Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology will replicate the Northwest Girls Collaborative Project in three regions (California, Indiana, and Massachusetts) in an effort to strengthen the capacity, impact, and sustainability of existing and evolving girl-serving science, technology, and engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs. Through collaboration among organizations, institutions, and businesses committed to expanding participation of women in STEM, the existing and evolving projects will have a much greater chance of maintaining interest and participation of girls in STEM within their regions.
Through replication of the NW model, the project will accomplish the following objectives:
1. Connect existing and evolving projects, identify gaps and overlaps of services in support of STEM for girls. 2. Maximize access to shared resources within projects and with public and private sector organizations and institutions interested in expanding girls' participation in STEM. 3. Invest in long-range planning for addressing gaps and overlaps in service delivery and long-term sustainability. 4. Strengthen capacity of existing and evolving projects by sharing research and program models, outcomes and products.
Leaders and experts in girl-serving STEM organizations will share their knowledge via conferences and forums, both in person and via teleconference and/or video conference, electronic communications via a listserv newsletter and a MatchMakers program to assist matching needs and resources. They will employ structured collaborative brainstorming and planning to develop action plans. Mini-grants will encourage leaders to test and develop new approaches and to incorporate assessment methods.
The new Collaboratives will be formed with the Society of Women Engineers (for Massachusetts and New Hampshire), the Edward Teller Educational Center affiliated with the University of California, and Indiana's Energize Indiana state-wide initiative (which concentrates industry attention to workforce development).
A National Champions Board comprised of individuals from all sectors (education, industry, government, national non-profit, and media) advises the Collaboratives on all aspects including fund raising for sustainability.
Intellectual Merit. The NorthWest Collaborative model will be transported to three different new settings and evaluated in those new settings. All the materials developed for one region will be available and tested and refined in the new settings.
Broader Impact. Typically small informal education programs are implemented and lose effectiveness or fade away. The model promises to build a rich regional network, supply significant information, social capital, and resources. It will strengthen the informal education infrastructure that delivers STEM education to students, build capital in the local leaders, attract and commit industry involvement and funding, gain visibility and support in communities, and ultimately bring more girls into STEM learning and careers.
