DEM: Girls Under the Hood

Colgate University, Hamilton NY

Investigators

Abstract

Girls Under the Hood is a demonstration project designed to encourage teenage girls in rural Madison County, New York, to achieve excellence in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology (SMET) fields. Central to the success of this project is the hands-on experience that will demonstrate the relationship of SMET to the participants everyday lives. Using the automobile as a vehicle for inquiry-based scientific learning, 24 girls ages 14-17 will explore topics such as the science of internal combustion, the mathematics of fuel economy, the engineering of the power train, the technology of computerized diagnostic equipment, and the integration of all these fields. In addition to exploring and learning many scientific principles behind the various systems of the automobile, participants will acquire practical skills that they can share with their families. During a seven-day residential summer camp, participants will experience two different college campus settings a mere five miles apart: Colgate University, in Hamilton, New York, a nationally-ranked liberal arts institution; and in America's Most-Wired; two-year school, the State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology, in Morrisville, New York. Morning sessions will be held in the new automotive technology building at the SUNY Morrisville campus, where participants will engage in hands-on exploration of the automobile. Meals, lodging, and most of the afternoon and evening sessions will take place at Colgate University, where the girls will further explore the basic scientific principles behind the operation of automobiles and how those same principles can be transferred to a variety of other applications. Girls Under the Hood will capitalize on the natural curiosity of females in a non-threatening (cooperative, welcoming, and predominantly female) environment at a critical time in their lives when they are focused on getting their driver's license. Through exposure to female role models (teachers, undergraduate teaching assistants and successful industry practitioners) and solicitation of parent, school, industry and government support, this project will seize opportunities to relate course content to SMET careers, and to challenge students' ideas about gender appropriate careers. The confidence that girls gain in their ability to understand the science and technology of automobiles will carry over into confidence that they can succeed in other areas of SMET, and the applications they will see of SMET courses will encourage them to take more courses in those areas. The intellectual benefit of this project is that it will serve as an educational model for the application of contextualized science education, as well as provide a better understanding of gender-fair learning opportunities in SMET education utilizing a unique combination of rural public high schools, public and private universities, community, industry, and government. Broader impacts of the project include positive changes in participants' interest in SMET, confidence in their ability to do math and science, and election of upper level math and science courses. An added benefit will be the establishment of an educational collaboration between a four year and a two year college.