STEAM Sessions
Breakout Sessions
Beyond the Pipeline: Creating Cultures of Participation for Girls and Women in STEM
Much has been written about how to best repair the leaky pipeline for girls and women in STEM. But what if we shifted our approach? What if the pipeline metaphor makes our thinking too linear and too restrictive? In this presentation, we will examine the relevant research that pushes us to think about creating cultures of participation for girls and women in STEM, with (unexpected) pathways and entry points along the way. Participants will examine the three most researched influencers of engagement in STEM: curriculum, mentorship, and partnerships through this expanded, three-dimensional lens.
PRESENTERS: Mariandl Hufford, Assistant Head of School and Director, Center for the Advancement of Girls and Wendy Hill, Ph.D., Head of School | The Agnes Irwin School (USA)
Encouraging Girls to Fail Early and Often in STEM Subjects
Experienced math and science teachers share insights about how to support girls in embracing failure as a pathway towards growth and achievement. Girls statistically shy away from STEM subjects like math, physics, and engineering, and at our STEM-focused school we needed to develop a strategy for encouraging their willingness to try new things and be willing to fail. Attendees will leave with specific classroom strategies as well as whole school “big picture” ways to inspire girls to see failure as a step towards success.
PRESENTERS: Emilie Hill, Science Department Chair; Michele Nieves, Math Department Chair; and Elizabeth Keilty, Science Teacher | Girls Academic Leadership Academy (USA)
Gender Stereotypes about Intellectual Ability Emerge Early and Influence Children’s Interests
Common stereotypes associate high-level intellectual ability (brilliance, genius, etc.) with men more than women. These stereotypes discourage women’s pursuit of many prestigious careers; that is, women are underrepresented in fields whose members cherish brilliance (e.g., physics, philosophy). In this talk, I will describe evidence that these stereotypes are endorsed by, and influence the interests of, children as young as 6. Specifically, 6-year-old girls are less likely than boys to believe that members of their gender are “really, really smart.” Also at 6, girls begin to avoid activities said to be for children who are “really, really smart.” These findings suggest that gendered notions of brilliance are acquired early and have an immediate impact on children’s interests.
PRESENTER: Andrei Cimpian, Associate Professor of Psychology | New York University (USA)
STEAM Education: An Educational Model for the Future
This seminar will cover a new educational model that aims to prepare pupils aged 3-18 for the future that awaits them. Talbot Heath School is introducing a STEAM and interdisciplinary curriculum across the school which is being delivered in conjunction with business and experts from Higher Education. It will be a pilot for academic research into a new pedagogical approach designed to prepare pupils for 2030 and beyond.
PRESENTERS: Angharad Holloway, Headteacher | Talbot Heath School (UK)
INSPIRE! Sessions
Affective Skills in a STEAM Makerspace
Affective learning objectives focus on the emotional domain and overlap with social and emotional skills; including values, attitudes, and mindsets about ways of learning and working. We will discuss traits to isolate particular affective learning objectives as part of a Makerspace STEAM curriculum. We will share our obstacles and success of our own hands on maker education. Attendees will also have the opportunity to collaborate together to develop a plan to implement affective skills they can take back to their campus. Examples of affective objectives are, but not limited to, collaboration, feedback, self-direction, iteration, and resolving conflict.
PRESENTERS: Bethany Seagroves, Makerspace Coordinator/Advanced Academic Services and Erica Campos, Makerspace Coordinator/Media Specialist | Solar Preparatory School for Girls (USA)
Closing the Spatial Reasoning Gap: Practical Ideas for Helping Girls Strengthen Spatial Reasoning Skills
Research demonstrates that students with strong spatial reasoning skills are more likely to pursue STEM majors and find success in STEM careers. Research also shows a correlation between teachers’ spatial skills and students’ end-of-year spatial skills. While women are making tremendous gains in STEM fields, differences in spatial reasoning and logic skills may be perpetuating gender gaps in areas such as computer science. In this workshop, we’ll briefly discuss the importance of logic and spatial reasoning skills. We’ll provide practical tips, strategies, resources, and classroom examples for teaching logic and spatial reasoning to girls from Lower through Upper School.
PRESENTERS: Jennifer Vermillion, Digital Learning and Innovation Specialist; William Berry, Middle School Instructional Technology Specialist; and Ann Hamilton-Dixon, Lower School Instructional Technology Specialist and Coordinator | St. Catherine’s School (USA)
Developing the Next Generation of Females in STEM: A Landmark Partnership
Girls Prep has distinguished itself in cultivating an early love of math and science among girls, especially with its unique math and science structure in elementary school. Through an innovative, three-year partnership with BioBus, PhD and Masters-level scientists share their expertise and knowledge by creating hands-on learning experiences that can inspire Girls Prep scholars’ interest and passion for STEM-related careers.
