National Girls Collaborative Project
NGCP E-Newsletter
April 2011

in this issue
  • NGCP Updates
  • Collaborative News
  • Featured Mini-Grant
  • Upcoming STEM Events
  • Resources
  • Global Resources

  • NGCP Updates
    girls with mentor

    NGCP Webcast Engaging and Supporting Latinas in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
    Thursday, April 7, 2011
    11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific

    Join practitioners from informal and formal education to discuss strategies and programming ideas for engaging and supporting Latinas in STEM. Presenters include Melissa Cigarroa and Lisa Chappa of the Imaginarium of South Texas and Melissa Hosten and Andria Disney of TI Inspire, a program in the Chandler Arizona Unified School District.
    Register: http://ngcproject.org/events/register.cfm?eventid=192

    SAVE THE WEEK: The NGCP Collaboration Conference and the USA Science & Engineering Festival in 2012
    Washington, DC
    April 25 - 29, 2012
    The USA Science & Engineering Festival will offer exciting activities and events in the Nation's capital from April 27-29, 2012. NGCP is planning to host the second offering of the NGCP Collaboration Conference in conjunction with the nation's largest celebration of science and engineering. The Collaboration Conference is an opportunity for representatives from girl-serving STEM organizations to connect and learn from each other and national level experts. Collaborative Leadership Team members will be in attendance as well as representatives from a wide variety of NGCP partners. Mark your calendars now! More details and registration available in the Fall.

    Program Directory Summer Program List and Watchlist Features
    The NGCP Program Directory allows users to search for summer programs in their area and nationwide. The advanced search feature is especially useful for educators, parents, and students looking for a particular service delivery format such as an afterschool program or special event. Another feature of the Program Directory is the watchlist tool. This feature will notify you if a particular zip code, or program with a specific keyword registers in the directory.


    Collaborative News

    NGCP Collaborative Mini-Grants
    NGCP mini-grants are designed to enhance access to and build collaboration between programs and resources. Mini-grant application resources, including a sample application, research based strategies, and evaluation requirements are available online. Currently, the GRITS Collaborative Project in Tennessee is offering mini-grants with a closing date of April 19, 2011.

    New Hampshire/Vermont Girls Collaborative Project Kick-Off
    Quechee, VT
    May 7, 2011

    The New Hampshire/ Vermont Girls Collaborative Project will host a Kick-Off Forum on May 7, 2011 at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science. This conference offers the chance for schools and organizations committed to informing and motivating girls to pursue classes and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to share best practices, develop new collaborations, and share resources.
    Register: http://www.ngcproject.org/events/events.cfm?eventid=196

    Southern New England Girls Collaborative Project Forum: Collaborate to Innovate: Changing the Landscape for Girls in STEM
    Warwick, RI
    May 18, 2011
    Learn practical steps that teachers and after school providers can take to foster girls' interest in pursuing STEM careers. Examples of successful collaborations and opportunities to network will provide ideas to jump start collaborative projects.
    Register: http://www.ngcproject.org/events/events.cfm?eventid=194

    Kentucky Girls STEM Annual Conference
    June 29, 2011
    Highland Heights, KY

    The Kentucky Girls STEM Collaborative Project's third annual conference will feature Mini-Grant awardees sharing promising practices from funded programs and Nancy Holliday, a Kentucky native and general manager for Microsoft as keynote speaker.


    Featured Mini-Grant
    girls and mentor

    Basketball and Computing
    A collaboration between Roger Williams University and Girls, Inc. of Taunton, MA, provided an opportunity for at-risk middle school girls to learn about careers in computing and campus life. Students majoring in Computer Science and athletes from the varsity basketball team mentored girls to utilize Alice (a 3-D computing program) to illustrate basketball drills learned during a clinic. The basketball clinic and computing workshops promoted physical well-being and academic achievement by introducing girls to successful role models in a college environment.
    http://www.ngcproject.org/mini-grant/grants.cfm?grantid=542


    Upcoming STEM Events

    Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day
    February 24 - May 8, 2011

    Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day serves as a call to action for parents and professionals to focus on getting more girls into engineering and technology. Each year during Engineers Week, "Girl Day" encourages thousands of women engineers, with support from their male counterparts, to directly mentor girls and young women in K-12 with hands-on experiences in engineering. In honor of its tenth anniversary, Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day 2011 has set a goal to reach 10,000 10-year-old girls with positive engineering experiences during a ten-week period: February 24 - May 8.
    http://www.eweek.org/EngineersWeek/Introduce.aspx

    The Art of Science Learning: Shaping the 21st-Century Workforce
    April 6 - 7, 2011; Washington, D.C.
    May 16 - 17, 2011; Chicago, IL
    June 14 - 15, 2011; San Diego, CA
    The Art of Science Learning explores ways in which the arts can help improve how people learn the sciences. This conference will convene scientists, artists, educators, business leaders, researchers and policymakers to explore how the arts can be engaged to strengthen STEM skills and spark creativity in the 21st-Century American workforce.

    K-12 Outreach that Makes a Difference: Attracting K-12 Students to Computing
    NCWIT Webinar
    April 14, 2011
    10:00 AM-11:00 AM Pacific

    Georgia Tech's Institute for Computing Education has been working since 2004 to increase the quantity and quality of computing teachers and the quantity and diversity of computing students. In this webinar, Barbara Ericson will provide a summary of what they have tried, lessons learned, research results, and where to find additional resources.
    Register: http://www.iste.org/store/product.aspx?ID=2084

    Afterschool for All Challenge
    Washington, DC
    May 16 - 17, 2011

    This year's theme is "Expanding STEM After School." Speakers include Robin Schepper of the Let's Move! Initiative and FIRST Robotics founder Dean Kamen.
    Register: http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/challenge.cfm

    Advancing Girls in STEM: An NCGS Symposium
    Wellesley, MA
    June 21, 2011
    The National Coalition of Girls' Schools will convene key players, both in and out of school time, for girls and STEM to create and strengthen bridges between and among girls' schools, colleges, and the professional world. All educators are welcome.
    Register: http://www.ncgs.org/STEMSymposium2011

    WEPAN 2011: Advancing Women: Transforming Engineering Education
    Seattle, WA
    June 21 - 23, 2011

    The purpose of the conference is to share and investigate ideas that focus on advancing women in engineering by transforming engineering education. Participants will share innovative strategies for developing a highly prepared, diverse engineering workforce that has achieved technical excellence and learned how to think and design creatively.
    Register: http://www.wepan.org

    ASEE 8th Annual K-12 Workshop on Engineering Education
    British Columbia, Canada
    June 25, 2011

    This daylong program "Collaboration Can Improve Engineering Education" is for teachers and engineering educators from both Canada and the United States. A fast-paced, interactive, results-oriented overview of engineering education for the K-12 classroom will be provided.
    http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/2011-workshop-overview

    LEAP into Science
    Philadelphia, PA
    July 18 - 20, 2011

    LEAP into Science is a NSF-funded collaboration between the Franklin Institute Science Museum and the Free Library of Philadelphia to engage urban youth and families in hands-on science and children's literature in an afterschool setting. Ten national sites will be selected to attend the conference and receive free program resources and professional development. Science centers, libraries, and afterschool programs are encouraged to apply. Deadline: April 15, 2011.
    http://www.fi.edu/leap

    K-12 STEM Education Policy Conference
    Washington, DC
    July 12 - 13, 2011
    Teachers, science supervisors, curriculum leaders, researchers-anyone with an interest in K-12 science and STEM education policy-will not want to miss this conference. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about the rapidly changing policy landscape from federal policymakers and national education leaders visiting Capitol Hill for meetings with elected representatives.
    Register: http://www.stemeducationconference.eventbrite.com


    Resources

    NCWIT Computer Science-in-a-Box: Unplug Your Curriculum
    NCWIT Programs-in-a-Box are comprehensive resources for accomplishing a parity goal. Computer Science-in-a-Box: Unplug Your Curriculum introduces youth ages 9 - 14 to the fundamental building blocks of computer science -- without using computers. Lessons address critical mathematics and science concepts such as number systems, algorithms, and manipulating variables and logic. http://www.ncwit.org/unplugged

