking about the future? You tell me. What do they see on television? You know, it certainly is not role models for STEM. I am not jealous, been there done that. I stated my adult life as a model. But academics lured me away. Teaching was what I loved.
I remember seeing an icon of supercomputing in my community. Grace Hopper used to visit Arlington Schools. All I knew was that she was an older woman that the Navy seemed to worship and I kept thinking, what is it that she does? She wore a wristlet and told us about a nanosecond, but I did not have a context in which to place her outreach. This is the story of a computer pioneer. I only knew that my mother did card punch at the Navy Annex and she thought Grace Hopper was really smart. Grace Hopper
NASA empowered Christa McAuliffeto mesmerize another generation of students and teachers and to engage them in space science education . I was lucky enough to be a Christa McAuliffe Educator, for the NEA, NFIE and we did transformational teaching and created a seminar at Stanford. We got some headlines and inspired some students boys and girls. It may have been the astronaut suit or the frequent visits that scientists made to my classroom.
Boys and Girls learned from a teacher who had great professional development and resources,
There were also astronauts who worked with teachers, and students in the Christa McAuliffe Center and my kids and I were excited to work those programs. Mae Jemison may now be the person that girls could pay attention to , if they knew who she is and what she does.
A project to pave the way for humanity’s journey to the stars will be helmed by a former astronaut, Mae Jemison, already a pioneer in her own right. She will lead DARPA’s 100-Year Starship project, the BBC says, citing DARPA documents.
Jemison, the first black woman in space, was one of scores of people to submit proposals for DARPA’s ambitious project. It doesn’t seek to build an actual starship per se but rather a program that can last 100 years, and might one day result in one. As DARPA told us last summer, it’s more of a thought experiment than a construction project. The idea itself sparked some other pretty audacious proposals, including one by J. Craig Venter to send human genomes toward the stars and reconstruct them.
For all girls there is this,
| Comparing U.S. K-12 Students’ Math and Science Performance Internationally |
| What are the facts, what do they mean for educational reform, and how do I talk effectively about the issues? |
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In the popular press and in public debate, one ofte
 There are groups who work to trnasform education hears that U.S. students are performing poorly in math and science in comparison to other countries. What is the basis for these claims? What are students’ actual scores and rankings? How should we interpret and use these scores? A better understanding of the evidence is important for making effective policy decisions that affect computer science and other STEM fields. Here is the place to analyze the informaiton and to be educated about the reality of these
statements
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What is the basis for the international comparisons? |
| The source for these comparisons is the Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS), an international test administered every four years to 4th and 8th graders.* The test was first given in 1995 in approximately 20 countries. The most recent test was administered in 2007 to 4th graders in 36 countries and to 8th graders in 48 countries. The average score for each country is determined and used to rank all participating countries. *The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a similar international test given to 15-year-olds. While PISA is less frequently cited, it also has limitations similar to TIMSS. |
Jemison apparently won a contract for her proposal titled “An Inclusive Audacious Journey Transforms Life Here on Earth & Beyond,” BBC said. Her organization, the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence, is already a partner on the project with a non-profit called Icarus Interstellar and a group called the Foundation for Enterprise Development.
To Engage Girls in STEM, Include Role Models and Watch the Messaging
Posted: 11 Jan 2012 05:19 AM PST
Two recent stories illuminate the benefits of after-school STEM programs for girls. Plus, teachers go back to school to learn how small classroom changes can improve girls academic achievement in STEM subjects.
http://mindshift.kqed.org/2012/01/steering-girls-to-science-and-tech-careers/
Girlstart http://www.girlsinstem.org/
Some parents and educators think LEGO could attract more female users if the company featured more girls in its general products and advertising, instead of dividing boys and girls into different markets. Even Riley Maida, who is 4, has questioned why toys for girls seem to come in only one color, and she has garnered much attention for her tirade against the pinking of toy aisles: “Why do all the girls have to buy princesses? Some girls like superheroes, some girls like princesses. Some boys like superheroes, some boys like princesses. So why does all the girls have to buy pink stuff and all the boys have to buy different color stuff?” (Diane Sawyer was impressed.)Peggy Orenstein, author of “Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches From the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture,” recently wrote anop-ed in The New York Times on the nature vs. nurture debate as it relates to children’s toys. Orentstein notes that while research shows that boys and girls generally have different playing styles and gravitate toward different toys (though they unite around stuffed animals and books), that’s not justification for enforcing a divide. In fact, there are many good reasons to do the opposite:
The Power of Us 