Girls Can be Computer Geeks Too

This article by associate professor Diane McGrath entitled "Closing the Gender Gap," addresses the question of why boys often dominate the field of technology.  Why is Best Buy's "Geek Squad" usually made up of tech savvy boys?  McGrath argues its not because girls are less engaged with or adept at using media resources.  She argues its because of the way math and technology is taught to students in primary and secondary school.

She compares technology to the dilemma girls have with math.  Studies show that girls can struggle with and have less proficiency in math than their male classmates, and are less likely to choose a career in the math or science fields.  Female astrophysicists, for example, are an anomoly, an exception to the rule.  McGrath says the best way to teach math, science, and technology so this gender gap doesn't happen is to use a project based learning (PBL) approach.  In contrast to traditional teaching methods, PBL allows students to "become more deeply involved with technology to enhance their understanding of what they are learning."  With PBL, students are using technology and science to complete projects that can be used in the real world, like an astronomy project made on MicroWorlds that can teach kids astronomy. 

It seems like a no-brainer that such projects would promote literacy and confidence in using technology.  It harkens back to that question we always asked in math class: "Why am I learning this?  Why do I need this?"  With PBL, students don't have to ask that question.  They're not just learning concepts, they're applying those concepts.  Raife Esquith, who's won national awards and recongnitions for his work at Hobart Elementary in LA, says he takes students to baseball games so they can practice math.  They think about and compare player statistics to determine the lineup!  Cool, right?  Math has meaning.  PBL makes technology have meaning too.

McGrath closes her argument stating that as teachers, we need to be aware of girls' social and spacial needs when doing PBL.  That's what brings it all together.  She writes:

"Answering to girls' needs for social   able to participate, and they want the social, cognitive, and physical space in which to do so. They want to have their issues listened to and addressed. And when we do these things, when we teach in a connected way and take into account girls’ need to engage deeply with the subject matter, then girls do work-even in math and technology, fìelds we always thought girls didn’t like."

Makes sense to me!