Dr. Lisa Regalla,
Manager of Science Content & Outreach
Joan Freese
Web and Print Producer
Adine Thoreen
Outreach Specialist
The Big Idea
To change how millions of girls (ages 8-13) think about STEM
Our Approach
On TV
- national PBS Kids series
On the Ground
- SciGirls clubs and activities
Online
- safe, online social networking
On TV
Features real girls doing investigations
they’re passionate about
Focus is on the total
girl, not just her
interest in STEM
Highlights the
process of science
On TV
Twelve half-hour episodes:
Turtle Mania
High-Tech Fashion
Puppet Power
Science Cooks!
Dolphin Dive
Underwater Eco-Adventure
Digging Archaeology
Robots to the Rescue!
Horsing Around
Star Power
Blowin’ in the Wind
Going Green
On the Ground
Museum Affiliates Program – The Franklin Institute
(GSG) Great Science for Girls
(NSTA) National Science Teachers Association
Girl Scouts
On the Ground
Educator Guides – Coming Soon!
Engineering
Technology
Going Green
Health
Gender Equity Handbook
pbs.org/teachers/scigirls
The SciGirls Seven
1. Girls benefit from collaboration, especially when they can
participate and communicate fairly. (Parker & Rennie, 2002; Fancsali, 2002)
Encourage working in small groups
Use different methods for forming
groups. Kids should be grouped with
different members from time to time.
Experiment with both cooperative
(assigned roles) and collaborative (no
predetermined roles) groupings.
The SciGirls Seven
Speak up promptly if a girl makes a
distasteful remark, even jokingly. Set the
rules at the start: no teasing or unfriendly talk.
Create a community atmosphere that
is open and positive. Start with “icebreaker”
activities involving communication and
teamwork.
The SciGirls Seven
2. Girls are motivated by projects they find personally relevant and
meaningful. (Eisenhart & Finkel, 1998; Thompson & Windschitl, 2005; Liston, et al. 2008)
Look for ways to connect the material to the girls’ lives.
Demonstrate and talk about your own enthusiasm for the scientific
material, and how it affects you personally.
Create a “need to know.” As you are preparing, ask yourself, why
would kids need to know this?
Use case studies. Kids generally relate to characters who face
decisions or dilemmas; they often make connections from the story to
their own lives.
The SciGirls Seven
3. Girls enjoy hands-on, open-ended projects and investigations. (Chatman,
et al., 2008; Burkam, et al.,1997; Fanscali, 2002)
Think before delivering an activity with step-by-step directions.
Don’t shortchange your girls by assuming they can’t do something
without prescribed directions. Release their inner explorer and let them
surprise you!
Encourage girls to suggest approaches to a problem. When
stumped, have girls start by identifying, drawing, or labeling things they
understand.
Resist answering the question “Is this right?” Rather, suggest ways
for girls to check the answer for themselves.
The SciGirls Seven
4. Girls are motivated when they can approach projects in their own way,
applying their creativity, unique talents and preferred learning styles.
(Eisenhart & Finkel,1998; Calabrese Barton, et al., 2008; Tan & Calabrese Barton, 2008)
Allow girls to design their own
experiments and tests. Act as a facilitator
rather than a leader or expert. Emphasize
that everyone is learning and discovering
together.
Encourage girls to communicate their
findings using a variety of techniques:
poetry, music, posters, plays, slideshows,
2D- and 3D-models, drawings, graphs, etc.
The SciGirls Seven
Use girls’ language to reiterate their
point. Use a board or large sheet of
paper to document each person’s
participation. Write the idea as you
hear it—don’t reword unless you have
permission from the speaker.
Help girls feel that they are valued
members of a group by asking them
to share personal stories. A journal
or blog (for older girls) provides an
avenue for reflection on learning.
The SciGirls Seven
5. Girls’ confidence and performance improves in response to specific,
positive feedback on things they can control – such as effort, strategies
and behaviors. (Halpern, et al., 2007; Zeldin & Pajares, 2000; Blackwell, et al., 2007; Mueller &
Dweck, 1998)
Reward success publicly and immediately. Give girls some indication of how
well they have done and how to improve. Avoid statements such as “You are
really good at this!” It sends the message that being smart doesn’t require effort
or struggle.
Convey the same level of respect for and confidence in the abilities of all
your girls. Introduce girls to the good work done by their peers. Share the
ideas, knowledge, and accomplishments of individuals with the group as a
whole.
The SciGirls Seven
Let a girl know you believe she can
improve and succeed over time.
When you identify a child’s weakness,
make it clear that your comments relate
to a particular task or performance, not
to the child as a person. The brain is a
muscle that can get stronger with time;
skills can be improved with practice.
Emphasize that working scientists
struggle and make mistakes, too.
The SciGirls Seven
6. Girls gain confidence and trust in their own reasoning when encouraged to
think critically. (Chatman, et al., 2008; Eisenhart & Finkel,1998)
Let girls rise to the challenge and embrace the scientific process.
It is okay to make mistakes; there is more than one way to solve a
problem.
Support an environment free of instant answers. Gently brush
aside girls’ anxiety about not getting the answer by refocusing their
attention on the problem at hand. Build on what they know to move
forward.
It’s okay to disagree. Stress the importance of considering different
approaches and viewpoints. Remind girls of the importance of using
solid evidence when making a claim. Consensus is not always
necessary, but listening is important.
