PGE/SEP: Inquiry-Based Science for Girls through Formulation of Personal Care Products

在纽约州北部包括布鲁姆县和周边四个县的地理区域，只有51.2%的高中生参加了化学课程，只有区区29.5%的学生参加了物理课程。纽约州北部的其他地区表现更好，69.8%的高中生学习化学，43.1%的高中生学习物理。人数较低的部分原因是，在整个地区，女性学生都没有选择参加物理科学课程。在一所农村学校，只有36%的11年级女生学化学，12年级女生只有14%学物理。挑战是开发以成绩为基础的科学课程，教授女孩感兴趣的物理科学概念，迫使女孩探索所有科学，而不仅仅是她们似乎更喜欢的生物科学。这个项目将从学生非常熟悉但很可能从未与在学校学到的科学联系在一起的应用程序来进行科学教学。该计划围绕个人护理产品的科技发展。选择这一主题有几个原因：(1)兰德公司在宾厄姆顿拥有主要的个人护理产品制造设施，已同意成为这一多方合作努力的合作伙伴。(2)女孩使用面霜、沐浴露、洗发水和护发素，并会被一个她们可以自己制作的节目所吸引。(3)个人护理产品配方的变化的可能性自然适合于假说的询问和检验过程，以及物理性质的定量测量。(4)这些活动反过来可以转化为研究物理科学中的概念。罗伯逊博物馆和科学中心和纽约州立大学宾厄姆顿分校将在该大学的协调下，提供一个由三个主要部分组成的项目。这些是：(1)罗伯逊博物馆和科学中心主要针对中学女生的非正式科学教育计划。将有兰德公司的参观，四个周六上午的课程和一个为期四天的暑期项目，总共接触到120名女学生。(2)为来自Union-Endicott学区和宾厄姆顿方圆100英里范围内其他学区的24名5至8年级教师举办教师讲习班。(3)向2,000名学生提供教室工具包和现场援助，由一名助学金协调员和两名本科生助理提供援助。在资助期结束后，科学中心将继续以成本价向公众提供女孩的项目。由本科生志愿者提供的帮助将降低这些成本。此外，当局亦会安排学生协助教师，让教师继续在课室教授新课程。

In the geographical region encompassing Broome County and four surrounding counties in upstate New York, only 51.2% of high school students enroll in chemistry classes, and a meager 29.5% enroll in physics classes. The rest of upstate New York does better, enrolling 69.8% of high school students in chemistry and 43.1% in physics. Part of the reason for the low numbers is that all throughout the region, female students are not electing to take classes in the physical sciences. In one rural school, only 36% of 11th grade female students are enrolled in chemistry and only 14% of 12th grade female students are in physics. The challenge is to develop performance-based science lessons that teach concepts in the physical sciences that are so interesting to girls that the girls will be compelled to explore all the sciences, not just the biological sciences that they seem to prefer. This project will approach the teaching of science from applications that students are very familiar with but most likely never associate with the sciences learned in school. The program evolves around the science and technology of personal care products. This topic was selected for several reasons: (1) The Lander Co. with a major facility for manufacturing of personal care products in Binghamton has agreed to be a partner in this multi-collaborative effort. (2) Girls use creams and shower gels, shampoos and hair conditioners, and will be attracted to a program where they can make their own. (3) The possibility of variation in the formulation of personal care products lends itself naturally to the process of inquiry and testing of hypotheses, as well as the quantitative measurements of physical properties. (4) These activities, in turn, can be turned to the study of concepts in the physical sciences. The Roberson Museum and Science Center, and the State University of New York at Binghamton, with coordination provided by the university, will deliver a program with three main components. These are: (1) An informal science education program primarily for middle-school girls at the Roberson Museum and Science Center. There will be tours of the Lander Co., four Saturday morning sessions and one four-day summer program, reaching a total of 120 female students. (2) A teacher's workshop for 24 teachers of Grades 5 to 8 from the Union-Endicott School District as well as other school districts within a 100-mile radius of Binghamton. (3) Classroom kits and on-site assistance reaching a total of 2,000 students, assistance to be provided by a grant-coordinator, and two undergraduate assistants. After the grant period, the science center will continue to offer the girls' program at cost, to the public. Assistance provided by undergraduate volunteers would lower those costs. Students will also be tapped to give teachers assistance so that the latter can continue to offer the new lessons in their classrooms.