It is often said that girls either are not interested in STEM subjects or are left out for various reasons. Some of this “common knowledge” is actually a myth – girls are interested in SOME STEM areas, such as biology, but not others, such as computer science. This session will take a deep dive into these myths and realities to discover what is really attractive to girls in elementary and secondary schools in STEM subjects. Participants will learn about the Maker Movement and the potential to bring new tools and technology to K-12 classrooms to support hands-on learning across all grades and curriculum – but particularly STEM and STEAM. The implications of the Maker Movement are two-fold. One is that many of the technological inventions support areas that are of particular interest to girls, such as inventions that help people, sewable electronics, e-textiles, bio-materials, and community projects. The second is that the collaborative, tinkering nature of the Maker Movement dovetails with girls ability to work collaboratively and in a connected way. By exploring best practices from schools around the world that have successfully created strong STEM programs for girls, the participants in this session will be able to take away ideas and resources that will be of use in their own schools and districts. (This was a session presented at ISTE 2015.) (All citations can be found at http://sylviamartinez.com/girls-stem

1. Girls & STEM:
Making it
Happen
Sylvia Martinez
sylvia@inventtolearn.com
Twitter: @smartinez
sylviamartinez.com

2. Invent To Learn:
Making,Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom
www.InventToLearn.com
Maker tools, materials, & tech
Tinkering mindset
Engineering design
How to make the case for
“making” in the classroom
robotics e-textiles 3D printing Arduino Scratch Raspberry Pi
programming electronics sensors laser cutters STEM/STEAM

3. National Girls Collaborative Project
ngcproject.org/exemplary-practices-overview
• Engaging Girls in STEM
• Access & Equity
• Collaboration
• Evaluation & Assessment
One Stop for Resources
All resources: sylviamartinez.com/stem-girls

4. Sobering Statistics about
Women and STEM Jobs
• "Women have seen no employment growth in
STEM jobs since 2000" - Forbes.
• Women leave STEM jobs at a significantly higher
rate then men - often citing gender issues

6. Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women’s Success in Engineering and
Computing - American Association of University Women (AAUW)

9. Securing Australia’s Future STEM: Country Comparisons - Australian Council of Learned Academies

10. Common issues
• There are no women in computer science because
there are no women in computer science.
• Culture
• Economics
• Stereotypes
• Stereotype threat
• Lack of encouragement
• Discrimination

11. Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women’s Success in Engineering and Computing - American Association of University Women (AAUW)

12. Discrimination
Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women’s Success in Engineering and Computing - American Association of University Women (AAUW)

13. Leaky bucket
Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women’s Success in Engineering and Computing - American Association of University Women (AAUW)

14. 2001

15. Generation STEM: What girls say about Science,Technology, Engineering,
and Math - Girl Scouts of the USA (2012) (Girls 14-17)

16. Teacher bias
• Statistically, teachers give boys more
opportunity to figure out the solution to a
problem by themselves while telling the girls to
follow the rules.
• Teachers are also more likely to accept
questions from boys while telling girls to wait
their turn.
• Teachers rate girls ability in math lower than
boys, in spite of grades & test scores

17. Teacher Attitudes
• Math anxiety impacts student learning
• Elementary education majors have some of the
highest levels of mathematics anxiety
• Female teachers’ math anxiety disproportionally
affects girls’ math achievement
(elementary study; 90% of elementary teachers are female)
Beilock, Sian L., et al. "Female teachers’ math anxiety affects girls’ math achievement." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107.5 (2010): 1860-1863.
Gresham, Gina. "A study of mathematics anxiety in pre-service teachers." Early Childhood Education Journal 35.2 (2007): 181-188.
Teachers’ Spatial Anxiety Relates to 1st- and 2nd-Graders’ Spatial Learning

18. • More boys than girls perform at the very highest levels in
spatial reasoning and math ability tests
• However, girls get better grades in math and science
• Test scores tend to under-predict girls’ success in college math
courses.
• Females who have high math abilities are more likely than males
with high math abilities to choose careers in non-math intensive
areas.This preference shows up as early as adolescence.
• Females who have high math abilities are also more likely than
males who have high math abilities to also have high verbal
abilities, giving them more choices of majors/careers to pursue.
Given the barriers, maybe this is a reasonable choice!
Women’s underrepresentation in science: Sociocultural and biological considerations. (2009)
Effective STEM Programs for Adolescent Girls: Three Approaches and Many Lessons Learned (2013)

