Girls Code Academy provides middle school girls opportunity to learn STEM field
The National Science Board stated in the 2018 Science and Engineering Indicators report that women made up only 28% of workers in the science and engineering workforce in 2015. Additionally, 67% of those in the science and engineering workforce was white.
There have been numerous initiatives to garner youth interest in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) field, in particular amongst girls. One of which is the University of Houston-Clear Lake’s (UHCL) Soaring Hawks Girls Code Academy (SHGCA).
The free one-week summer camp is specifically for 75 local middle school girls in grades six through eight to have hands-on experience with computer coding and programming.
Session 1 and Session 2 took place during the weeks of June 17-21 and July 15-19; Session 3 is scheduled to take place Aug. 5-9 at UHCL’s STEM Building 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. each day.
Stemming from a $49,875 Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) grant, the Girls Code Academy aims to provide participants with knowledge of computer programming via free online coding tools. Additionally, game development is explored through free software tools to produce functioning games.
SHGCA is a collaborative effort between Jana Willis, department chair of literacy, library and learning technologies, and professor of instructional design and technology in the College of Education; Soma Datta, program chair of pre-engineering and assistant professor of software engineering in the College of Science and Engineering; and Tonya Jeffery, director of the Center for Educational Programs.
“This is the first all girl’s [STEM-related] camp [offered at UHCL], however, UHCL has been host to other TWC-funded initiatives, including Explore STEM, which focuses on individuals ages 14-22 with disabilities,” Willis said.
In order to be eligible for one of the 75 spots, girls must be a member of underrepresented populations including minorities, low socioeconomic status, disabilities, military and foster care youth. Participants must also be entering the 6th, 7th or 8th grade in fall 2019 with a letter grade of at least B in math and science.
Further, SHGCA girls must score within the median and superior range on standardized testing in math and science. In addition to an essay expressing enthusiasm for the subjects of coding/programming and STEM, girls are to have recommendations from current math and science teachers and/or a school counselor confirming interest and family financial need.
“This has been very exciting to see how talented these young girls are in coding and critical thinking,” Willis said.
Over the course of the week-long summer camp, the girls are able to work on projects to put their STEM-related skills to the test. Some of the projects include generating a dance party, guiding sparrows through a maze and playing pianos via coding.
“Behind everything that they’re doing, there is some coding language,” Datta said.
Johanna Jacob, UHCL alumna who received her master’s in computer science in fall 2017, is one of three students assisting with the SHGCA. Overall, this is Jacob’s third year teaching STEM-related camps.
“This camp has a little bit different dynamics because of the background of students who come participate in these camps,” Jacob said. “It’s been awesome. This group has been really amazing.”
Datta encourages parents to have their daughters attend these camps in order to gain exposure to the field of computer science.
“They can get out of the fear that computer science is not for girls,” Datta said. “I feel very touched when I hear that because it is so close to my heart.”
For more information on the SHGCA, contact the Center for Educational Programs at 281-283-3529 or visit www.uhcl.edu/cep.
“The future is bright with potential,” Willis said. “Igniting a spark in these young girls could encourage continued interest in computer science. Who knows, maybe these are future Hawks!”
