STEM+C After-School Initiative inspires minority girls to solve global challenges

EAST ST. LOUIS - Nine-year-old Coriana Lampkins, of East St. Louis, was shocked to see that some Hawaiian Punch soft drink had turned an eggshell bright red. Her surprise, turned to curiosity, stemmed from an experiment she was conducting during the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville-led initiative, Exploring Global Challenges: A STEM+C Curriculum for Minority Girls.

The experiment aimed at demonstrating the amount of sugar in certain beverages and how teeth can be affected by them. It is one of many that 40 young girls are conducting as participants in the after-school program being held at the East St. Louis Christian Activity Center.

“These egg shells stand for our teeth,” Lampkins explained. “We made a chart to show the amount of sugar in each drink, and next were going to make a nutrition label that explains what’s in the drink.”

“I love coming each week,” added eight-year-old Amagyn Moore, of East St. Louis. “I learned if you eat too much sugar, it’ll give you a cavity. Learning about those types of mistakes now will help me as I get older.”

Exploring Global Challenges is led by the SIUE Center for STEM Research, Education and Outreach, in partnership with the SIUE Department of Computer Science, the iBIO Institute EDUCATE Center and the East St. Louis Christian Activity Center. The program is funded by a $846,416 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant and is working to integrate computational thinking--a way of thinking about problems so that a computer can be used to explore or solve the problems--into the EDUCATE Center’s existing Stellar Girls STEM curriculum. Implementation of the student program began in November of 2018.

“The original Stellar Girls curriculum has a track record of success in engaging young girls in STEM through the lens of solving global challenges,” said Matthew Johnson, instructional design and curriculum specialist with the SIUE STEM Center. “Our goal is to integrate computational thinking and add as much expressiveness and choice into the activities and projects as possible, while keeping with the theme of affecting positive change in the world.”

The girls are taking on the role of future engineers and budding scientists, completing projects that challenge them to find solutions for real global issues, solutions that work towards alleviating hunger, promoting human health, meeting the world’s energy needs and sustaining resources for future generations.

“This is an enormous opportunity for these young females,” said Nzinga Medley, academic coordinator at the East St. Louis Christian Activity Center. “It’s sowing seeds in their lives and the community. Participants are always anxious and excited to learn what they’ll be working on next. This program not only aligns with our mission, but expands our ability to reach our goals.”

“This program is a great example of how universities and community partners can work together to enrich the STEM education of local youth, helping them to see a clear pathway that leads to STEM degrees and careers,” said Georgia Bracey, PhD, STEM Center research assistant professor and principal investigator of the NSF grant.

“I was attracted to this program because my research is about influencing underrepresented populations to pursue STEM, especially girls in engineering,” added Henriette Burns, SIUE STEM Center Fellow, who is responsible for research on the initiative.

The girls will progress through a series of hands-on computing activities during four 10-week sessions over two years. Future projects include using chemicals to test for macronutrients in food and then creating a classification system, or data tree, that a computer could use to identify an unknown food by analyzing its components. With the power of this computerized data analysis, the girls will be able to identify a variety of mystery foods.

Organizers are planning a spring 2019 community event where participants will showcase their work.

The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Center for STEM Research, Education and Outreach comprises an independent group of researchers and educators, innovating ways to engage students and the public in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Within the SIUE Graduate School, the Center brings together research faculty, graduate students and practitioners to conduct education research. The Center contributes educational expertise to SIUE undergraduate classes and provides professional development for K-12 teachers. The Center boasts a significant library of equipment and resources, which are available for loan at no cost to campus and regional instructors. For more information, visit https://www.siue.edu/stem/ about.shtml or contact STEM Center Director Sharon Locke at (618) 650-3065 or stemcenter@siue.edu.

The mission of the iBIO Institute EDUCATE Center is to deliver industry-led STEM programs for teachers and students, thereby inspiring the next generation of innovators and helping restore America’s leadership in technology education.

The East St. Louis Christian Activity Center focuses its year-round programming around three core areas: faith, education and recreation. Nicknamed “school after school,” its daily schedule includes academic support including reading, math, homework assistance, remediation, foreign language, and STEM.

-SIUE-

Photo: Nine-year-old Kalia Scott creates a bar graph that shows the amount of sugar in different beverages.

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