AREA GIRLS PARTICIPATE IN SCIENCE MENTORING

Fourteen girls from Cape Girardeau area elementary schools and Louis J. Schultz Middle School recently participated in a five-week science mentoring program on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University.

The participants were exposed to informal, after-school mentoring experiences with women scientists and science educators. The purpose of the program was to increase positive attitudes, and values held about science and the role of women in science among the participating girls.

The group engaged in a number of activities including experiments in biology and chemistry and a tour of the Department of Geosciences, said Sherry Sullivan, Southeast instructor of elementary science education, who spearheaded the mentoring program.

"I thought the science projects were a lot of fun. I would really like to get involved in being a scientist. We messed with chemicals, bacteria, earthquakes and a little bit of other stuff. It was a lot of fun and if they ever had the program again, I hope to be involved and I hope the period is extended," said a sixth-grader from Jefferson Elementary School, who was a participant in the mentoring program.

Sharon Coleman, Southeast associate professor of chemistry, and Christina Frazier, Southeast professor of biology, supervised the laboratory experiments associated with the mentoring program.

The girls also were able to meet and work with female lab assistants who work with Sullivan, Coleman, and Frazier.

Coleman said that their intent was to not only be a role model, but to also provide a learning environment for the girls that would detour negative feelings associated with science and encourage and support a "can do" attitude.

Coleman said that their biology experiments focused on microbiology, and the girls grew cultures and then observed them under a microscope.

Sullivan said the program was launched because, despite advances in opportunities, participation levels among females in science remains low. Studies have found that middle and junior high school age girls begin to lag behind in performance, confidence, and motivation in mathematics. In turn, this impacts their participation in science subjects which are prerequisites for many college majors, she added.

"The need for positive role models and mentors has been well documented, but there still are not enough opportunities for girls to observe women in these roles," Sullivan said.

"A positive outcome of the program was that the girls had a new found confidence in the field of science and that many wished that the program could have lasted longer."

The after school program was funded by Southeast's Grants and Research Funding Committee.