WINONA LAKE — Grace College’s elementary education students are facilitating their fourth year of Girls in STEM, an after-school program for nearly 150 first- through third-grade girls at Madison, Washington and Jefferson Elementary Schools.
The club, which meets once a week from 4 to 5 p.m., exposes local girls to robotics, electric circuits, coding and problem solving with the goal of teaching and inspiring the next generation of women in STEM, according to a news release from Grace.
“At Girls in STEM, Grace students work with small groups of girls to foster a love of science,” said Dr. Rachael Hoffert, chair of elementary education at Grace. “Our goal in these partnerships with the local schools is to not just teach education, but to build relationships and serve our community. We believe the best way to do that is through collaborations like this that benefit teacher candidates, STEM-certified elementary schools and the students they serve.”
Jodi Hanson, a part-time professor at Grace of six years, was instrumental in launching the Girls in STEM club four years ago and securing funds for the clubs’ robotics. She brings seven years of experience integrating STEM into reading, math and writing as an elementary teacher and has served on several STEM committees for Warsaw Community Schools.
“The School of Education is so thankful to have quality part-time instructors like Jodi, who has taken a hands-on approach to the critical thinking involved in STEM,” said Hoffert. “She facilitates powerful science lessons in the classroom, trains our students on STEM equipment and creates impactful ways for our candidates to apply their knowledge while serving our community.”
According to Hanson, throughout her Methods of Science class, the Grace students’ feelings towards science “completely flip.”
“They are so much more positive at the end of a lesson than when we start,” said Hanson. “The goal is that our students complete the course with an understanding that science is all around them.”
Avery Samms, a third-year senior at Grace studying elementary education, has valued the hands-on experience she has gained through volunteering with Girls in STEM, the release states.
“This program creates a safe space for elementary girls to build social skills and ignites interest in primarily male-driven work, ultimately building up our girls' confidence and self-esteem,” she said. “I have personally benefited from the exploration of different technologies and STEM-related material as we have learned how to weave each of the components together to build lessons that are more engaging and practical for the real world.”
To learn more about the Girls in STEM club, watch this video. For more information about the School of Education at Grace, visit www.grace.edu/academics/academic-schools-departments/school-of-education/.