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GROW FAQ
[What is GROW?]
[Who is GROW for?] [When
was GROW started?]
[Why was GROW started?]
What is
GROW?
The Girls Researching Our World
project was designed to create and support a network of faculty,
staff and students at Kansas State University, working in
partnership with school districts, other colleges and universities,
industries, and not-for-profit organizations. GROW brings
these groups together in partnership through various events
and activities. Network members work to ensure that girls
and women receive support as they pursue their interests in
science, mathematics, engineering and technology (SMET).
Who is GROW
for?
The GROW project is intended to
support and reinforce women in SMET disciplines on campus
and to use our network to encourage girls to enter SMET careers.
Our activities target girls in middle school, which has been
shown to be a critical age at which girls drop out of the
SMET pipeline and lose interest in these areas.
When was
GROW started?
The first activity was in June
2000: a summer workshop for middle school girls. The girls
came to the K-State campus for two days to participate in
hands on SMET projects designed by K-State faculty, staff
and students. More detailed information about the history
of GROW can be found at www.ksu.edu/grow/grow_history.htm
Why was GROW
started?
The 2000 Commission on the Advancement
of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering and Technology
Development report states that over 5.3 million new high-tech
jobs will need to be filled in the next eight years. K-State
asked, where will the workers come from and how can we help?
Currently only 21% of engineering, 20% of physics and about
28% of computer science degrees are awarded to women in the
United States. We know that girls interest in science and
math drops drastically beginning at the middle school level.
This is the time in a young womans life to intervene.
Dr. Dyer, Dr. Franks, Dr. Montelone,
Dr. Spears and Dr. Takemoto of K-State came together and developed
the GROW project with the following objectives:
1) To extend and reinforce an
emerging network of women faculty, professionals, teachers
and students across Kansas interested in expanding opportunities
for girls to enter into and succeed in SMET professions;
2) To deploy this network in a
series of enrichment activities and interventions for middle
school girls that will provide opportunities for hands-on
experiences and interaction with faculty and professionals
in various SMET disciplines centering around the theme of
environmental stewardship;
3) To collect data that will allow
us to evaluate the impact of these activities on the academic
and professional choices and goals of the girls involved;
and
4) To develop, provide, and evaluate
educational programs and materials for teachers, principals,
counselors and parents, that will foster awareness of opportunities
and challenges facing girls considering SMET careers.
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