Chapter 8: Stem Summer Institute: A Model Program for Stem Integration for Girls

Rising concern about America’s ability to maintain its competitive position in the global economy has renewed interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education (Chen& Weko 2009). The economy of the United States depends upon engineering and technology advancement; the growth of jobs in the STEM workforce is outpacing overall job growth by 3:1 (Lam, 2011; National Science Board, 2008). If there is such high rate in job growth, why are there so few people, specifically among women and minorities, entering the STEM field?

The answer to this question may be found at the root of the problem, K-12 education. Although children are natural engineers, with strong impulses to investigate, construct, create, and share their knowledge with others (Genalo, Bruning,& Adams, 2000), current curricula does not take advantage of their natural curiosity. Therefore, children’s ability to analyze,develop, build, and test as engineers and scientists may be stifled in school. K-12 students tend to shy away from engineering fields simply because they have a limited understanding of what engineering is (Jeffers, Safferman,& Safferman, 2004). It does not help that many K-12 teachers have just as limited an understanding of engineering as the students do (Fadali, Robinson,& McNichols, 2000). Unless students have family members or friends who are engineers, they are often never introduced to the field (Abbitt& Carroll, 1993).