Girls Tech Camp
Librarians Inspire Adolescents to Consider STEM Careers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29173/istl22Abstract
Motivated by a desire to encourage girls to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) studies, librarians at the Marston Science Library (Marston) at the University of Florida (UF) developed Girls Tech Camp (GTC), a summer camp designed to introduce middle-school girls to creative technologies used in these fields. This week-long summer day camp launched in 2016, and continued in the summers of 2017 and 2018. Each year, the camp brought twenty-two 6th-8th grade girls into an academic science library to build experience with emerging technologies and increase interest in pursuing further studies or a career in STEM. The camp introduced the girls to a range of technology including 3D modelling, 3D printing, augmented reality, Arduino microcontrollers, light sensors, digital video production, computer coding, and conductive crafts. Through hands-on activities, guest lectures, and campus field trips youth interest and confidence in using technology expanded and participants experienced student and research life at a university.
Downloads
References
Adamuti-Trache, M. & Andres, L. 2008. Embarking on and persisting in scientific fields of study: Cultural capital, gender, and curriculum along the science pipeline. International Journal of Science Education 30(12):1557-1584. DOI: 10.1080/09500690701324208.
Aeschlimann, B., Herzog, W. & Makarova, E. 2016. How to foster students' motivation in mathematics and science classes and promote students' STEM career choice: A study in Swiss high schools. International Journal of Educational Research 79:31-41. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijer.2016.06.004.
American Camp Association (ACA). 2016. ACA Standards that relate to staff screening, supervision, and training [Internet]. Martinsville (IN): American Camp Association, Inc.; c2019 [cited 2019 Apr 22]. Available from https://www.acacamps.org/resource-library/accreditation-standards/aca-standards-relate-staff-screening-supervision-training.
Archer, L., DeWitt, J., Osborne, J., Dillon, J., Willis, B. & Wong, B. 2013. ‘Not girly, not sexy, not glamorous’: Primary school girls’ and parents’ constructions of science aspirations. Pedagogy, Culture & Society 21(1):171-194. DOI: 10.1080/14681366.2012.748676.
Blakemore, J.E.O., Berenbaum, S.A. and Liben, L.S. 2009. Gender Development. New York (NY): Psychology Press.
Brandt, R. 2015. Why do undergraduate women persist as STEM majors? A study at two technological universities. Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, p1-31.
Broadley, K. 2015. Entrenched gendered pathways in science, technology, engineering and mathematics: Engaging girls through collaborative career development. Australian Journal of Career Development 24(1):27-38. DOI: 10.1177/1038416214559548.
Carle, E. 1994. The very hungry caterpillar. New York (NY): Philomel Books.
Daily, S.B., Leonard, A.E., Jorg, S., Babu, S., Gundersen, K. & Parma, D. 2015. Embodying computational thinking: Initial design of an emerging technological learning tool. Technology, Knowledge and Learning 20(1):79-84. DOI: 10.1007/s10758-014-9237-1.
Educational Research Center of America (ERCA). 2016. STEM classroom to career: Opportunities to close the gap. Farmingdale, NY: Educational Research Center of America.
Generational Relief in Prosthetics (GRiP) [Internet]. [n.d.] Gainesville (FL): University of Florida; [cited 2019 Mar 6]. Available from https://www.bme.ufl.edu/labs/grip/.
Graff, U. 2013. ‘Too pretty to do math!’ Young women in movement and pedagogical challenges. Pedagogy, Culture & Society 21(1):57-73. DOI: 10.1080/14681366.2012.748683.
Kim, H. 2016. Inquiry-based science and technology enrichment program for middle school-aged female students. Journal of Science Education and Technology 25(2):174-186. DOI: 10.1007/s10956-015-9584-2.
National Science Foundation (NSF). 2019. Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering, NSF 19-304 [Internet]. Arlington (VA): National Science Foundation [cited 2019 May 14]. Available from https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf19304/.
Peterson, K. & Britsch, B. 2011. GSE/EXT National Girls Collaborative Project: Building the capacity of STEM practitioners to develop a diverse workforce. EdLab Foundation: National Science Foundation.
Radiya-Dixit, A. 2017. Duke research blog: Creating technology that understands human emotions [Internet]. Durham (NC): Duke University [cited 2019 May 7]. Available from https://researchblog.duke.edu/2017/01/30/creating-technology-that-understands-human-emotions/.
Tanner, K.D. 2009. Learning to see inequity in science. CBE Life Sciences Education 8(4):265-70.DOI: 10.1187/cbe.09-09-0070.
U.S. Federal Trade Commission. 1998. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA), 16 CFR Part 312 [Internet]. Washington, D.C.:U.S. Federal Trade Commission [cited 2019 May 17]. Available from https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule.
Van Langen, A. 2015. Girls and STEM choice in Dutch education: The strong gender segregation and the good practice of the stimulation policy. Gender Studies and Research 13:26-39.
Watermeyer, R. 2012. Confirming the legitimacy of female participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM): Evaluation of a UK STEM initiative for girls. British Journal of Sociology of Education 33(5):676-700. DOI: 10.1080/01425692.2012.678751.
Yazilitas, D., Svensson, J., de Vries, G., & Sararso, S. 2013. Gendered study choice: A literature review. A review of theory and research into the unequal representation of male and female students in mathematics, science, and technology. Educational Research and Evaluation 19(6):525-545. DOI: 10.1080/13803611.2013.803931.
Yeh, T., Forsyth, S., Stangl, A., & Dalton, B. 2016. Tactile picture books project: Critical making in libraries to broaden participation in STEM. University of Colorado - Boulder: National Science Foundation.
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2019 Melody Royster
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
