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Promoting engagement and more importantly retention of girls in STEM

17 February, 2019 By Sarah Chapman Leave a Comment

To reshape and better up skill the future workforce, the focus must begin with education, as “STEM education underpins innovation and plays a critical role in economic and business growth” (PwC, 2015). Further, education in STEM is recommended as being the key to broadening community understandings of what STEM is saying and doing about the complex problems facing society, now and in the future (Office of the Chief Scientist, 2013).

Young people need to be digitally competent, adaptable and adopt core competencies that will enable them to respond to the ever-changing workforce (CEDA, 2015). STEM is a key driver of innovation and entrepreneurship that can significantly impact on the economy (PwC, 2015) and 21st century skills are recognised as a key component within a STEM skills set that enable young people to achieve success in our evolving workforce (World Economic Forum, 2016).

Increasing the engagement of young people in STEM will enable the building of aspirations for a lifelong journey in STEM. There are currently inequities that exist in STEM in Australia. Girls, students from low socio-economic status backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and students from non-metropolitan areas are currently less likely to engage in STEM education and are at higher risk of not developing high capabilities in STEM-related skills (Education Council, 2015). As a result, these groups are more likely to miss out on the opportunities STEM-related occupations can offer.

To increase our STEM workforce, a priority needs to be made to harness the STEM talents within these groups. Currently, only 16% of STEM qualified people in Australia are female (Office of the Chief Scientist, 2016). Besides there being the requirement for equity in the workforce in terms of pay and career progression for women (Prinsley, et.al., 2016), a significant priority needs to made to promote the engagement and retention of underrepresented groups in STEM.

Practical insights for implementing STEM programs: targeting girls

There are a diverse range of barriers and drivers that inhibit or enhance the engagement and retainment of girls in STEM-related pathways. The drivers often vary depending on the barriers that arise. The diversity of these barriers vary from country to country and for girls of different backgrounds. This issue deserves dedicated research to be completed within the Australian context to best identify the specific barriers that exist for girls in this country, and the key drivers for engaging Australian girls. Through the Fellowship research, observations were made around the key challenges and strategies required to engage girls from the perspective of the organisations visited in different countries.

Challenges/Barriers observed for girls engaging with STEM

  • The fear of failure and lack of confidence of young girls in STEM
  • The lack of relevance to everyday life, STEM being an abstract construct
  • Lack of links to the ‘humanness’ around STEM
  • Parents/Caregivers lack of understanding and therefore lack of support towards STEM pathways
  • Misconceptions and stereotypes perceptions around STEM industries and professions
  • Lack of funds to access opportunities for disadvantaged girls
  • Lack of role models in STEM industries and post-secondary education, particularly in leadership positions
  • Challenges around the culture of STEM industries and support for women to thrive
  • Lack of clarity on STEM careers (including job titles) and professional activities.

Messaging: Effective messaging can attract girls to consider STEM and help girls to envision themselves as STEM professionals, as well as help to support their key influencers. This includes the consideration of effective messaging strategies from marketing to role model interactions.

Key tips for effective messaging:

  • Use adjectives to describe and characterise STEM professional roles and activities.
  • Have role models and volunteers share their interests and activities outside of their STEM-related activities.
  • Develop resources for individual STEM fields for targeted messaging and information.
  • Evaluate STEM program and organisation media for unconscious bias, and ensure diverse representation in media.

Girls-only opportunities: Offering girls-only experiences and learning spaces provides the opportunity for girls to be empowered and feel comfortable to question, experiment and lead in STEM. By structuring these safe environments girls are more willing to try and experiment with STEM.

Key tips to design positive girls-only opportunities and spaces:

  • Provide a comfortable and safe learning environment.
  • Create a gender-neutral environment, free of “STEM stereotypes”.
  • Provide opportunities for girls to connect with female mentors in STEM.
  • Ensure the environment supports girls to try, play and fail without judgement.

Family involvement: The involvement of family, especially parents, in STEM learning experiences is invaluable in providing support for girls engaging in STEM experiences. Parents are role models and key influencers of a girl’s career pathway considerations. Involving family in STEM, not only enriches a girl’s experiences, it also connects STEM into the home.

Key tips to promote family involvement:

  • Host orientation and family evenings that family members can be involved in.
  • Provide updates for family members on achievements and opportunities Authentic connections: Connecting with real world experiences that make an impact and diverse female experts for support and inspiration, can provide girls with authentic STEM connections and opportunities that promote sustained engagement.

Authentic Connections: Connecting young people with real world experiences that make an impact and diverse female experts for support and inspiration, can provide girls with authentic STEM connections and opportunities that promote sustained engagement.

Key tips to enable girls to build authentic connections:

  • Industry visits and experiences.
  • STEM projects that solve compelling problems, with real life contexts for ‘social good’.
  • Mentorship programs where girls link with diverse female STEM experts.

This blog includes excerpts from Engaging the Future of STEM. Authors: Ms Sarah Chapman & Dr Rebecca Vivian. A study of international best practice for promoting the participation of young people, particularly girls, in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). This research was conducted as part of the 2016 Barbara Cail STEM Fellowship and funded by the Australian Government (Office for Women, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet), in partnership with the Chief Executive Women (CEW) Ltd.

Come and meet me at the Leading a Digital School Conference where I will be providing authentic international and national examples that exemplify the promotion of engagement and retention of girls in STEM.

