Volume 1
Issue 1
16 March 1998
Gender
Inequalities in Education
The
Gender Gap in the Computing Field
Whitmore
High School: A Case Study of Computer Usage
Bennet
School
Computer
Projects for Mother and Daughter
Expanding
Your Horizons in Math and Science
Computers
and Technology: Differences In Gender
Gender
Bias In Educational Software
Educational
Software For Girls
- Purple Moon: Thanks but No Thanks for Rockett's New School
- Girl Tech - Not Girl Friendly Enough
- Her Interactive
- Broderbund - Classroom Software Done Right
Computers
In the Classroom: What is the Effect on the Gender
Gap?
Kathleen Bennett, a teacher and former employee at Apple, will open in autumn of this year a middle-school for girls designed to ameliorate some of the problems girls face in education, particularly in science and math. Her school is a middle school because she believes grades 7-9 are a turning point for girls in science, where girls hit a "wall of feminity." Society, including parents and teachers, sends them mixed messages about what girls are capable of, what is and is not feminine (like math), and what girls should pursue as careers. Bennet believes that the girl-friendly environment at her school will encourage girls' interest in math, science, and computer science and will provide them opportunities to develop that interest.Bennet has a high-profile board of advisors for her school, consisting of professionals and educators. Many members are contacts she made while working in Silicon Valley, including: Anita Borg, a consulting engineer at Digital Equipment Corp. and founder of Systers network; Carol Bartz, CEO and chairwoman of Autodesk; Adele Goldberg, the founder of Neomettron and chairwoman and founder of ParcPlace systems; and IBM researcher Barbara Simons.
Bennet and her advisory board have come up with some really good ideas for girls' education. One is to focus on project-based learning. Sheri Sheppard, a mechanical engineer at Stanford who is also on the board, found in her research that girls tend to learn much better if they are given an application for theory, a concrete problem to solve. Bennet even plans to have groups of students form mini-companies, where they develop and market a product.
Bennet's schoola will also have a "girl-friendly" computer lab. Based on the 1996 University of British Columbia study which found that girls tend to interact better with technology when they are in pairs and groups, the workstations will make it comfortable for girls to work in pairs at the computer. "There also won't be any boys around to hog the equipment," said Bennett. This will also make girls feel more comfortable using the computers because they won't feel pressure to give up computers to over-anxious boys. Bennet additionally hires teachers who are "passionate" about girls learning math and science. This is important because teachers often give more attention and encouragement to boys in those subjects. Even though there will not be any boys at the school. it is still important to get teachers devoted to getting girls excited about math and science.
Despite the strong encouragement for girls to go into technical fields, they are certainly not forced to do so. The encouragement is just to redress the problems of girls being discouraged to enter those fields before they even get a chance to try them out. "I'm just trying to ensure that if girls are interested in technical stuff, they get the support to do it," she says.