PRESENTERS: Ian Rowe, Chief Executive Officer | Public Prep Network (USA) and Sarah Weisberg, Chief Scientist | BioBus (USA)
Engaging Girls in STEAM through Design Thinking and Interdisciplinary Projects
After working in the new makerspace with a variety of grades, classes, and integration projects, we are excited to share with you the exciting outcomes and lessons learned at Hewitt School. Over the years, the technology program was a combination of push-in lessons, borrowed classrooms, and mobile equipment. We will share with you the benefits we’ve seen in the girls’ learning and emotional engagement in having a dedicated classroom for STEAM education. Sample projects include furniture design for teachers, literature inspired boxes, plushie monsters, and coded sculptures.
PRESENTERS: Erik Nauman, Technology Integrator and Young Kim, Technology Integrator | The Hewitt School (USA)
Fostering STEAM Leadership Through Co-Curricular STEAM Activities
In this session, we will explore four successful initiatives that we have implemented in our all girls private school that inspire and empower our students to be Communal STEAM leaders: (1) STEAM Talks, which brings together highly successful women in STEAM careers to broaden students’ career scope and aspirations; (2) a student-run YouTube Channel that highlights successful women in STEAM Careers; (3) Genius Bar, a reverse mentorship program where our students teach women technology skills; and (4) Better Together, a cooperative program between a local old age home and our students in which the students design technological solutions for the residents’ daily challenges.
PRESENTERS: Gila Stein, Science Department Chair and Co-Director of STEAM Education and Orly Nadler, Director of Technology and Co-Director of STEAM Education | Ma’ayanot High School (USA)
Girls Create Code to Ignite the [A] in STEAM: A One Year Case Study
Mayfield Senior School partnered with Vidcode to integrate code into extant curriculum and establish a path to grow a robust computer science program. Collaboration, growth mindset, and computational and design thinking encourage creative play to engage young women learners and empower authorship of their own education. Through a dual pronged approach of integration across the curriculum coupled with an online learning platform with campus based teacher support, all students gain an individualized foundation in JavaScript without taking a standalone computer science course. Code effectively escapes the computer science silo through practical and creative application in all academic subjects.
PRESENTER: Katarina Pasinsky, Head of Teacher Experience | Vidcode (USA)
Human-Centered Design
This session will discuss using Human-Centered Design, or Design Thinking, in elementary settings. Participants will see examples of kindergarten through 2nd grade students using Design Thinking to redesign the school’s Lost and Found and also to improve the day-to-day experience of the school hamster, Ms. Carrots. See examples of student work through each phase of the design process and get ideas for ways to engage students in solving problems that impact their own classrooms and school community.
PRESENTER: Jennifer Turner, Assistant Principal | Solar Preparatory School for Girls (USA)
The Importance of Engineering at an All-Girls School
This INSPIRE! session will get teachers discussing the importance of offering engineering courses at an all-girls school and discovering they keys to unlocking girls’ potential. Two specific courses, Introduction to Chemical and Mechanical Engineering and Introduction to Computer Aided Design, will be offered as example courses that were first-year initiatives at National Cathedral School during the 2017-2018 school year. The group will discuss obstacles that arise when trying to initiate these courses in terms of space, equipment, teacher background, and student engagement. Specific feedback given by students from these first year courses mentioned above will also be shared.
PRESENTER: Connor Ahlborn, Upper School Science Teacher | National Cathedral School (USA)
Seams to Sculpture: STEM in Art Applications
At St. Joseph Academy, the Andrea Clesi McMakin’74 STEM Lab acts as a hub for projects on campus. Supporting laser cutting fabric, 3D printing art portfolios, AP art student work and more, the lab space is used as a tool to incorporate STEM skills into artistic endeavors and provide an avenue for students who have self selected in non-STEM areas to explore these skills. SJA students and teachers will share a selection of the cross curricular projects they have completed using the tools of the lab and discuss how a STEM-centric space can be used to support non-STEM endeavors.
PRESENTERS: Claire Luikart, STEM Lab Director and Amy Neck, Family and Consumer Science Head | St Joseph’s Academy (USA)
Using STEAM to Engage Girls: Results from the National Study of Girls’ Schools
Drawing on findings from the National Study of Girls’ Schools, this session explores what nearly 1,500 girls and 500 of their teachers told us about what motivates and engages them in the classroom. Using the students’ and teachers’ own examples, we delve into the ways that elements of STEAM and Maker approaches to education are empowering young women and helping disrupt persistent internal and external stereotypes that continue to divert many young women from STEM fields. We will present classroom activities and approaches that teachers can apply to their lessons to engage both ardent and reluctant students.
PRESENTERS: Charlotte Jacobs, Associate Director | Penn Independent School Teaching Residency (USA) and Shannon Andrus, Educational Researcher | Teaching Girls Well (USA)