Expanding Your Horizons






					Expanding Your Horizons in Science and Mathematics At Penn State York Printer Friendly Version Expanding Your Horizons in Science and Mathematics At Penn State York A Brief Description of the Program Description of the Participants List of the Workshops Program Goals Program Objectives Accomplishments of the Program A Brief Description of the Program Expanding Your Horizons in Science and Mathematics at Penn State York is a career awareness program for sixth through eighth grade girls, their teachers and parents which highlights opportunities in mathematics, science, engineering and technology. The program, which is free for participants, brings together young women and professional women from academia, medicine, government agencies, business and industry for a day of learner-centered, hands-on workshops. In addition, Expanding Your Horizons offers a panel discussion led by current female Penn State students and distributes printed materials and web site addresses to provide teachers and parents with information to guide young women toward career opportunities in mathematics, science, engineering and technology-related fields. Description of the Participants We invite all of the middle schools (both public and private) in York County, a group of York County home schooled children, Project Connections students, plus two middle schools in Lancaster County (Manheim Township and Ephrata) to participate in Expanding Your Horizons. Each school may send, free of charge, ten girls, one teacher (female mathematics or science teachers are encouraged to attend) and one parent to the conference. Student assistants from Penn State York and Harrisburg, workshop leaders and Penn State York faculty and staff volunteer their time and talents to plan, coordinate and facilitate this conference. The middle school participants are chosen by the school (usually by our teacher contact). Teachers use a variety of approaches for selecting the girls to attend the conference: grades, lottery, essays, etc. We ask the schools to select girls from all ability levels and to encourage girls to participate even though they may not yet show a genuine interest in college and/or mathematics and science. Our hope is that by engaging these girls in meaningful, hands-on activities we will encourage more young women to consider a mathematics, science, engineering or technology-related career. List of the Workshops The titles of the nineteen workshops offered at Expanding Your Horizons 2004 are listed below. Complete workshop descriptions are available in our brochure. Arithmetic for Artists Bad by Design Be a Modern Day Galileo “Bounce” into Engineering Career Choices and Decisions Counting on DNA Creating a Web Page Don’t Be a Math Muggle – Be a Problem Solving Wizard! Egg’ceptional Egg Fun Forecast a Career in Meteorology Getting “Physical” with Math and Science Introduction to CAD Marine Science Exploration: How Is a Squid Able to Survive in the Ocean? Palm Reading: A Look into the Future of Handheld Computing Tackling Topology Tasty Towers “The Heat is On” The Science of Color in Cosmetics What a Girl Wants, What a Girl Needs Goals To increase awareness in young women of careers in mathematics, science, engineering and technology To encourage young women to take college preparatory mathematics courses in high school so that the doors to careers in science, engineering and technology remain open to them To provide opportunities for young women to explore career options and to interact with professional women from mathematics, science, engineering, technology and related fields To provide continuing support and encouragement for young women who have expressed interest in pursuing career opportunities in mathematics, science, engineering, technology and related fields To provide teachers and parents with information to guide young women toward career opportunities in mathematics, science, engineering and technology Objectives To expose each student to a variety of careers, with an emphasis on those careers that are considered non-traditional for women; role models for minority and other under-represented groups are included To actively involve each student in each workshop that she attends through "hands-on" or "role playing" activities To provide each student with the opportunity to speak personally with a workshop presenter, panelist or college career counselor at the conference To provide students with tangible momentos of the Expanding Your Horizons conference (e.g. certificate of attendance, t-shirt, tote bag) with the intent of providing long-term recollection of the experience Measurement of Goals and Objectives Most of the conference assessments have been qualitative. Before leaving the conference, we ask each participant (student, teacher, parent, presenter, student assistant) to complete an evaluation form to assess the organization of the day and workshop effectiveness. In addition, we ask participants for suggestions to improve the conference. We ask teacher participants to complete another evaluation after they have returned to their respective schools and have met with the student participants to discuss the benefits of the conference. The responses to all of the forms are tabulated and categorized and are then distributed to the steering Committee for discussion. The steering committee uses the results of the evaluations to determine the immediate effectiveness of the conference, to provide a workshop assessment to each workshop presenter, and to modify the conference program for the following year. Accomplishments of the Program For the past eight years, this program has brought together students and teachers from local middle schools, professors, career counselors and administrators from Penn State, professors from other universities, individuals from Harrisburg and Baltimore area educational facilities, and people from businesses and industries for a most exciting, informative and rewarding day-long conference. Expanding Your Horizons (formerly Math Options for Women) has given our campus an opportunity to reach out to the community with a free educational conference to encourage young females to pursue careers in mathematics, science, engineering, technology or related fields. Students have commented that, as a result of participating in this conference, they understand how important mathematics and science are to their future success, and they are now considering non-traditional careers that require these skills. We feel very strongly that we have positively influenced the future career paths of many of the student participants from the local middle schools by providing worthwhile experiences and excellent female role models.