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An Innovative High School Scientific Research Program; Breaking The Gender Expectations In STEM

An Innovative High School Scientific Research Program; Breaking The Gender Expectations In STEM. Elizabeth Ashforth PhD MRSC Arleen Forsheit PhD Marlborough School, Los Angeles, CA. The Google View of Scientists. http://www.google.com Accessed January 19 th 2012. http://www.google.com

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An Innovative High School Scientific Research Program; Breaking The Gender Expectations In STEM

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  1. An Innovative High School Scientific Research Program; Breaking The Gender Expectations In STEM Elizabeth Ashforth PhD MRSC Arleen Forsheit PhD Marlborough School, Los Angeles, CA

  2. The Google View of Scientists http://www.google.com Accessed January 19th 2012

  3. http://www.google.com Accessed January 19th 2012

  4. Female Scientists and Hollywood

  5. Program History & Goal Pursue science beyond HS; college majors and careers • Nine girls seeking more; have professional mentor and on campus mentor • Outside classroom; greater responsibility • Quarterly writing and presentation for academic credit

  6. Honors Research at Marlborough • Program description • Design and execute an original research project • Independent; self directed • Mentoring; openness to feedback • Minimum: 1 year commitment (summer work) • Assessment • Communication; written and oral • Progress: process

  7. Benefits to Girls • Understanding STEM: Beyond the Acronym • Relatedness of science, technology and humanities/social sciences • Confidence: Know Thyself • Can be a lab scientist or • Don’t want to be! • Research Process; focus on the question, not the answer

  8. Benefits Beyond Graduation • Willingness to approach labs • Resumé builder • Continued Mentoring • 31/59 =51% with a major in math, science or engineering • 22/57 = 39% with a career in math or science or engineering (includes medicine)

  9. Program Graduates: Feedback • “…the program made me realize how interconnected science and math are…it pushed me to select an interdisciplinary major…and then work at the interface of business and technology…” • “…after the program I had the confidence to approach professors at Berkeley and begin research as an undergraduate in my Freshman year… • “My experience in the program was directly responsible for me getting my job at NOAA…”

  10. Student Expectations • Rock stars • Surprise stars • Expected stars • Fading stars… • Lack of maturity • Risk averse ? • Failure “intolerance”

  11. Sample Projects • Conditions for Spatiotemporal Boundary Formation • Genetically Modified Stem Cells as a Cell Based Therapy for Temporal Lobe Epilepsy • Electroencephalography (EEG): Source Localization of Sound-Induced Flash Fusion • Nanofibous Scaffolds for Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering

  12. Challenges • Mentors (finding, persuading and keeping them) • Managing expectations • Not a class, not a program for everyone • “you can’t tutor you way out of a problem” • Institutional Permissions • Competing priorities • Sports, APs, college application “season” etc • Unexpected surprises

  13. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/28/local/la-me-1228-ucla-death-20111228http://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/28/local/la-me-1228-ucla-death-20111228

  14. Starting A Program; Things To Consider • Start small! • Cost • Transportation/parking • Labor intensive; greater staff cost • Non-traditional skill requirements for teachers • Research expertise • People skills; reaching out beyond school boundaries • Flexibility; year-round program with varying needs • Administration support • Resources • Academic credit and “unique” policies

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