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tips for your program
Thinking about starting a STEM or STEAM program? How about improving the one you already have?
Remember the following tips:
What else can you do?
SOURCE: Evaluating Promising Practices in Informal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM Education for Girls. Girl Scouts of the USA and the Motorola Foundation, 2008.
Remember the following tips:
- Kids learn by doing. Experiential activities are critical to their success.
- When possible, encourage active, hands-on participation rather than demonstrations or lectures.
- Design activities that allow the children to experiment and problem-solve.
- Children, especially those from under-represented groups, will make the connection between themselves and STEM and STEAM through real world examples.
- Show kids how STEM and STEAM disciplines are part of and relate to their everyday experiences.
- Allow students the freedom to choose curriculum themes and activities that interest them most.
- Provide positive relationships with role models and mentors.
- NOTE FOR GIRLS: Recognize that girls interested in science, technology, engineering, and math are more likely to pursue careers in the STEM fields if they are exposed to women role models or mentors.
- Use mentors to bring context to potential career choices.
- Identify mentors from different backgrounds to allow girls to see others who look like them and who are different from them who are succeeding in STEM careers.
What else can you do?
- Be a mentor.
- Connect kids to a network of experts. Then help them build their own network of STEAM professionals careers who look like them.
- Collaborate. Form partnerships between informal and formal education programs, high education, professional organizations, and businesses.
- Share resources with others.
- Work with others in your organization and others. Disseminate key strategies.
- Sharing what has worked and has not worked for you and your program(s) will enable us to better serve kids everywhere.
SOURCE: Evaluating Promising Practices in Informal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM Education for Girls. Girl Scouts of the USA and the Motorola Foundation, 2008.