Educators across Texas are invited to attend free professional development opportunities and discover how to engage young women (ages 8-13) through  research-based, high quality activities and resources.

SciGirls Connect Professional Development

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

The University of Texas at Austin

FREE to attend

Space limited to 30 educators 

Participants attending a full day workshop will:

• Learn latest research for exciting and engaging girls (and boys) in STEM
• Experience FOUR hands-on STEM activities such as using dough to teach circuits, designing their own wind measurement machine and creating your own experiment to identify mystery plastics
• Leave with curriculum for 20 hands-on, video enhanced activities that put a creative twist on teaching STEM
• Learn how to modify any activity to excite and engage kids in STEM using the SciGirls Seven
• Discover additional online resources that enhance teaching and learning experiences for all kids 

Get all the details and register to attend at 

http://txgcp.org/scigirls/. Space is limited - waitlisted participants will be notified first for additional workshops. 

Additional SciGirls educational opportunities will be scheduled throughout Texas. Stay tuned for more opportunities in your region of Texas. Informal Science Learning Associates of Laredo, Girlstart, and the Women in Engineering Program at The University of Texas at Austin are certified SciGirls trainers connected with TxGCP.

• Central Texas K-12 STEM Outreach
• DFW K-12 STEM Outreach 
• East Texas K-12 STEM Outreach 
• El Paso K-12 STEM Outreach  
• Houston K-12 STEM Outreach  
• Laredo K-12 STEM Outreach 
• Rio Grande Valley K-12 STEM Outreach 
• San Antonio K-12 STEM Outreach 
• South Texas K-12 STEM Outreach 
• West Texas K-12 STEM Outreach

For those not in one of these areas who still want to receive information going out to all groups, join the Texas K-12 STEM Outreach group. 

Contact Tricia Berry for any specific regional requests or questions.

Are You Listed in the Program Directory?

Gain access to mini-grants and have the first shot at opportunities such as the Water Works camp curriculum, role model training and other curriculum and resource dissemination across Texas!  Sign up your program, organization and/or event in the National Girls Collaborative Project Program Directory.  Join over 200 listings from across Texas and find collaborators and other STEM educators in your area. Registration is free...can't get better than that!

Next Generation Science Standards

Next Generation Science Standards for Today's Students and Tomorrow's Workforce:  Through a collaborative, state-led process managed by Achieve, new K-12 science standards are being developed that will be rich in content and practice, arranged in a coherent manner across disciplines and grades to provide all students an internationally benchmarked science education. The NGSS will be based on the Framework for K-12 Science Education developed by the National Research Council.  Review the draft and provide feedback at http://www.nextgenscience.org/.    

National Assessment of Educational Progress - Texas Results 

Texas students in every major ethnic group significantly outscored their peers nationally on the eighth grade National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science test, with the state's African-American students earning the fourth highest score in the country compared to other African-American students. Test results show that when the data is reported by ethnic groups, Texas' Hispanic students earned the sixth highest score and the state's white students ranked eighth among their peers. Texas students who are Asian or English Language Learners also significantly outscored their peer groups nationally.  Texans also substantially outperformed their peer groups from other large, diverse states.

• Texas Snapshot 
• The Nation's Report Card: 2011 Science    

NGCP Exemplary Practice Spotlight: Family Involvement 

The Exemplary Practice Spotlight for May focuses on fostering family involvement to engage Hispanic/Latino(a) youth in informal learning opportunities. Research findings consistently illustrate a strong relationship between family involvement and positive youth outcomes for Hispanic/Latino(a) youth, including outcomes related to engagement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Based on a review of the literature, the Computer Science Collaboration Project has identified three strategies to foster family involvement for Hispanic/Latino(a) youth:

• Meaningfully engage families to increase their buy-in, and build their knowledge and social networks;
• Educate family members and other key adults to build youth's network of support and encouragement; and
• Provide culturally competent staff to connect with and get regular input from family members.

Discover Earth: Hands-on Activities

The Lunar and Planetary Institute is pleased to announce the release of Discover Earth: Hands-on Activities, a module to support hands-on Earth science explorations in libraries and other places of community learning. Educators are invited to download the activities, supporting reading games, and facilitator resources - all free for educational use - at www.lpi.usra.edu/explore/discoverEarth. For questions or comments relating to these materials, please contact the Explore program team at [email protected].

NASA's Year of the Solar System 

Visit the Year of the Solar System website: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/yss

You will find:
* Educational materials for classroom teachers, organizations, clubs, and others interested in participating
* Night-sky viewing events and mission milestones
* Featured activities
* Recommended resources
* People profiles
* Year of the Solar System updates
* Ways to register your Year of the Solar System events and to share your experiences
* Free downloadable promotional materials (bookmarks, fliers, calendar of events)  

NCWIT Counselors for Computing: Military Pathway to IT and Computing Careers

Part of Counselors for Computing (C4C), this computing and IT pathway card connects students' interests with opportunities in IT and computing that can be achieved through military service and beyond. Information about IT military assignments is linked to future jobs and salaries. C4C is a project of the National Center for Women & Information Technology K-12 Alliance, made possible by the Merck Company Foundation.

http://www.ncwit.org/pdf/C4C_PathwayCard_Military_WEB.pdf   

PBS News Hour: Why Aren't There More Female Scientist, Engineers? 

A recap of a live chat examines why women lag behind in some areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and what can be done to encourage more young women to pursue careers in STEM fields.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/04/stemchat-why-arent-more-women-in-science-and-engineering.html 

P�gina Familiar

P�gina Familiar is a full tabloid-sized newspaper page filled with features designed to engage Latino children and families in science featuring kid-friendly bios and interviews with Latino scientists, hands-on activities that can be done at home, and science cartoons. The page is also available to science centers, youth and community organizations, and science teachers who wish to use it with Latino students and families.

http://pulsoglobalnews.com  

Role Model Resources

Research shows that when used effectively, role models can help dispel stereotypes, expand career options and motivate girls to pursue STEM fields. The following are resources and opportunities for meaningful role model experiences. 

• Techbridge Role Models Matter Toolkit provides effective strategies for making role models' outreach and field trips a success. www.techbridgegirls.org/RoleModels/Resources.aspx   
• The FabFems role model directory is seeking women STEM professionals to volunteer their time to spark girls' interest in STEM careers.
• NASA G.I.R.L.S. is a virtual mentoring project for girls to interact with women from NASA during the Summer of 2012. women.nasa.gov/nasa-g-i-r-l-s/   
•  Engineer Your Life lists inspiring women in STEM fields who share pictures, videos and encouraging advice to girls.

White House Releases Report on Women and the Economy

The White House released a new report entitled  Keeping America's Women Moving Forward, The Key to an Economy Built to Last. This report examines the ways in which the Administration has worked to ensure women's economic security through all stages of life including young women furthering their education and beginning their careers. STEM degrees and jobs are highlighted.

Your Spitting Image

The Your Spitting Image website and free downloadable educator guide can be used for classroom exploration of forensics, saliva and bioengineering, or in conjunction with a visit to the traveling exhibit at a museum near you. The National Museum of Dentistry uses animated illustrations and interactive activities to help students (grades 6-12) understand basic concepts and make learning engaging and fun.