{"id":1441,"date":"2017-04-11T15:22:01","date_gmt":"2017-04-11T19:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nicholas.duke.edu\/fuelforthought\/?p=1441"},"modified":"2017-04-11T15:22:01","modified_gmt":"2017-04-11T19:22:01","slug":"gest-by-the-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nicholas.duke.edu\/fuelforthought\/gest-by-the-numbers\/","title":{"rendered":"GEST by the Numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"

On April 1, the second annual Girls Exploring Science & Technology<\/a> (GEST) event welcomed over 130 sixth-eighth graders to the Duke Marine Lab for a day of hands-on science and engineering activities with local researchers and educators. GEST’s objective is to provide opportunities and role models in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for girls in eastern North Carolina, and to encourage them to pursue their interests in STEM.<\/p>\n

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Women in STEM panel discussion with a UNC science diver\/ecologist, local veterinarian, military engineer and fisheries biologist.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A\u00a0local newspaper reporter\u00a0asked me for details while participants transitioned\u00a0to their activities on the\u00a0sunny,\u00a0warm Saturday in Beaufort.\u00a0He asked whether GEST was having the effect we intended, and\u00a0this\u00a0struck\u00a0me at a weak point.\u00a0As much as we hope the event impacts its\u00a0participants, the truth is we don’t know exactly what effect it has aside from\u00a0the positive statements received\u00a0from girls and parents. Quantifying the event’s impact would require a long-term study of the participants as well as pre- and post-event surveys on their interest levels and confidence in STEM, among other metrics.<\/p>\n

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Girls await the results of their algae experiment.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Luckily, the Duke undergraduate-led organization Females Excelling More in Math, Engineering, and Science<\/a>\u00a0(FEMMES) has been conducting\u00a0these surveys for its own Capstone event, which GEST is modeled after. They found that fourth-sixth grade participants had\u00a0significantly increased<\/a>\u00a0confidence and knowledge in science, engineering and math based on self-reported surveys 3 months after the event.<\/p>\n

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Girls dissect a squid in the NOAA classroom next door to the Duke Marine Lab.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recently, there has been greater\u00a0emphasis on evaluating the impact of outreach activities. Researchers are\u00a0now\u00a0encouraged or expected to include\u00a0these evaluation methods in\u00a0their Broader Impacts statement in grant proposals. Evaluations metrics are useful for improving\u00a0outreach efforts to increase the likelihood of achieving their objectives.<\/p>\n

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Participants look for invertebrates in the marsh with volunteers from the N.C. Coastal Federation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While we do not (yet) have detailed evaluation data for GEST, we are hopeful that the results found by FEMMES Capstone organizers extend to GEST\u00a0as well. For now, we have several other metrics that are fun to investigate.\u00a0And so I present to you:<\/p>\n

GEST by the Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Volunteers<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We had 58<\/strong> volunteers in 2016 and 65<\/strong> volunteers in 2017.\u00a0Together they represented over 13<\/strong> institutions, agencies, or organizations. 2<\/strong> volunteers this year were Duke Marine Lab alumni, Dr. Vicky Thayer (keynote speaker) and Dr. Joceyn Romano (Women in STEM panelist).<\/p>\n

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The institutions or organizations that volunteers represented. “Other” mostly includes local educators from various schools or organizations.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Participants<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Where did the 135<\/strong> GEST participants come from this year? Check out the map below of schools attended by participants (note: does not include homeschoolers). Most came from within Carteret County but many spent hours travelling to the event.<\/p>\n

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