The SciGirls Seven
7. Girls benefit from relationships with role models and mentors. (Liston, et al.,
2008; Evans, et al., 1995)
Invite guest speakers from all levels, including high school, undergraduate and
graduate students along with professional scientists.
Invite guest scientists to help lead an activity. If you are unsure of their
comfort level working with children, pair them with other educators or leaders.
Spotlight women who work on the subjects you are studying.
If you can not get someone live, show videos of female scientists.
Use SciGirls videos or DragonflyTV’s Scientist Profiles
(pbskids.org/dragonflytv/scientists).
The SciGirls Seven
Use SciGirls videos to showcase peers as
role models. The girls in each episode can
inspire others on similar projects.
Encourage mentor pairings.
Ask your girls to invite a scientist they
know to visit the group.
The SciGirls Seven in Practice
Hovercraft Activity
You’ll need (for each group):
• an empty thread spool
• a 4-inch square of cardboard
• white glue, or a hot-glue gun
• a sharpened pencil
• a balloon (12 inch, when inflated)
The SciGirls Seven in Practice
Hovercraft Activity
You’ll need (for each group):
• an empty thread spool
• a 4-inch square of cardboard
• white glue, or a hot-glue gun
• a sharpened pencil
• a balloon (12 inch, when inflated)
Have a table full of additional
supplies to promote creativity:
old CDs, water bottle caps of
various shapes & sizes, tape,
scissors, push pins, old cereal
boxes, etc…
The SciGirls Seven in Practice
Guide your kids as they:
1) Glue the bottom of the empty spool to the center of the cardboard
square.
2) Use the sharpened pencil to punch a hole in the cardboard that lines
up with the center of the spool.
3) Blow up the balloon. Hold the bottom without tying it.
4) Get your partner to hold the spool for you. While pinching the neck of
the balloon, stretch the bottom over the top of the spool, release
the neck, and lift off!
5) Experiment with different sizes and shapes of cardboard to get the
best hover out of your balloon hovercraft. Give your hovercraft a
shove along a smooth tabletop, and see how far it goes.
The SciGirls Seven in Practice
Guide your kids as they:
1) Glue the bottom of the empty spool to the center of the cardboard
square.
2) Use the sharpened pencil to punch a hole in the cardboard that lines
up with the center of the spool.
Ask girls to write a
3) Blow
up the describing
balloon. Hold
the bottom without tying it.
narrative
how
hovercrafts could be used
4) Get your partner to hold the spool for you. While pinching the neck of
to rescue families or
the
balloon,
stretch coastal
the bottom over the top of the spool, release
animals
in flooded
the
neck,orand
lift off!
areas
along
rivers.
5) Experiment with different sizes and shapes of cardboard to get the
best hover out of your balloon hovercraft. Give your hovercraft a
shove along a smooth tabletop, and see how far it goes.
The SciGirls Seven in Practice
Guide your kids as they:
Onceofhovercrafts
have been
1) Glue the bottom of the empty spool to the center
the cardboard
constructed and tested, change
square.
the focus from “best hover” to
fastest
craft, farthest
hover or
2) Use the sharpened pencil to punch a hole in
the cardboard
that lines
maneuverability/steering through
up with the center of the spool.
a course. Ask girls to redesign
meet
3) Blow up the balloon. Hold the bottom withoutto
tying
it. the new challenge.
4) Get your partner to hold the spool for you. While pinching the neck of
the balloon, stretch the bottom over the top of the spool, release
the neck, and lift off!
5) Experiment with different sizes and shapes of cardboard to get the
best hover out of your balloon hovercraft. Give your hovercraft a
shove along a smooth tabletop, and see how far it goes.
The SciGirls Seven in Practice
Guide your kids as they:
1) Glue the bottom of the empty spool to the center of the cardboard
square.
2) Use the sharpened pencil to punch a hole in the cardboard that lines
rescue worker who
up with the centerInvite
of the aspool.
may use hovercrafts or an
engineer
who without
designs
3) Blow up the balloon. Hold
the bottom
tying it.
them.
4) Get your partner to hold the spool for you. While pinching the neck of
the balloon, stretch the bottom over the top of the spool, release
the neck, and lift off!
5) Experiment with different sizes and shapes of cardboard to get the
best hover out of your balloon hovercraft. Give your hovercraft a
shove along a smooth tabletop, and see how far it goes.
Online
Girls everywhere can join the SciGirls revolution online at:
pbskidsgo.org/scigirls
Online
Girls make profiles and express themselves by customizing them.
Online
SciGirls can share their own projects. Submit yours today!
Online - GIRLS
SciGirls bilingual clubkit
Activities
pbskidsgo.org/scigirls
Online - TEACHERS
Download activity guides aligned to standards
- In-depth, inquiry-based investigations (1 hour +)
- Quick, simple inquiry-based activities (30-45 min.)
Some content available in English and Spanish!
Coming Soon: activities aligned with SciGirls 7
“If it fails, that’s what science is – trial and error.”
pbs.org/teachers/scigirls
Online - PARENTS
Download family friendly activities
Read tips for encouraging girls in STEM
Find out when SciGirls is on in your hometown
“Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play.
Every individual makes a difference.”
pbs.org/parents/scigirls
—Jane Goodall
Looking for more?
pbskidsgo.org/scigirls
pbs.org/teachers/scigirls
pbs.org/parents/scigirls
facebook.com/scigirlstv
twitter.com/SciGirls
Every Girl can be a SciGirl!