For reference list please refer to: Engaging the Future of STEM
 

Filed Under: Advancing Cultures of Innovation, Community, Innovation, Leadership, Learning Spaces, Personalised Learning, STEM Tagged With: Authentic, Change, collaboration, culture, culture of innovation, Education, engagement, Future, girlsinstem, research, retention, STEM, teaching

Droning In The Classroom

28 November, 2018 By John Pearce Leave a Comment

If we are to believe futurist Thomas Frey, drones will become the most disruptive technology in human history. To be fair Frey’s definition of a drone is more than the flying Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAV’s we typically think of when we talk of drones. The reality is though that drones are more than just flying cameras, they’re being used to deliver goods, fight climate change, monitor reefs, supply humanitarian aid, and take part in races.

My involvement with drones is via the statewide VCMP project which uses them to monitor coastal erosion hotspots. “The Victorian Coastal Monitoring Program aims to provide communities with information on coastal condition, change, hazards, and the expected longer-term impacts associated with climate change that will support decision making and adaptation planning.”

As a citizen scientist I’m part of a local team that uses a Phantom 4 drone, aeropoint satellite based markers and some pretty clever software that lets us measure the amount of sand that is shifted along sections of a beach. We do this by overflying sections of the local coast at around two monthly intervals and then crunch the data with the Australian Propellor software. This software allows users to draw virtual transects or plots along or across the beach to compare data across a range of dates. From this we can calculate the amount of sand movement and/or changes in the beach profile amongst other information. The software also enables users to render 3D representations of the beach.

In order to participate in the program we had to undertake some basic training in using the drone safely and efficiently. Whilst not a full remote pilots licence the training did cover off on most of the practical aspects required to get licence certification. We were also made aware of and have to comply with the Civil Aviation Safety Authorities, CASA, rules for flying sub-2kg drones.

Prior to becoming involved in this program I had purchased a couple of small entry level drones with a view to investigating if and where drones might fit within the school curriculum. Since that time a number of things have happened which have sharpened this focus.

The two major consumer drone manufacturers, DJI and Parrot have realised that the education sector is a market that could be tapped into. As a consequence both companies have adapted previous entry level models to better reflect the needs of schools. At the same time educators around the world have also been developing specialised drone options with students in mind. Most of the skills involved in learning to safely fly these entry level drones can also be applied to more sophisticated models, flying a continuous and even figure eight pattern is just as tricky with my Parrot mambo as it is with my Mavic Pro.

Both DJI and Mambo are developing some excellent support materials aimed specifically at the education market. Some major third party developers including Swift Playgrounds amongst others are also developing learning options. Importantly a number of these third party supports originate in Australia and are designing and providing content that fits the Australian Curriculum.

Drones provide a very practical means to develop STEAM projects. In order to best utilize drones it is important to understand the physics of flight and the various systems that combine to keep drones airborne. Designing and making drones fits perfectly within a STEAM framework bringing together science understanding within a design process that involves multiple systems. In addition to basic design work, drone kits provide the opportunity to devise, prototype and test novel uses for drones. The process of constructing drones, (and sometimes flying drones), often involves quite a lot of “trial and error” learning which provides a perfect context for building resilience and learning from failure. Even the best pilots have at least one malfunction.

The better entry level drones come with simple in-built cameras which can be employed to capture images that can be used as evidence of mission completion or as data for analysis. More sophisticated drones can be used in data gathering across the curriculum especially in geography, geology and the natural environment. LEGO connectors on entry level drones enable the addition of lightweight components which can be used to simulate real world missions. In the real world, drones are now also being used to take the place of fireworks and other lighting effects, again something that is within the scope of the classroom.

Another drone component worth considering is an FPV, or first person view camera. When paired with goggles these cameras provides students with an entree to the exciting world of drone racing and open up the many maths based explorations that are involved in this activity. Whilst flying a drone race can be full of thrills, designing courses that are challenging but realistic can be just as exciting.

A number of the entry level drones can also be controlled using code from block based through to Python and Arduino. This opens up the opportunity for students to devise, program and fly missions that mimic real world applications. If students are working with more sophisticated drones there are a number of software options available to plan and run missions. Whether using smartphones, controllers or software, flying and coding drones can be quite different to doing similar tasks using terrestrial based vehicles.

Of course with any new technology there is a cost involved and other considerations to take account of. Flying time is one of these; some entry level models typically provide 8-10 minutes of air time per 30 minute charge. With the better options users can purchase combos that have multiple batteries and spare propellers. With micro drones it’s important to understand the control range after which the drone may ‘get lost’. When looking at larger drones it’s important to consider the camera capability as well as navigation features such as collision avoidance and return to base features.

Overlaying all of these consideration is that drones are becoming increasingly available; some are available for as little as $20 from popular stores such as K-Mart. Micro-drones that fit into the palm of your hand can be purchased online again for very minimal cost. Despite the fact that these products contain flyers and instructions on safe and responsible drone use, experience suggests that these are often ignored. Schools offer an opportunity for a more structured review of these rules. Working with drones in schools also provides an opportunity to discuss and consider privacy and other issues associated with drones. Schools also provides a context for learning safe procedures; most damage to drones occurs not in flight but in packing, unpacking and transport.

Having hands-on experience with even entry level drones enables students to better consider options for the use of drones in the wider world. It can also lead to senior level students undertaking certificate level qualifications and even RePL, (remote pilot licences) as is already happening in a number of settings.

Come and meet me at the Leading a Digital School Conference where I will be facilitating hands-0n workshops around Droning in the Classroom, Augmented and Virtual Reality, Engineering Robots, Coding and Data.

Filed Under: Digital Technologies, Innovation, STEM Tagged With: design, Drones, Innovation, STEAM

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