On April 28th, the Kino-Eye Center hosted as series of hour-long sessions for 150 school girls as part of the Microsoft DigiGirlz event at Hogg Middle School in Houston.
As Shelea Majors (Education Director, Kino-Eye Center) explains, “STEM education is a critical frontier for advancing equality for women. Only 18% of undergraduate engineering degrees are awarded to females, and less than 13% of students self-selecting into K-12 robotics programs are girls.”
If we hope to prepare women to compete and excel in the global tech economy of the future, it is essential that we provide innovative learning experience that resonate with girls.
Clearly, we must reevaluate and reframe traditional STEM education, in order to better inspire and engage girls at an early age. According to a recent U.S. News and World Report article, “the National Academy [of Engineering] recommends focusing on how engineers make an impact on the world and the need for creativity, communication and teamwork in the engineering profession.”
The Kino-Eye Center developed the STEMpowered: Women in Technology session of the Microsoft Drone Academy as a vehicle to get girls excited about STEM learning.
By focusing on real-world problem solving through technological innovation and creativity, the session encourages girls to use math and science as tools to improve society by making people’s lives happier, safer, and more fulfilling.
