A study by University of Colorado at Boulder researcher Lecia Barker on encouraging girls to engage in computing education and careers will be featured on the public radio program "The Best of Our Knowledge" on Jan. 7.
"The Best of Our Knowledge," one of several national programs produced by WAMC Northeast Public Radio in Albany, N.Y., covers issues unique to college campuses, including descriptions of research and commentary from experts and administrators. The program is not available on Colorado public radio stations but can be accessed as an MP3 file on the Web at: http/:/stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-660942.mp3.
Barker is the director of the Assessment and Research Center at the ATLAS Institute at CU-Boulder.
In the show, Barker talks about her research partnership with the Computer Magnet Program in Denver Public Schools. The magnet program, located at both North and Thomas Jefferson high schools, helps students develop real-world technical and leadership skills. The study had a dual focus on the messages that recruiters use in trying to persuade middle school girls and what kinds of messages actually appeal to girls.
"Even though teachers are intimately familiar with what kids care about, they often start by trying to get them interested in computer programming - an instant turnoff with most boys and girls," Barker said. "They are not interested in the programming, but in what they can produce with programming. Once they have a project goal, technical skills will follow. Middle school girls want to do something socially valued, such as human or veterinary medicine."
The Computer Magnet Program and the ATLAS Institute encourage education in technological fields and work on expanding opportunities for all young people to use technology. Together, Barker notes, they are determining more effective ways to recruit girls for technology classes. The ATLAS Institute and the Computer Magnet Program also partner on DigitalCUrrents, a summer technology camp in which ATLAS students teach high school students technology development skills and the high school students then teach middle school students the same skills.
"The Best of Our Knowledge" program gives researchers a voice, providing them a direct pipeline for publishing their studies, through audio files, to a national audience. Barker's broadcast segment is the first in a series of eight focusing on the changing role of girls and women in science, engineering and mathematics.
Barker also is a senior research scientist in the National Center for Women and Information Technology, which is housed in the ATLAS institute. The program aims to encourage girls and women to enter information technology careers. The ATLAS Institute focuses on making information technology available to people in non-technology fields.
