The Best of Our Knowledge
(2008-06-02)
Listen Now:
ALBANY, NY
(WAMC) -
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION SERIES
null
THE SOUNDS OF PROGRESS: THE CHANGING ROLE
OF GIRLS AND WOMEN IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
SISTERS IN SCIENCE: CAN A HOOK SHOT - - HOOK THE SCIENTIFIC MIND? TEACHING SCIENCE THROUGH SPORTS
The American Institutes for Research published a study late last year that compares the performance of 8th graders in individual American states,
against students in top-performing countries like Japan and South Korea. Students in the highest-performing U.S. states ranked below their peers
in foreign countries in math and science.
Science has always held a great deal of meaning for Dr. Penny Hammrich. Hammrich is the Dean of Education at Queens College, City University of
New York (CUNY), where she also is a Professor of Science Education
and Director of the Equity Studies Research Center.
Dr. Hammrich, who has been the Principal Investigator on fourteen National Science Foundation grants, says science has taught her how to think and
how to question. That's one reason why she's spent more than a decade researching and developing a program that draws young women into science.
She does this by mixing science up with something fun...sports! Penny Hammrich calls her program, Sisters in Science. It teaches science
through soccer, basketball, and many other sports. Her research reveals, overtime, a remarkable increase in girls science understanding, abilities,
and retention.
Nancy Cohen reports from Philadelphia and New York City. (14:55)
* The preceding material is supported by the National Science Foundation
under Grant HRD 0631603. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this story, are those of the authors, and
do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
* Featured in the above story are:
Dr. Penny L. Hammrich, Dean of Education, Director, Equity Studies
Research Center, and Professor of Science Education at Queens College,
City University of New York; Dr. Judith Stull, Sociologist, Lasalle University, Philadelphia; Veronica Norris, Administrative Assistant, Temple University, Philadelphia; Rhonda Ottley, Sports Administration Graduate Student,
Temple University; Sandeep Tirumala, Computer Science Engineering
Graduate Student, Temple; Denise Anderson, 5th Grade Teacher, Queens,
New York; John Schulman, Middle School Teacher, Brooklyn, New York;
North Philadelphia Students - Reina Leon, 12, Marcella Best, 14 and
Cavhanah Baht T'om, 12
* Program Directors and Listeners please note. If you would like to hear
this story again, and other similar stories in our exclusive radio documentary series, visit our special website: www.womeninscience.org. Then click on
The Sounds of Progress button.
* For more information and research details about the Sisters in Science
program, visit: www.sistersinscience.org
THE METRO STEM SCHOOL -
The education community continues to press home the message that
students need to study more math and science in order to be more
competitive in the changing global economy. A new public high school
in the Columbus, Ohio area is taking up that challenge. The Metro School,
as it's called, is a small school..only about 200 students thus far. It was
created in partnership with Ohio State University and 16 county school
districts. And the school focuses on a discipline familiar with our TBOOK audience, STEM, science, technology, engineering, and math.
Dan Bobkoff reports. (4:10)
© Copyright 2012, WAMC
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Flickr