19. Leaky pipeline + leaky bucket

20. What can we do?

22. Girls more likely to:
• Girls are more likely to look to the teacher for
clues on how to behave or what to choose
• Collaborate & strive for consensus
• Let others take credit
• Take the blame
• Decline to compete for scarce materials
• Take on organizational roles
• Be compliant and adapt

23. Stereotype Threat
Is the threat (and resultant anxiety)
of confirming a negative stereotype
about one's group - including race,
gender, and other identities.
(Steele & Aronson, 1995)

24. Stereotype Threat

25. Solutions
• Discuss stereotypes; similar to growth mindset
• Role models, peer mentors, & non-gendered
examples
• Real world problems and projects
• Focus on helping others
• Gender-neutral spaces
• Change how STEM subjects are taught

26. Problem Solving
• Dr. Seymour Papert defined two
styles of problem solving:
analytical and bricolage
• Bricolage - French for tinkering,
using found objects, playfulness
in creation
• Higher grades = more analytical
• Real world is both

27. Mastery styles
Sherry Turkle
• Hard mastery - linear, rigid, abstract,
solitary
• Soft mastery - non-linear, messy,
concrete, collaborative
• Hard mastery - academic & rigorous...
masculine
• Soft mastery - naive & lazy... feminine

28. "The bricoleur resembles the painter who stands
back between brushstrokes, looks at the canvas,
and only after this contemplation, decides what to do
next." - Sherry Turkle

29. Top 10 Ways To Be a Male
Advocate for Technical Women
1. Listen to women's stories
2. Talk to other men (privately & publicly)
3. Seek out ways to recruit women
4. Increase the number and visibility of female leaders
5. Mentor and sponsor women/have a woman mentor
National Center of Women & Informational Technology - https://www.ncwit.org/resources/read-online-maleadvocate

30. Top 10 Ways To Be a Male
Advocate for Technical Women
6. Notice and correct micro-inequities or instances of
unconscious bias
7. Establish accountability metrics
8. Model alternative work/life strategies & balance
9. Make discussions of gender less “risky"
10. Reach out to formal and informal women's groups
National Center of Women & Informational Technology - https://www.ncwit.org/resources/read-online-maleadvocate

31. MakeHers: Engaging Girls and Women in Technology through Making, Creating, and Inventing intel.com/girlsintech

34. MakeHers: Engaging Girls and Women in Technology through Making, Creating, and Inventing intel.com/girlsintech

35. Fabrication

40. Physical Computing
• Low-cost, open source microprocessors & software
• Add interactivity to the real world
• Connect analog to digital world with sensors, cameras,
bluetooth, wireless
• “Internet of Things”
Raspberry Pi - $35 computer Arduino E-textiles

42. Sensor glove - CMU
Interactive corset that teaches
deep breathing techniques
Wearable soundscape
triggered by heartbeat

44. Imogen Heap

45. Programming
• Global call for
teaching
programming
• New languages
for every goal
and age
• Shareable code
• Key to unlocking
educational value
of making

46. Scratch is free and designed for learning with connections
to robotics and modern materials

47. Scratch connects to
robots and real world

48. Cardboard Construction
Makedo Rolobox Hummingbird

50. MaKey MaKey

51. MaKey MaKey

52. Squishy Circuits
• Homemade dough
• Conductive/
Insulating
• Make circuits!

53. Conductive materials
• Conductive thread
• Copper tape, foil
• Conductive ink, paint,
glue
• Conductive fabric
• Graphite pencils

54. Conductive materials
• Conductive thread
• Copper tape, foil
• Conductive ink, paint,
glue
• Conductive fabric
• Graphite pencils
DIYgirls.org

