Successes in Increasing Nontraditional Participation
and Completion – Local Strategies and State Policies
May 12, 2011
NACTEI
Courtney Reed Jenkins
National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity Education Foundation
608/886-0728
creedjenkins@napequity.org
Overview
• What would you like as a take-away?
• STEM Equity Pipeline Project – Overview
• Local Strategies
• State Policies
• Please join us!
What the STEM Equity Pipeline Project is
doing to recruit and retain women and girls
in STEM
STEM Equity Pipeline Project:
Goals
• Build the capacity of the formal education
community
• Institutionalize the implemented strategies
by connecting the outcomes to existing
accountability systems
• Broaden the commitment to gender equity
in STEM education
STEM Equity Pipeline Project:
Intellectual Specialization
• Accountability – Using Data to Drive
Program Improvement
– The Five Step Process
• Professional Development - Implementing
Effective Extension Services in the Formal
Education Community
STEP 1
Document
Performance Results
STEP 5
Implement
Solutions
STEP 2
Identify
Root Causes
The Five
Step
Process
STEP 4
Pilot Test and
Evaluate
Best Solutions
STEP 3
Choose
Best Solutions
STEM Equity Pipeline Project:
Methods
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Professional Development
Teacher Training
Consulting and Technical Assistance
Virtual Web-based Professional Learning
Community (www.stemequitypipeline.org)
• Best Practices Handbook
State Teams
• 11 states
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California
Missouri
Illinois
Oklahoma
Wisconsin
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Iowa
Minnesota
New Hampshire
Ohio
Texas
Georgia
• Secondary
/Postsecondary
collaboration
• Led by the agencies
that administer career
and technical
education in the state
Virtual Learning Community
www.stemequitypipeline.org
• Public portal for the STEM equity pipeline community
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Listserv
Links
Articles, Resources, Reports and Research
Calendar of Events in STEM
Webcasts, Webinars, Video, Podcasts, Power Points
Online courses and Tutorials
Performance Data on Women & Girls in STEM
Professional Development Needs Assessment
Project Evaluation Instruments and Surveys
Suggestion Box
More!
How can I be involved?
• Visit the Virtual Learning Community
– Register for the listserv
– Complete the professional development
needs assessment
– Access resources and best practices
• Participate in a webinar/webcast/online
course
• Host a 5-step training
Local strategies
STEP 1
Document
Performance Results
STEP 2
Identify
Root Causes
The Five
Step
Process
STEP 3
Choose
Best Solutions
STEP 5
Implement
Solutions
STEP 4
Pilot Test and
Evaluate
Best Solutions
Data analysis
• Look at the entire STEM pipeline: where
are the leaks?
• Compare between “academic” and CTE
STEM programs for participation and
performance
• Benchmark with other programs in the
state, country
• Sex-segregated? Nontraditional?
STEP 1
Document
Performance Results
STEP 2
Identify
Root Causes
The Five
Step
Process
STEP 3
Choose
Best Solutions
STEP 5
Implement
Solutions
STEP 4
Pilot Test and
Evaluate
Best Solutions
Why Search for Root Causes?
