Madeleine Dougherty, Girls Inc.’s Manager of Teen STEM Programs, presented her original paper, “Beyond Slacktivism: Using STEM to Engage Low-Income and Minority Girls in Advocacy and Activism,” at the national STEM Think Tank and Conference at Harpeth Hall School in Nashville this month.
Harpeth Hall, a school and research facility, is recognized nationally as a leader in girls’ STEM education. This year’s conference themes were devoted to preparing girls to stick with STEM in school as well as diversity in STEM majors and careers.
“My first visit to the conference in 2013 really changed the way I saw Build IT,” said Dougherty, “because the conference primarily revolved around wealthier schools and programs, and didn’t really focus on the low-income and minority girls I was working with at Girls Inc., so I was very happy to see the changes this year.”
During her presentation, Madeleine discussed Girls Inc.’s Build IT curriculum, which has been a part of the classroom day at East Lake Academy of Fine Arts for the past three years. Build IT inspires middle school girls to learn about technology and the related science, engineering, and math it entails. Build IT integrates Common Core State Standards in a method that teaches girls about technology while building their interest in other STEM subjects. Girls also learn to think critically about IT design processes and learn basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
At the conference, Dougherty discussed the innovative strategies Build IT uses to develop leadership and advocacy skills in girls through technology. Girls participating in Build IT not only learn how to build websites, they also learn how to use them to educate their communities and promote activism to create positive change. After a one hour discussion, conference attendees received a crash-course in an actual Build IT unit.
Dougherty left the conference feeling inspired about the innovative strategies Build IT teaches to underserved girls in Hamilton County. “Our true success is that we can tailor the programs to the girls we serve and motivate them to participate in their schools and communities,” she said.
Build IT and Girls Inc.’s related technology curricula are expanding to four new schools in the 2014-2015 school year, including elementary and high schools.
Source: Girl’s Inc.