    MetLife Foundation Afterschool Innovator Award
    The Afterschool Alliance and MetLife Foundation are partnering to develop and disseminate a series of Issue Briefs that address topics related to middle school youth and afterschool programs. Winners receive $10,000 to continue or improve upon their highlighted program. Awards will be given out by the Afterschool Alliance in conjunction with the 2011 Lights On Afterschool. Nomination categories include: Providing Opportunities for Service Learning for Middle School Students; Aligning Afterschool with the School Day for Middle School; Addressing Middle School Bullying; and Supporting Literacy for Middle School Students. Deadline: May 31, 2011.
    Nominate a program: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MetLife2011

    New NASA Website Celebrates Women's Contributions To Science And Exploration
    NASA has created a website featuring the women of NASA telling their stories in their own words. Video interviews with women of diverse backgrounds offers encouragement to women and girls considering technical careers. http://women.nasa.gov

    Resources Available from SciGirls
    The SciGirls television series, Web site, and outreach initiatives emphasize current research on strategies to increase girls' engagement in STEM. New educational resources, created with national standards in mind, are now available for download. Resources include: question cards and instructions for the popular game brainSTEM, a gender equity handbook: The SciGirls Seven: How to Engage Girls in STEM, and four inquiry-based activity guides: SciGirls Engineer It, SciGirls Get Tech, SciGirls Live Healthy, and SciGirls Go Green.
    Download: http://www.pbskidsgo.org/scigirls

    Mixing in Math offers Earth Day Resources
    Celebrate Earth Day on April 23 with green-themed projects and games from Mixing in Math! Mixing in Math offers a number of free English and Spanish resources for formal and informal K-6 educators.
    http://mixinginmath.terc.edu/Themes/gogreenMiM_2011.cfm

    Mentor Network from the Association for Women in Mathematics
    The Association for Women in Mathematics has developed a mentor network for women and girls who are interested in mathematics. Mentors are located at colleges and universities throughout the country. The Web site offers the option to mentor or be mentored by submitting a request form to determine needs and interests.
    http://www.awm-math.org/mentornetwork/request.html

    NGCP Program Directory - Register your Program Today!
    The online Program Directory lists organizations and programs that focus on motivating girls to pursue STEM careers. The purpose of the directory is to help organizations and individuals network, share resources, and collaborate on STEM-related projects for girls. When you sign up for the Program Directory, you will enter your program description, resources available within your organization, program and/or organizational needs, and contact information. http://www.ngcproject.org/directory


    Global Resources

    African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD)
    AWARD, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID, is a professional development program that strengthens the research and leadership skills of African women in agricultural science, empowering them to contribute more effectively to poverty alleviation and food security in sub-Saharan Africa. http://www.awardfellowships.org

    Friends of Science Program for Girls in Uganda
    Friends of Science is a unique program for girls in Uganda to encourage them to consider the sciences to meet the world of today with fair competitiveness. Friends of Science plans to serve 200 schools (over 100 primary and 100 secondary) to introduce students to academic experts, counselors and exemplary women in science. For more information contact Fredrick Omollo, Program Coordinator, [email protected].


    NGCP,  AWE,  AAUW  logos









    American Association of University Women (AAUW) members across the country are serving as Regional Liaisons for the National Girls Collaborative Project. These Regional Liaisons help the people involved in the NGCP to make connections - to one another, to resources on gender equity, and to AAUW.

    AWE is the Assessing Women and Men in Engineering Project, which provides exportable assessment instruments, literature resources, and methodologies for Women in Engineering and similar programs. AWE has developed resources for use by K-12 STEM programs as part of NGCP services.


    National Girls Collaborative Project

    The goal of the National Girls Collaborative Project is to maximize access to shared resources within projects and with public and private sector organizations and institutions interested in expanding girls' participation in STEM.

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