Girls in Science Summer Camp
2011 Environmental Initiative Awards
Girls in Science Summer Camp
Normal
0
false
false
false
MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
Many years of research throughout Canada and the United States has shown that youth – and girls in particular - begin science education at a disadvantage and fall behind in school, not because of lack of interest, but because of lack of exposure. A University of Michigan study found that giving girls hands-on science activities helped close the gap. The researchers recommended that teachers and parents encourage girls to participate in science clubs and fairs, because "girls tend to respond more favorably to cooperative, small group environments. Girls are as capable as boys, but do not participate as fully as boys do in these subjects. WSC proposes to create an overnight summer camp program focusing on girls in science. Our target audience will be girls ages 10-15. The goal of this program is to expose girls to real science opportunities, through hands-on experimentation, creating a fun learning environment, and studying animal biology and behavior using our resident wildlife.
Contact Information
About You
First Name
Peggy
Last Name
Callahan
Organization
Project Contact (if different from yourself)
Project Contact First Name
Danielle
Project Contact Last Name
O'Neill
Project Contact Organization
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
Your idea
Project Name
Girls in Science Summer Camp
Date of Project Completion
July 2011
Category
Environmental Education
Project Summary
Normal
0
false
false
false
MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
Many years of research throughout Canada and the United States has shown that youth – and girls in particular - begin science education at a disadvantage and fall behind in school, not because of lack of interest, but because of lack of exposure. A University of Michigan study found that giving girls hands-on science activities helped close the gap. The researchers recommended that teachers and parents encourage girls to participate in science clubs and fairs, because "girls tend to respond more favorably to cooperative, small group environments. Girls are as capable as boys, but do not participate as fully as boys do in these subjects. WSC proposes to create an overnight summer camp program focusing on girls in science. Our target audience will be girls ages 10-15. The goal of this program is to expose girls to real science opportunities, through hands-on experimentation, creating a fun learning environment, and studying animal biology and behavior using our resident wildlife.
Website URL
Partners
Who were the project partners? What role did each play in the partnership, and how did the partnership operate?
This 3-day, 2-night camp is designed for 20 at-risk girls who have been recommended by their school guidance counselor. The curriculum uses a combination of independent and group study, hands-on experimentation and data collection, as well as observation and identification. Each student will explore various aspects of a Minnesota biome-forest, prairie, river, or wetland. Students gather scientific data about the soil, water, plants, and animals living in the area. The group then shares their findings and discusses the similarities and differences between the biomes. Upon completion, each group will create a poster to be placed in our education building and made accessible to the public. The girls will also create and record a “Girls’ Camp” video to encourage more girls to consider summer camp at the Wildlife Science Center.
The three-day camp creates an intimate relationship between the girls and the subject being studied, and fosters a multi-discipline approach to engendering the material. Students’ natural affinity for nature enhances the effectiveness of the “aha” moments that result from emersion in the surroundings.
Peer support at the camp provides opportunities for students to support each other’s interest in science such as those found in clubs, organizations or other group experiences. WSC programs are highly interactive, encouraging group participation and positive peer support, often with students who find group interactions particularly challenging. WSC encourages the kind of problem solving that promotes critical thinking, and not right or wrong answers. In addition, the team-building experience of camping has very positive effects on the learning environment.
WSC makes every attempt to join forces with organizations that have similar goals. For this project we are partnering with:
John Glenn Archery Club to provide archery equipment and teaching through trained female educators and the local school district to nominate at-risk or low income girls who they believe will benefit most from attending our camp.
Innovation
How is the partnership and/or project goals, outcomes and process innovative or groundbreaking?
The Wildlife Science Center is committed to generating interest in science and our outdoor heritage for all youth, engaging students in science investigation, fostering confidence in science achievement, and encouraging enrollment in future science by capitalizing on a natural affinity for animals.
• To provide equal access to programs for students of all socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, and of all developmental abilities;
• To make a connection between a student’s natural affinity for animals and science.
• To use scientific research to create a living classroom for all students;
• To provide examples of science careers which are gender-fair and without ethnic or racial bias;
• To communicate a multi-disciplinary ethic of environmental conservation.
• To expose non-traditional students and those who may not be college bound to the field of science and the complexities of the natural world;
To offer teachers a useable curriculum that can be suited to meet the diverse needs of their student’s levels and abilities while supporting key teaching objectives.
• Adjust the content and pace the educational program to meet the specific needs of the audience;
• Receives an overwhelmingly positive response of visiting teachers;
• Provides instruction that ensures teachers are both willing and able to use a variety of material to develop interest in science and to increase their knowledge of science;
• Dispels the “white-lab-coat-only” myth about science;
• Teaches field techniques for collecting data that encourages interaction and offers new information to teachers to take back to the classroom;
• Weaves cultural perspectives into each lesson, and sponsors a public festival each fall to honor the cultural relationships with wildlife;
• Offers women biologists/instructors who act as gender-fair role models in science;
• Teaches using the wolf as an umbrella species that ends itself naturally to intensive cultural, historical and politics.
Our curriculum employs hands-on experiences and examples relevant to students, uses gender-fair, multi-cultural materials and includes science concepts tailored to students’ developmental levels.
Goals
Describe the project goals
Children rarely have an opportunity to go beyond their neighborhoods to study the complexities of the natural world. WSC believes in equal access to science education for all, and provides children and adults with the opportunity to explore nature, science and their role within it through a hands-on experience. Funding from this grant means 20 “at-risk” girls will have the opportunity to see real applications of science, learn firsthand from a female wildlife biologist, and broaden their scientific experiences. The girl’s-only camp will allow students who might have set science aside as a future option to better understand their own capabilities and possibilities. By developing this relationship with the Forest Lake school district, we plan to offer this camp program for years to come.
Outcomes
What were the outcomes of the project (if completed)? What have been the outcomes so far, and what are the anticipated future outcomes (if ongoing)?
This 3-day, 2-night camp is designed for 20 at-risk girls who have been recommended by their school guidance counselor. The curriculum uses a combination of independent and group study, hands-on experimentation and data collection, as well as observation and identification. Each student will explore various aspects of a Minnesota biome-forest, prairie, river, or wetland. Students gather scientific data about the soil, water, plants, and animals living in the area. The group then shares their findings and discusses the similarities and differences between the biomes. Upon completion, each group will create a poster to be placed in our education building and made accessible to the public. The girls will also create and record a “Girls’ Camp” video to encourage more girls to consider summer camp at the Wildlife Science Center.
| 114 weeks ago Peggy Callahan updated this Competition Entry. | |
| 114 weeks ago Peggy Callahan submitted this idea. |
Us