Keep from fixating on the
“silver bullet” strategy
• Identify the conditions or factors that
cause or permit a performance gap to
occur
• Direct cause (i.e. instructional practice)
• Indirect cause (i.e. teacher training)
Resources available at
www.stemequitypipeline.org
• Survey Instruments
• How to Conduct Interviews
• How to Conduct Focus Groups
STEP 1
Document
Performance Results
STEP 5
Implement
Solutions
STEP 2
Identify
Root Causes
The Five
Step
Process
STEP 4
Pilot Test and
Evaluate
Best Solutions
STEP 3
Choose
Best Solutions
Identify Root Causes (Step 2)
Select Best Solutions (Step 3)
– Education: Academic/Technical Proficiency
– Successful programs:
• Rosie’s Girls, Northern New England
Tradeswomen
http://www.vtworksforwomen.org/programs_for_girl
s/rosies_girls.html
• Technical Opportunities Program, Chicago Women
in the Trades
http://www.chicagowomenintrades.org/artman/publ
ish/article_206.shtml
Proficiency
• Introduction to 3-D Spatial Visualization,
Sheryl Sorby,
http://www.delmarlearning.com
Identify Root Causes (Step 2)
Select Best Solutions (Step 3)
– Education: Access to and participation in
math, science, and technology
– Successful programs:
• Minot Public Schools, Minot, North Dakota,
Programs and Practices That Work, 2005 Award
Winner
http://pages.minot.k12.nd.us/votech/File/fair.htm#2
009
• Summer Camps
http://www.stemequitypipeline.org/Resources/Onlin
eResources/Programs/default.aspx
Access
• Computer programming for middle school
girls, http://www.rapunsel.org
• Tech team: manuals to coordinate teams
on computer programming,
http://www.knowitall.org/techteam
Identify Root Causes (Step 2)
Select Best Solutions (Step 3)
– Education: School/Classroom climate
– Successful programs:
• Checking Your School for Sexism
http://02b47b1.netsolhost.com/foundation/e107_im
ages/custom/(10h)%20CheckingforSexism.pdf
• Destination Success,
MAVCChttp://www.mavcc.org/
• Gender Equity Item Bank, Midwest Equity
Assistance Center
http://www.meac.org/Resources/pdf/assessment.p
df
Identify Root Causes (Step 2)
Select Best Solutions (Step 3)
– Education: Support Services
– Successful programs:
• Informal support groups (HCC)
• Support groups (Tools for Tomorrow, Madison
Area Technical College; IA State – Women in
Science and Engineering)
• Child care
• Tools, books, resources
Identify Root Causes (Step 2)
Select Best Solutions (Step 3)
– Career information: Materials and Practices
– Examples of programs:
– Michigan’s Breaking Traditions Award
– Cisco’s Gender Initiative marketing materials
– Changing College Freshmen’s Attitudes toward Women
in STEM (NTAW2, p. 38)
– U of O IT Program (NFAW2, p. 44, and NTAW, p. 39)
– WOMENTECH at Community Colleges (NFAW, p. 195):
» Community College of Rhode Island
» College of Alameda
– NASA
Career info, cont.
• Guidelines for Identifying Bias in Curriculum and
Materials, Safe Schools Coalition
http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/guidelineson
biasscreen.pdf
• Careers for Men in Early Childhood Education,
National Association for the Education of Young
Children
http://sales.naeyc.org/Itemdetail.aspx?Stock_No
=594&Category=CBrochure&SText=
Career info, cont.
• American Careers
• Am I a Fair Counselor, Destination
Success, MAVCC
http://02b47b1.netsolhost.com/foundation/
e107_images/custom/(10i)%20FairCounse
lor.pdf
• Could This Be Your Life, New Jersey
Nontraditional Career, Resource Center,
Rutgers Univ.
Career info, cont.
• • Gender Equity Tip Sheets
http://02b47b1.netsolhost.com/foundation/page.
php?14
• Bias Evaluation Instrument, Nova Scotia
Department of Education
http://www.ednet.ns.ca/pdfdocs/studentsvcs/bias
_evaluation/bias_eval_ss.pdf
• Are You Man Enough to Be a Nurse, Oregon
Center for Nursing
http://www.oregoncenterfornursing.org/documen
ts/poster_67k.jpg
Identify Root Causes (Step 2)
Select Best Solutions (Step 3)
– Career Information: Early Intervention
– Successful programs:
• Girls Redesigning and Excelling in Advanced
Technology,
http://www.miamisci.org/great/index.html
• Go-Girl: Gaining Options – girls investigate real
life, http://www.smartgirl.org
Identify Root Causes (Step 2)
Select Best Solutions (Step 3)
– Career information: Characteristics of an
occupation
– Successful programs:
• Beyond the Beakers: Smart Advice on Entering
Graduate Programs in the Science and
Engineering,
http://www.bcm.edu/smart/?PMID=2993
• Think again…girls can! Videos,
http://www.girlscan.org
Identify Root Causes (Step 2)
Select Best Solutions (Step 3)
– Family: Family Characteristics and
Engagement
– Successful programs:
• Talented Girls Bright Futures, Publication by
Project Lead the Way
http://www.pltw.org/inforeq.shtml
• American Careers Parent Magazine, Nontraditional
Careers Edition,
http://www.napequity.org/page.php?18
• Tech Savvy Girls Video and Resource Guide,
http://www.aauw.org/research/all.cfm
Family, cont.
