When ChatGPT was released in December 2022, people jumped on and started asking it questions and getting answers. This can be helpful in many contexts, but in learning, we ideally want the model to help lead the students to getting the answer themselves.

One of the key challenges in education is that classrooms are made up of individual students who are at different learning levels. Teachers consistently say that working to target learners where they are while at the same time covering grade-level content is a big challenge. The COVID experience has further increased the variability in levels in classrooms and, therefore, the need for individual experiences. At the same time, there are big new developments in the AI space. It’s possible that work in AI can help solve this big education challenge.

The microcomputer revolution of the late 1970s and early 1980s set in motion the development of intelligent tutors to apply a psychology-based approach to learning. The key goals for new systems were to be able to teach a task as well as perform it, adapting dynamically to the learner. However, these intelligent tutors struggled to ask and process questions that lead to deep learning, like, “Why so you think that?” “What would happen if ..” “How might we…”

SAfG just held a virtual webinar: “Empowering Parents/Caregivers: Navigating AI in K-6 Education” - WATCH HERE

Scientific Adventures for Girls Invited to White House STEM Events Highlighting Diversity in STEM

• by Courtenay Carr Heuer, Executive Director, Scientific Adventures for Girls

SAfG Contributes to National Strategy on Equity and Diversity in STEM

Scientific Adventures for Girls (SAfG) was honored to participate in two prominent STEM events hosted by the White House and the Department of Education, emphasizing the importance of diversity and inclusion in STEM fields.

First, SAfG was invited to attend the “Summit on STEMM Equity and Excellence: Propelling Progress and Prosperity by 2050” held on May 1, which launched the first ever National Strategy to promote equity in STEM. The Strategy, created over the last year and a half with input nationally from STEM organizations, was just released. The initiative, launched in December 2022, was created to help transform the STEMM ecosystem by advancing equity for people who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by poverty and inequality. There are five pillars to the strategy: Groundwork for Collaborative Action, Nurturing Curiosity in Every Child, Developing skilled and diverse educators, Creating opportunity for all higher education, Leveraging diverse minds in R&D, Ensuring all workers thrive.  Particularly important to SAfG, and one recommendation SAfG put forward in our feedback to include in the strategy was around pillar #2. Engagement - Nurturing Curiosity in Every Child. The second of two goals under this pillar is to Provide children and families with equitable access to high quality STEM learning experiences, including informal and technology-enable settings. One of the three key metrics being, All Title 1 schools have access to afterschool STEM experiences by 2025.

Additionally, SAfG was invited to participate in the “Raise the Bar: STEM Excellence for All Students: You Belong in STEM” initiative at the White House Executive offices, in Washington DC on April 12. This initiative, spearheaded by the U. S. Department of Education and the Biden- Harris Administration, aims to strengthen STEM education nationwide by ensuring all students excel in rigorous and relevant STEM learning, supporting STEM educators, and strategically investing in STEM education.

IN THE NEWS!

SAfG Interviewed by NBC Bay Area

Vianey Arana, of NBC Bay Area interviewed Courtenay Carr Heuer, SAfG’s Executive Director, about its work and recent trip to the White House Summit on Equity in STEM. Check out this new interview here.