57. If
technical
tinkering,
STEM,
and
digital
fabrication
are
the
economic
forces
that
will
empower
Makers,
and
women
and
people
of
color
are
not
participating
in
these
activities
in
a
visible
way,
that
power
will
remain
unequally
distributed.
When
gender
is
discussed
in
relation
to
the
maker
movement,
the
conversation
starts
with
the
notion
that
Making
creates
a
unique
opportunity
for
inclusive
participation,
and
is
quickly
followed
by
the
question
‘how
can
we
get
more
women
to
participate?’
Generally,
the
responses
focus
on
transforming
women,
on
areas
that
need
to
be
corrected,
such
as
raising
confidence,
creating
more
woman/girl
friendly
learning
environments,
increasing
ability
in
math
and
science,
and
so
on.
The
women
themselves
cause
the
problem;
they
lack
confidence,
they
are
unable
to
learn
in
the
‘normal’
STEM
environment,
they
do
not
embrace
their
full
capability
in
math
and
science.
It
is
the
women
who
are
deficient.
Power,
Access,
Status:
The
Discourse
of
Race,
Gender,
and
Class
in
the
Maker
Movement
-­‐
Lauren
Britton
Making is not a magic wand…

58. Great materials +
Inspiration

60. Next Generation
Science Standards
• Significant increase in integration of engineering and
technology from previous science standards
• Elevates engineering design to same level of
importance as scientific inquiry
• Two reasons given:
• Aspirational: Scientific challenges are motivating and
young people want to make the world a better place
• Practical:The process of design is not the same as
the scientific method.

61. Scantron mathface http://www.flickr.com/photos/schestok/414196453/
This is not science!

62. To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard
old problems from a new angle, requires creative
imagination and marks real advance in science.
Albert Einstein

63. Girls & STEM
• Embrace all learning styles
• Address stereotypes honestly and give all
students tools to overcome them
• Real world projects
• Address teacher anxiety and biases
• Change how STEM subjects are taught

64. STEM For All
• Embrace all learning styles
• Address stereotypes honestly and give all
students tools to overcome them
• Real world projects
• Address teacher anxiety and biases
• Change how STEM subjects are taught

65. How do teachers learn to teach this way?
http://www.inventtolearn.com/workshops/
http://constructingmodernknowledge.com

67. Events
Resources
Free stuff
Project ideas
New books
Email newsletter
friend@inventtolearn.com

68. Seize this moment in history to give ALL kids
the mindset, tools, and techniques to
make sense and take charge of their world.

69. Let’s make it
happen!
www.inventtolearn.com
Sylvia Martinez
sylvia@inventtolearn.com
Twitter: @smartinez

70. Resources
Maker
Invent To Learn
MakeHers: Engaging Girls and Women in Technology through Making, Creating, and Inventing (Intel infographic)
Power, Access, Status: The Discourse of Race, Gender, and Class in the Maker Movement
Leah Buechley - Gender, Making, and the Maker Movement (video from FabLearn 2013)
Associations
National Girls Collaborative Project (links to many others)
National Council of Women and Informational Technology
American Association of University Women
WISE (UK) - campaign to promote women in science, technology, and engineering
Other posts about gender issues, stereotype threat, and other topics mentioned in this session
Stereotype Threat - Why it matters
Inclusive Makerspaces (article for EdSurge)
What a Girl Wants: Self-direction, technology, and gender
Self-esteem and me (a girl) becoming an engineer
Research
Securing Australia’s Future STEM: Country Comparisons - Australian Council of Learned Academies
Generation STEM: What girls say about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math - Girl Scouts of the USA (2012) (Girls 14-17)
Effective STEM Programs for Adolescent Girls: Three Approaches and Many Lessons Learned
Women’s underrepresentation in science: Sociocultural and biological considerations. (2009)
Gresham, Gina. "A study of mathematics anxiety in pre-service teachers." Early Childhood Education Journal 35.2 (2007): 181-188.
Beilock, Sian L., et al. "Female teachers’ math anxiety affects girls’ math achievement." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107.5
(2010): 1860-1863.
Teachers’ Spatial Anxiety Relates to 1st- and 2nd-Graders’ Spatial Learning
Statistics
National Center for Educational Statistics
National Student Clearinghouse Research Center