Program for Gender Equity in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology (PGE): (DEM) Bringing Up Girls in Science

University Of North Texas, Denton TX

Investigators

Abstract

Bringing Up Girls in Science (BUGS) is a demonstration project in the Department of Technology and Cognition at the University of North Texas (UNT). The goal of this project is to provide educational experiences in an outdoor learning lab for girls in grades four and five that will increase girls' interest, participation, self-concept, knowledge, and achievement in the environmental sciences. During Year One, thirty 4 th and 5 th grade girls (BUGS participants) will participate in an after school outdoor science lab at Sam Houston Elementary in the Denton Independent School District in Denton, TX. Participants for the project will be recruited from across the district. BUGS participants will be mentored by female high students enrolled in the Texas Academy for Mathematics and Science (TAMS). BUGS participants and mentors will be joined the second and third year of the project by girls in special populations at distance sites through the use of two-way audio-visual desktop conferencing tools, a project WEB site, chat rooms, and computer ``pen-pals''. For the second and third year special populations joining the project will include: (1) students with emotional and behavioral problems attending Rose Street Day Program and Therapeutic School in Wichita Falls, TX; (2) a school district which serves large numbers of Hispanic and Native American students in Bernalillo, New Mexico; and (3) students from a rural school district in Decatur, Texas. BUGS participants at distance sites will be able to use ``electronic field trips'' developed from activities that were videotaped during Year One to increase their opportunities to participate in the ``outdoor science lab experience.'' Family involvement will be ongoing throughout the project. Career awareness and educational opportunities materials will be housed by a local public library for the parents of BUGS participants. Three parent meetings per year will be provided to ``showcase'' student work and provide educational and career information.