Changing the World for Good: Tech Trek Alabama Changes 8th Grade Girls’ Attitudes Towards STEM

The inaugural Alabama Tech Trek, an immersive experience for girls that have completed 7 th grade, was conducted July 20-25, 2014. Surveys conducted at the beginning of camp, at the end of the camp, and six months after the completion of camp show that girls’ confidence can be increased by the experience with significant effect remaining after the euphoria of camp has dissipated. Quantitative and qualitative data speak to increased selfefficacy in STEM fields and increased interest in pursuing a career in science or technology. Additionally, girls participating nationally in Tech Trek camps report large increases in comfort, enjoyment and interest in pursuing a career in programming as a result of taking core classes in mobile app development using App Inventor from MIT. 1.0 Introduction The American Association of University Women (AAUW) research report ”Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)”[1] found that women are vastly underrepresented in STEM majors and fields compared with their male peers. But “Why So Few?” also showed that those numbers can change when girls realize their potential in STEM at an early age. In 2012, AAUW decided to provide girls across the country the opportunity to immerse themselves in hands-on exploration of STEM topics in order to encourage them to take more advanced STEM classes in high school and go on to major in STEM fields in college. A survey of California Tech Trek alumnae has shown that they surpass the national average in advanced math and science classes [2]. Using the model developed in California, AAUW brought Tech Trek to four national sites in 2013, these sites being Oklahoma, Washington, Florida and Ohio. Tech Trek is a weeklong summer camp for rising eighth-grade girls that is designed to develop interest, excitement, and self-confidence in STEM through classes, workshops, hands-on activities, and field trips. Camps are awarded from AAUW through a competitive grant process. In 2014, Alabama, New Mexico and Oregon were awarded camps. The Alabama Trek camp, a partnership between the local AAUW branch and Institution followed the national pilot of core classes, workshops, a field trip and professional women’s night. The girls spent 14.5 hours in core classes, choosing from robotics, app development, and life science. They also gained exposure to additional areas of STEM through 14 hours of workshops. Technical workshops included instant challenges conducted by trained appraisers from Destination Imagination, rocket building and the engineering design process led by NASA Education personnel, making slime, and DNA extraction at the Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology. Non-technical presentations included communicating your big idea, STEAM, and stress release. The campers also toured a prototyping facility at Dynetics, Inc. and took the Ultimate Math Field Trip challenge at the US Space and Rocket Center. The highlight of the week was the Professional Women’s Night, an event that involved professionals rotating among groups of P ge 26344.2 girls, speed dating style. In addition to meeting professional women, the girls watched a TED video and had Tedx personnel lead a panel discussion with two of the camp counselors, one an undergraduate STEM student, and one a graduate student in a STEM field. The goal of the camp is to immerse the girls in experiential exploration of STEM fields in an all-female environment so that the girls become more confident in their ability to pursue STEM subjects. A key element of the camp is Professional Women’s Night where the girls encounter working professionals so that they see role models who look like them. 2.0 Methodology At the beginning of camp, the girls took a survey designed by the national office of AAUW to gauge the girls’ perceptions regarding STEM subjects and careers. At the end of the camp, they retook the survey. In some cases, the post survey showed that attitudes had changed based upon their experience at Tech Trek. The questions can be divided into perception questions and intention questions. The perceptions questions are listed in Table 1 and the intention questions are listed in Table 2. The girls were instructed to mark the box that best indicates how much you agree or disagree with the statement. The possible answers were Stongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, and Strongly Agree. Table 1. STEM Perception Questions Pre, Post and Six Month Surveys I like science I am interested in a career in science I am confident that I can learn science Women are not welcome in scientific jobs My parents encoursage me to pursue a career in science My teachers encourage me to pursue a career in science I plan to take advanced science classes in high school Scientists help protect the environment. Girls are as good as boys at science. Science can help me to make better choices about various things in my life (e.g., food to eat, cars to buy). Being nominated to go to Tech Trek camp means a lot to me. I like technology I am interested in a career in technology. Women are not welcome in technology jobs Girls are as good as boys at technology. My parents encourage me to pursue a career in technology. My teachers pursue me to pursue a career in technology. Knowledge of technology will help me protect the environment. My parents encourage me to learn about and use technology. I am confident that I can learn technology. I am interested in learning about what engineers do.