• FIRST (Female Involvement in Real
Science Technology),
http://www.chabotspace.org/visit/programs
/first.asp
• Explanatoids,
http://www.explanatoids.com
Identify Root Causes (Step 2)
Select Best Solutions (Step 3)
– Internal/Individual: Self-efficacy
– Successful programs:
• Carol Dweck, Mindset
• National Science Partnership for Girl Scouts and
Science Museums,
http://www.fi.edu/tfi/programs/nsp.html
• Improving Girls’ Self-Efficacy with Virtual Peers,
http://www.create.usu.edu/mathgirls.html
Identify Root Causes (Step 2)
Select Best Solutions (Step 3)
– Internal/Individual: Attribution
– Successful programs:
• Gaining Confidence in Math: Intelligent Tutors with
Custom Design for Girls,
http://k12.usc.edu/AW/index.html
Identify Root Causes (Step 2)
Select Best Solutions (Step 3)
– Internal/Individual: Stereotype threat
– Successful programs:
• Girls Creating Games,
http://programservices.etr.org/gcgweb/
• Imagination Place!,
http://www.edc.org/CCT/imagination_place/
• Challenging gender stereotypes with computerbased social models,
http://ritl.fsu.edu/_Website/projectsPals.asp
Stereotype threat, cont.
• Engineering, Science, and Math Increase
Job Aspirations (Es Mija),
http://www.idra.org
Identify Root Causes (Step 2)
Select Best Solutions (Step 3)
– Societal issues: Media (positive)
– Successful programs:
• Men Teach http://www.menteach.org/
• Cisco Gender Initiative Strategies, I am an
Engineer, Cisco Systems, Inc.
http://gender.ciscolearning.org/Strategies/Strategie
s_by_Type/U.S._High_Schools/Index.html
• SciGirls, http://www.pbskids.org/dragonflytv
• NASA Space Club
• Her Own Words, videos and posters
Positive media
• Transforming the Role of Women and
Girls in Science and Engineering (CD set)
and Audio Portraits of Women in STEM,
http://www.womeninscience.org
• You can be Anything! A music video,
http://www.umbc.edu/be-anything
Identify Root Causes (Step 2)
Select Best Solutions (Step 3)
– Societal issues: Peers
– Successful programs:
• After-school science plus,
http://edequity.org/afterschool_materials.php
• Scheduling
Identify Root Causes (Step 2)
Select Best Solutions (Step 3)
– Societal issues: Role Models/Mentoring
– Successful programs:
– IWITTS
– Community-based Mentoring (NFAW, p. 49)
– RISE: Research Internship in Science and Engineering
(NFAW, p. 21)
– MentorNet: http://www.mentornet.net/
– IA State Women in Science and Engineering (Carol
Heaverlo, Outreach Coordinator, (515) 294-5883 or
heaverlo@iastate.edu)
Role models, cont.
• Girls E-Mentoring in Science, Engineering and
Technology GEM-SET, Univ. of IL, Chicago
http://www.uic.edu/orgs/gem-set/
• IGNITE, Seattle Public School System
http://www.ignite-us.org/
• Nontraditional Student Mentoring Program,
Northeast Community College
http://www.napequity.org/page.php?16
• Telementoring,
http://www.edc.org/CCT/telementoring/index2.html
Identify Root Causes (Step 2)
Select Best Solutions (Step 3)
– Societal issues: Collaboration
– Successful programs:
• Girl Scouts
• Operation SMART, Girls, Inc.
http://www.girlsinc.org/about/programs/operation-smart.html
• National Girls Collaborative Project, Program Directory
http://www.pugetsoundcenter.org/ngcp/
• Expanding Your Horizons
http://www.expandingyourhorizons.org/
Resources
• STEM Equity Pipeline Project
http://www.stemequitypipeline.org/
• National Science Foundation, New
Formulas
http://www.nsf.gov/ehr/hrd/Newformulas/n
ewformulas.jsp
• WEPAN Knowledge Center
http://www.wepanknowledgecenter.org/ho
me
State policies
• Require LEAs to participate in 5-step/data
retreat when they do not meet nontrad
participation and completion requirements
– KS
– MO
State policies, cont.
• Align discretionary grants with the 5step/data retreat process
– IA ($100,000-$150,000/yr investment)
State policies, cont.
• Host voluntary annual 5-step/data retreat
for LEAs
– IL
– MN
– WI
– TX
– CA
Please join us!