Springfield High Hosts Girl Powered STEM Workshop
Bulldog Bytes Team Members Showcase Robotics Learning
SPRINGFIELD, La. – “Calling All Girls!” That is the cry of industries across our state and nation that have a need to fill careers based in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics learning.
To help answer that call, Springfield High School recently hosted its first “Girl Powered Workshop” to inform young women and members of the community at-large about available STEM and robotics opportunities.
“Routinely providing positive reinforcement, giving girls agency and voice, and introducing diverse female role models in STEM fields can help build girls’ confidence in STEM classrooms and give them opportunities to see themselves in these disciplines,” Superintendent Joe Murphy said.
Currently women make up half the total college-educated workforce, but they fill only 30 percent of STEM jobs. For black and Latina women in STEM, that number reduces drastically, to only 2 percent.
“Education can play a significant role in helping to bridge gender equity gaps,” said LPPS Instructional Technology Facilitator and STEAM Express Director Jolie Gregoire.
Gregoire noted that a study by the National Academy of Engineering showed that when students were asked if they wanted to be engineers, girls were twice as likely as boys to say no. But when asked if they would like to design a safe water system, save the rainforest, or use DNA to solve crimes, then girls often answered yes.
“The key to STEM learning is making it meaningful, putting it in context or real-world issues,” Gregoire said. “It’s important that students who are presented with new problems can recognize them as problems they can solve. With hands-on opportunities, we can meet girls where their interests lie, and spark greater curiosity and understanding in STEM.”
SHS Teacher and Robotics Sponsor Yvette Hill, along with members of the Bulldog Bytes team, sponsored the event for girls and boys who are interested in robotics and STEM-related activities.
Lanie Bauduoin of Gainey’s Concrete Products,
a locally owned business, presented a short talk on understanding STEM career opportunities, and members of the Bulldog Bytes Robotics Team demonstrated their various robotics projects.
The Robotic Education and Competition (REC) Foundation began the nationwide Girl Powered initiative to encourage more girls to explore STEM career fields. The foundation provides resources for workshops and learning activities. According to the REC website, the foundation is committed to making robotics “reflective of the diverse world we live in, and the one we want to leave behind.”
Springfield High School’s Bulldog Bytes Team Member Nathan Gordon, front center, allows one of the guest students to drive his team’s robots during a demonstration on robotics for the Girl Powered Workshop.
Pictured are all those “guest students,” members of the Springfield High School’s Bulldog Bytes Team, and special guest Lanie Bauduoin of Gainey Concrete Products who participate in Springfield High School’s first Girl Powered Workshop to promote learning and career opportunities in STEM.