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Authors:
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Susan Arnold Christian, Kansas State University
Kimberly Douglas, Kansas State University
Ruth Dyer, Kansas State University
Lisa Freeman, Kansas State University
Beth Montelone, Kansas State University
Jacqueline Spears, Kansas State University
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Abstract:
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The Girls Researching Our World (GROW) Program at Kansas State University (K-State) has for six years offered summer and academic year outreach activities to middle-school girls. During this time, a wide range of people have contributed to delivering the workshop, including university faculty members, graduate students, undergraduate students, practicing engineers and scientists, public school teachers, Girl Scout leaders, and administrators. These individuals have held a variety of roles (e.g., presenter, escort, chaperone, tour guide, speaker). Our methods of delivering the GROW Program have evolved in ways that concentrate on building relationships and creating connections between the girls and this array of interested contributors.
The GROW Program has well established processes for recruiting students to be involved in all aspects of our programs, for training escorts and chaperones to support the success of the event, and for effectively leveraging a small amount of faculty time to design exciting hands on activities.
This practitioner-focused paper will share details and lessons learned on each of these processes, as well as, to share information on the planning necessary for a successful outreach event. We will outline the successes and challenges faced while designing an event in this manner, and discuss why this approach is beneficial for outreach events within the context of the role of informal learning in involving middle-school girls in STEM fields.
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