An extracurricular club at a local Catholic school is encouraging girls to consider engineering as a potential career, thanks to research by a retired Boston College professor of education.
Nine students in the Saint Columbkille Partnership School in Brighton—operated jointly by BC, the Archdiocese of Boston and Saint Columbkille —have joined the Engineering Club for Girls since it began in February, and there is already a waiting list for the fall.
Jean Mooney, a Lynch School of Education professor who retired in 2003, has been volunteering for several years at St. Columbkille. As part of her work to help the school address the needs of students who are struggling, whether academically or socially, Mooney came across research touting the benefits of using non-digital games to aid learning: "They are just as engaging, infinitely less expensive and more available. It occurred to me that these games might fit well into the after-school program."
Meanwhile, Mooney's granddaughter, a first-grade teacher, directed her to games and activities—such as Goldieblox—developed to encourage girls' interest in science and engineering. Mooney purchased some of the materials with a grant from the BC Association of Retired Faculty and shared them with Anna Birnberg, a science teacher at St. Columbkille, who volunteered to lead the club. Its members, from third, fourth and fifth grade, meet once a week to build, keep journals to track and reflect on their work and contribute to a blog.
"The girls just love it," said Mooney. "There's the fun, social aspect, obviously, but you can see how their cognitive development and problem-solving skills benefit. And at a time when women make up only 14 percent of the world's engineers, they should have the opportunity to contribute to this field."
BC Associate VP for Capital Projects Mary Nadone spoke about her career at Saint Columbkille Partnership School's Engineering Club for Girls, which retired Lynch School of Education faculty member Jean Mooney helped found. (Photo supplied by Jean Mooney)
Recently, the club invited BC Associate Vice President for Capital Projects Mary Nardone to talk about her career in engineering. She recounted the various steps along the way that led her to the profession, from making detailed treasure maps as a child to participating in her school's math club to taking sketching classes. Nardone also showed the girls architectural plans (most of them created by female engineers) and photos of BC construction projects, and described some of the work these involve.
"I had a ball visiting the club, and it also made me think," said Nardone. "The girls said they didn't know they could be engineers until their teacher talked about it. When I was their age, those conversations didn't even take place. Hopefully, if any of them do seriously think about engineering, they can find the resources and encouragement they need."
Mooney, who hopes to help start an engineering club for St. Columbkille boys, feels it's never too early for such inspiration. "I think career education begins in kindergarten. That doesn't mean locking kids into a vocation, but simply giving them a sense of what's possible. Let them see what they can do."
by Sean Smith | News & Public Affairs