According to a study by the Girl Scouts, 74 percent of girls report an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). The problem starts when they decide to pursue a career—only 13 percent express an interest in STEM as their top career choice. The result is some 200,000 STEM jobs going unfilled annually in the United States despite the fact that women in STEM fields earn 35 percent more than their peers.
“This is why so many organizations have launched STEM initiatives for girls, including the Girl Scouts, NASA and the New York Academy of Sciences. While encouraging interest in STEM is important, what they are missing is the need to teach a growth mindset that will enable lifelong learning, instill purpose and teach the kind of grit that powers through life’s setbacks,” says writer and educator Robin Stevens Payes.
“There isn’t a lot of STEM content for middle school girls that teaches the social and emotional skills they need to succeed,” says Payes. To address that, Payes is engaging young women in the media they love most—gaming, novels, videos, podcasts and social media, and combining this with innovative lesson plans—to teach girls how to succeed in STEM and in life.
I had a chance to review two books she wrote - Edge of Yesterday, and the second book in the series, Da Vinci's Way. In the books, Charley Morton loves math, and dreams of doing the impossible - creating a time machine to meet her idol, Leonardo da Vinci. I really enjoyed reading her work - the concept of the story was intriguing and the way the books wove together science and history, along with an imaginative plot, was really fun to read. My middle-school daughter, who loves science, also really enjoyed reading them - she read both of them in a weekend!
The Edge of Yesterday series will go a step further than the books and create an online community for teens that will:
· Promote reading for content and inspiration by opening the gateway to STEM and STEAM learning.
· Inspire curiosity, creativity and a love of learning using Leonardo da Vinci's example of intrinsic learning.
· Encourage teens to be curious, to engage with their passions, to discover new ideas, and to tell their stories in a variety of media.
· Connect learning to life that inspires a drive to mastery.
The ultimate aim is to nurture a growth mindset, a learning foundation that will increase young people’s capacity for learning, instill purpose and help them remain motivated in the face of life’s most difficult challenges.
ROBIN STEVENS PAYES is the author of Edge of Yesterday, a serial science fiction story and interactive web platform designed to blow young minds, tap creative juices, and explore the truths our stories are telling us in IRL. She works with teens through the Maryland Writers Association teen clubs, Girls in Technology, and the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning.
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