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Disassembling Objects Helps Assemble Future Women Scientists
When I was in elementary school, I loved to investigate how things worked. This typically involved taking something apart and seeing how the components worked together. Nothing at our house was safe from my curiosity – pens, telephones, even bicycles. While I was good at disassembling, I wasn’t as good at getting the parts back together so they functioned normally. In this process, I learned that there can be a risk to finding out what makes a clock tick--but the reward is learning something new.
As I grew, I was lucky to attend GPS where my innate curiosity was fostered. By the time I was in high school, I was confident in my abilities and carried this confidence into college and beyond. I truly believe that I would not have had the solid foundation both in content and confidence without my experience in a safe and caring environment. My parents, who knew some of my favorite gifts had been science kits, believed that I could pursue science as a female. My teachers knew best how to teach and support me.
According to NCGS, girls who graduate from an all-girls high school are six times more likely to consider a major in a STEM area than girls who attend a coed school. Of those surveyed, 74% agreed that girls’ schools provide more encouragement in science, math and technology.* Could it be that girls’ schools encourage girls to take things apart in a fear-free zone? It’s not that teachers in a coeducational setting don’t always inspire and nurture girls. It’s that their focus and resources are often split between the girls and boys. Girls’ curiosity, as well as their access to resources, does not have to be hampered at an all-girls school.
Science is typically taught using a variety of interactive methods that are student-centered and collaborative. At GPS you will find science classrooms full of activity. Students are designing a necklace that will tape activity in order to help curb bullying. They are working together to solve a complicated physics problem. Sometimes this looks like a group of girls working collaboratively rather than competitively, figuring out how much liquid mass a sculpture can contain for an interdisciplinary art project.** We hope the girls feel empowered to ask the hard questions of themselves, their peers, and even the female role models we invite to class to share about their careers in STEM.
We also hope they will feel empowered by their teachers. The science faculty at GPS come from diverse backgrounds. We have chemists and climbers, farmers and yogis, mothers and fathers, athletes, parents and non-parents. The one thing we all have in common is our passion for science. Whether we are teaching in the classroom, mentoring science experiments, or guiding students in preparing for science competitions, we all encourage the girls to take risks, and we support them if they stumble.
Tracie Durham '80 is Chair of the Science Department at GPS.
*The Girls’ School Experience: A Survey of Young Alumnae of Single-Sex Schools 2016 National Coalition of Girls’ Schools
** Wiest, L. R. (2014). Strategies for educators to support females in STEM. Reno, NV: University of Nevada, Reno. Retrieved from http://www.unr.edu/girls-mathcamp/resources/educators/tips
