NGCP Goes to the AAUW National Convention!
From June 29-July 2, 2007, AAUW members who serve as liaisons for NGCP regional collaboratives presented workshops and staffed an NGCP exhibit table at the biannual national American Association of University Women (AAUW) convention in Phoenix, AZ. Over 800 people attended the convention where these AAUW regional liaisons presented information about women and girls in STEM and the NGCP, encouraging AAUW members to register their STEM programs in the NGCP program directory.
http://www.aauw.org/education/ngcp

Dr. Barbara Bogue and Dr. Rose Marra Honored with the 2007 WEPAN Betty Vetter Research Award
Dr. Barbara Bogue, Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics and Women in Engineering at Pennsylvania State University and Dr. Rose Marra, Associate Professor of Learning Technologies at University of Missouri share the 2007 WEPAN Betty Vetter Research Award. The award recognizes their significant contributions to women in engineering through the development of research-based instruments and practices that benefit programs across the country, including evaluation tools, a database and a website known as AWEOnline (Assessing Women and Men in Engineering).

Dr. Bogue and Dr. Marra are key contributors to the Research Based Strategies of the NGCP professional development available to project participants.
http://www.wepan.org/displ aycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=198

Florida Girls Collaborative
On August 1, 2007, informal learning educators, gender equity experts, science and mathematics education representatives, educational policy experts and private industry partners met via conference call to learn about the Florida Girls Collaborative Project. This group of Champions were excited to learn about the NGCP model. The Kick-Off Conference is planned for Friday, November 9, 2007 at the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, Florida.
http://www.GirlsGetIT.org

Northwest Girls Collaborative Project
The Northwest Girls Collaborative will hold a Fall Forum, "Building Capacity through Collaboration" at the Washington State University campus in Pullman, Washington on September 29, 2007 from 9:00-12:00. Plan to network with other girl-serving organizations, participate in a hands on STEM activity, learn about opportunities to collaborate, share resources, and engage in thoughtful discussions with others who serve girls. To register: http://www.erasurvey.org/websurvey/NWGCPNET.htm

The Science House Girls Collaborative (North Carolina)
The Science House Girls Collaborative Kick-Off event will be held on September 18, 2007 at the North Carolina State University campus.
http://www.science-house.org/ngcp

NGCP WEBCAST: Good Assessment = Success: Developing Assessment Based Outreach Activities
September 12, 2007, 11:00am PDT
Are our outreach activities successful? Do they meet our basic goals? Good assessment helps highlight what works and what needs improvement, provides good data for funders, and keeps us from repeating the same mistakes.

Join Barbara Bogue and Rose Marra, co-founders of the AWE (Assessing Women and Men in Engineering) Project, to learn more about developing assessment based programs, gain access to high quality pre- college survey instruments (that get at more than participant satisfaction), and ask questions.

Barbara Bogue is an Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics and Women in Engineering and a consultant for the National Girls Collaborative Project. Rose M. Marra is an Associate Professor of Learning Technologies and Co- PI of the NGCP. Dr. Marra and Dr. Bogue founded and run the NSF-sponsored AWE Project (AWEonline.org), are recipients of WEPAN¹s Betty Vetter Research Award and have been conducting assessment and evaluation workshops for over 10 years.
To register: http://www.psctlt.org/ngcp/events/webcast.cfm

TRAIN THE TRAINER WEBINAR: What is Engineering and Why Encourage Students to Consider this Field?
August 30, 2007, 2:00pm EDT
The Engineering Equity Extension Service Project, a partnership between the National Academy of Engineering, Project Lead the Way and the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity, has developed a presentation to educate teachers and guidance counselors about the exciting and lucrative career of engineering.

This free-online event is designed for those who wish to learn about strategies to increase young women's interest and participation in pre-engineering and ultimately, engineering careers.

The webinar will be led by Susan Metz, co-founder and past president of WEPAN, Women in Engineering Programs & Advocates Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing access and success of women in engineering.

To register: cvogt@nae.edu.

Long Range Effects of Hands-on Science
A research study of 15,000 respondents, looking at students who participated in undergraduate research opportunities (UROs) suggests that those involved in UROs were interested in STEM prior to participating: almost 60% of survey respondents indicated they had been interested in STEM "since I was a kid", and were twice as likely as those who did not participate to have pre-college expectations of obtaining a Ph.D.

These findings illustrate the importance of fostering STEM interests as early as elementary school, and to provide UROs in order to increase skills and confidence, even among students who do not initially plan to pursue STEM. (UROs typically involve assisting an advisor or professor in a laboratory, and give students the opportunity to gain and practice research skills through hands-on work.)

Published in the April 27, 2007 issue of Science.

Microsoft's Pre-Collegiate Faculty Connection Site
Resources developed for middle school and high school technology, computer science and math teachers are available on this new Web site. Coming soon - a forum for sharing information and resources and connecting with other innovative educators.
http://www.microsoft.com/education/facult yconnection/bz/

MIT Women's Initiative
The Women's Initiative is a student group at MIT dedicated to encouraging more women to pursue degrees and careers in Engineering. During the month of January, enthusiastic women from the School of Engineering at MIT are selected to speak with high school girls nationwide about the excitement of careers in engineering. The presentations include activities to engage students in thinking about engineering concepts, demonstrations of projects on which the presenters have worked, and information about the different engineering fields and the life of an engineering student.
http://web.mit.edu/wi/

NGCP Program Directory- Register your Program Today!
The online Program Directory lists organizations and programs that focus on motivating girls to pursue STEM careers. The purpose of the directory is to help organizations and individuals network, share resources and collaborate on STEM-related projects for girls. When you sign up for the Program Directory you will enter your program description, resources available within your organization, program and/or organizational needs and contact information.
http://www.pugetsoundcenter.org/n gcp/directory/

American Association of University Women (AAUW) members across the country are serving as Regional Liaisons for the National Girls Collaborative Project. These Regional Liaisons help the people involved in the NGCP to make connections - to one another, to resources on gender equity, and to AAUW.

AWE is the Assessing Women and Men in Engineering Project, which provides exportable assessment instruments, literature resources, and methodologies for Women in Engineering and similar programs. AWE is developing resources for use by K-12 STEM programs as part of NGCP services.