According to a Nov. 30 article by Democrat and Chronicle staff writer Nestor Ramos, the program which began in 2003 as an after-school opportunity for middle-schoolers is provides the girls with hands-on learning opportunities, high-level instruction and a supportive environment:
The girls meet for 90 minutes every Thursday to work on hands-on projects, answering science questions of their own devising. This years theme is "Shrinking Our Footprints: Exploring the Science Behind Walking in Balance." The students will present the results at a public forum Dec. 5. &
Keeping Science STARS all female makes sense because boys in science classes tend to dominate the equipment, and teachers involuntarily focus their attention on the boys, asking challenging questions and directing more instructional energy their way, [UR assistant professor April Luehmann] said.
Its easier to focus in an all-girl class, ninth-grader Cornelia Joseph said. "It's a girl thing."
Labels: single-sex education, public-schools, science
Posted By: Aspen/CRC
