COPPERAS COVE, TX (April 17, 2023)—A $750,000 Department of Defense Education Activity grant awarded to Copperas Cove ISD afforded students in grades three through eight to attend STEM Girl Day at the University of Texas-Austin.
CCISD Director of Digital Learning and Instruction Holly Landez said the female students had literally hundreds of opportunities for them to explore stem concepts.
“Our main goal with this event is to promote STEM interest and exploration among one of our underrepresented groups,” Landez said. “As the need to prepare students for future STEM careers increases exponentially, we aim to ensure that all students have opportunities to become inspired to learn more about these concepts.”
Thirty-nine CCISD students attended UT STEM Girl Day. The goal of the grant is to increase student math achievement by integrating coding and STEM activities into multiple areas of the curriculum. Several of the sessions at UT STEM Girl Day were focused on coding concepts, Landez said.
House Creek Elementary third grade STEM teacher Thad Shumaker took several of his military-connected students on the field trip stating that the real-world lessons students took away were teamwork and collaboration, problem-solving skills, hands-on experience, and career opportunities.
“STEM activities often require working in teams and collaborating with others. STEM Girl Day provides opportunities for participants to learn the value of teamwork and communication in achieving a common goal,” Shumaker said. “STEM activities often require participants to identify and solve problems. STEM Girl Day helps develop critical thinking skills and problem-solving strategies that can be applied to real-world situations. It also provides an opportunity for participants to engage in hands-on activities, which can help them better understand the concepts being taught and encourage a love of learning. Finally, STEM Girl Day helps participants explore potential careers in STEM fields and learn about the many different paths they can take to achieve their goals. This helps inspire and motivate girls to pursue their interests in STEM and open up a world of opportunities for them in the future.”
Shumaker said that not only did his students benefit from the field trip, but he came back with a variety of activities that he is able to implement in the classroom. He has already implemented a marble run experiment, that he witnessed at UT STEM Girl Day, with his students.
According to the American Association of University Women, only 28 percent of the workforce in STEM careers is women. Known as the STEM gender gap, men are majoring in STEM fields in college at a much higher rate than women, thus expanding even further the number of women in STEM occupations.
CCISD’s 5-year DoDEA grant is in its fourth year. The school district plans to attend UT Girls STEM Day again in the grant’s final year in 2024.
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