By Sam Piha
Last spring, President Obama
stated emphatically that, “Emphasizing STEM education—especially to girls and
minority students–is one of the most important efforts the U.S. can make if it
hopes to produce college- and career-ready students”. Linda Kekelis, Executive
Director of Techbridge, a local STEM afterschool program for girls, is a
leading innovator of how to do this successfully. Below we offer an interview
with Linda Kekelis.
Q: Techbridge is a program that has
attracted national attention. Could you say a word describing the program and
highlighting why it has attracted so much attention?
![]() |
Linda Kekelis |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP4tcLVwl0hSDPbUFtFNTZA2F0eYzMxjGRK34DNAJSYvjqDopsOzpNszj46DYZ1PKB34c46MpuPAO7qM8kHFBshHKSP50OAU92sgysBmL9uXNMk_IYx047f0Yn_S_aaLMtnQ_8C_AAp5hr/s1600/Techbridge+Logo.jpg)
We don’t want our girls to be just consumers or
users of technology, but programmers too. For girls who have limited access to
computers at home and school and even more limited exposure to programming, the
projects expand their understanding of the promise of technology. By working on hands-on projects such as
building robots and designing computer games, girls have a specific goal to
work towards, increasing their motivation to persevere and complete a
successful project. We promote the “growth mindset” and teach girls that the
brain is like a muscle that gets stronger and works better the more it is
exercised. We have heard from teachers and parents alike that the strong
engagement and motivation that girls demonstrate in Techbridge carry over into
their school work and classrooms. For example, we often hear of a girl who
started off in Techbridge unsure of her abilities is transformed by her
experience in Techbridge. By the end of the year, she is more confident,
speaking up in classes and working through problems instead of giving up.
Q: Do
you expose program participants to experiences beyond the walls of your
program?
A: While hands-on
projects can spark an interest in a young girl, we have found that role models
and field trips to worksites are instrumental in getting girls interested in a
career in a technical field. The opportunity to see real-world
applications of technology, science, and engineering and meet with role models
is rare for most of our girls, yet as we have seen, can be a very impactful
influence. Techbridge partners with leading technology, science, and
engineering firms around the San Francisco Bay Area to bring girls to corporate
worksites, where they can see firsthand what engineers and scientists do, and
interact with role models who share inspiring stories and provide academic and
career guidance.
Q: There is a growing interest in exposing youth, especially girls, to STEM
activities and careers. Do you help other organizations take on this challenge?
A: Through the delivery, evaluation and
refinement of its program over the past 12 years, Techbridge has gained a
wealth of experience and has become a leader in role model training, working
with organizations nationwide. Techbridge’s training and resources are designed
to help volunteers effectively engage and relate to youth so that the
experience is mutually rewarding.
In addition, Techbridge provides training for girl-serving organizations
who wish to recruit, train and retain role models for their programs. These resources are available free of
charge on the Techbridge website, for organizations or individuals seeking help
in these areas.
Techbridge also has a partnership with
Girl Scout councils nationwide to provide programs-in-a-box and trainings for
Girl Scout staff, leaders and volunteers. This partnership has scaled up to 15
councils nationwide, with an estimated reach of over 15,000 girls by 2013. Girls
Go Techbridge is providing training and engineering activities and supporting
the capacity of councils to work with partners like the Society of Women
Engineers to introduce many more girls to engineering.
Q: There are those who claim
that real learning takes place within the school day and the learning in youth
programs outside of school lacks rigor. How do you know whether or not you are
being successful?
A: We take evaluation seriously and invest time and resources into
measuring the impact of all that we do. The evaluation goals of Techbridge are
to 1) increase students’ technical and scientific skills; 2) increase
confidence levels; 3) enhance academic and career guidance to expand career
options; 4) promote greater interest in careers in technology, science, and
engineering; and 5) develop a strong and effective network of support for girls
by offering training and resources to teachers, role models, families, and
partners. Techbridge utilizes both
quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods to track progress toward
achieving our goals. These include pre- and post-surveys, focus groups with
girls, teachers, and families, and program observations and coaching. Our
outside evaluator collects and analyzes data for the programs.
Evaluation results demonstrate the success of Techbridge. Last year,
95% of participating students knew more about how things work (like simple
machines), 89% felt more confident trying new things, 95% believed that
engineering is a good career for women, 96% knew more about different kinds of
jobs, and 89% planned to study harder so they can go to college. We also
conducted a three-year longitudinal study that showed evidence of long-term
impact on girls: 82% reported a greater interest in a career in technology,
science and engineering, 86% had more confidence in themselves, and 87%
have more career options than they otherwise would have as a result of having
participated in Techbridge.
Q: Can you tell us about the
recognition that Techbridge has received because of its innovation and success?
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk5j-NtX-tQfSwmoveT3wU6xkL1Z0bwXyjfswSOesg7lbdFqUnvb_vcfo_IfjdfwGGJsICBNqqcPOTbK9q-OX-KqXUKnrstO3BraYv_O89HIwuFwyQMh4H4ksFpoOUgDmmrA9aS0PVT1k-/s1600/Practice+Soldering+017.jpg)
______________________
Linda Kekelis is the Executive Director of Techbridge. As an advocate
of girls' engagement in science, technology, and engineering, Linda has been a
Principal Investigator on five NSF-funded projects that have supported
out-of-school programs for girls and training and resources for role models.
She has translated research into practical applications for parents, teachers,
and role models. She serves on numerous panels and advisory boards for programs
designed to increase the participation of females in technology and
engineering. Linda also has conducted research on children with special needs
and has published resources to promote the development of children who are
visual impaired. She has a Master's degree in Linguistics from the University
of Southern California and a Doctorate in Special Education from the University
of California, Berkeley.
No comments:
Post a Comment