More than a dozen years ago, educators at High Point Regional High School noticed low enrollment of female students in engineering and technology electives.
The problem paralleled the issue in industry, where there is a lack of women in technology and engineering. A team of teachers and students, supported by administrators and the school board, brainstormed to increase the representation of young women in technology classes at High Point – and the result was the Women in Engineering, Design & Technology course.
The class, now in its 13th year, allows female students to learn without the distraction of males in the same room. Girls are the thinkers, designers and developers of solutions to projects. In the past, boys did the “building” and girls did the “keyboarding.” In course surveys, students have said the skills they learned will help them in future career paths, whether or not they go into engineering.
More than 240 students have taken the class, which has seen enrollment climb. Students from the class have won awards at the National Technology Student Association; and have been elected president of the district’s Technology Student Association Chapter. Many have also gone on to study engineering, winning scholarships, or gone on to pursue technology teaching as a career.
Information
Contact: Paul Cardinal, technology education teacher, [email protected]
Online: http://www.hpregional.org/academics/academic_departments/technological_studies_dept
http://www.hpregional.org/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=4285901
A winner of the National School Boards Association’s Magna Award, 2014