Unconscious Bias:
Girls, STEAM and Leadership
June 9-10, 2021
Virtually join public and independent school teachers at Atlanta Girls’ School as we explore stereotype threat, unconscious bias, and gain training to support underrepresented students interested in pursuing careers in STEAM.
Thank you for your interest in this year’s Summer Institute! Registration has closed as we have reached capacity.
We hope to see you in 2022.
Dr. Lisa Damour
Psychologist, best-selling author, monthly New York Times columnist, & regular contributor to CBS News
Psychologist, best-selling author, monthly New York Times columnist, & regular contributor to CBS News
Lisa Damour, Ph.D. writes the monthly Adolescence column for the New York Times and is a regular contributor at CBS News. She serves as a Senior Advisor to the Schubert Center for Child Studies at Case Western Reserve University and as the Executive Director of Laurel School’s Center for Research on Girls. Dr. Damour maintains a private psychotherapy practice and consults and speaks internationally.
Dr. Damour has written numerous academic papers, chapters, and books related to education and child development and is the author of two New York Times best sellers: Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood and Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls.
A Denver native, Dr. Damour graduated with honors from Yale University and then worked for the Yale Child Study Center before earning her doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Michigan. She has held fellowships from Yale’s Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy and from the University of Michigan’s Power Foundation. Dr. Damour draws on years of clinical experience and the latest research to provide sound, practical guidance to girls as well as to their parents, teachers, and advocates.
Dr. Bettina Love
Award-winning author & Athletic Association Endowed Professor at the University of Georgia
Award-winning author & Athletic Association Endowed Professor at the University of Georgia
Bettina is an award-winning author and the Athletic Association Endowed Professor at the University of Georgia. She is one of the field’s most esteemed educational researchers. Her writing, research, teaching, and activism meet at the intersection of race, education, abolition, and Black joy. Dr. Love is concerned with how educators working with parents and communities can build communal, civically engaged schools rooted in Abolitionist Teaching with the goal of intersectional social justice for equitable classrooms that love and affirm Black and Brown children. In 2020, Dr. Love founded the Abolitionist Teaching Network (ATN). ATN’s mission is simple: develop and support teachers and parents to fight injustice within their schools and communities. In 2020, Dr. Love was also named a member of the Old 4th Ward Economic Security Task Force with the Atlanta City Council.
Dr. Love is a sought-after public speaker on a range of topics, including: Abolitionist Teaching, anti-racism, Hip Hop education, Black girlhood, queer youth, Hip Hop feminism, art-based education to foster youth civic engagement, and issues of diversity and inclusion. She is the creator of the Hip Hop civics curriculum GET FREE.
In 2014, she was invited to the White House Research Conference on Girls to discuss her work focused on the lives of Black girls. For her work in the field of Hip Hop education, in 2016, Dr. Love was named the Nasir Jones Hiphop Fellow at the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University. In April of 2017, Dr. Love participated in a one-on-one public lecture with bell hooks focused on the liberatory education practices of Black and Brown children. In 2018, Georgia’s House of Representatives presented Dr. Love with a resolution for her impact on the field of education. She has also provided commentary for various news outlets including NPR, Ed Week, The Guardian, and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
She is the author of the books We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom and Hip Hop’s Li’l Sistas Speak: Negotiating Hip Hop Identities and Politics in the New South. Her work has appeared in numerous books and journals, including the English Journal, Urban Education, The Urban Review, and the Journal of LGBT Youth.
Dr. Anneliese Singh
Professor & Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity/Chief Diversity Officer at Tulane University
Professor & Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity/Chief Diversity Officer at Tulane University
Anneliese Singh, PhD, LPC (she/they) is a Professor and Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity/Chief Diversity Officer at Tulane University. Her scholarship and community organizing explores the resilience, trauma, and identity development experiences of queer and trans people, with a focus on young people and BIPOC people. Anneliese is the author of The Queer and Trans Resilience Workbook and The Racial Healing Handbook: Practical Activities to Help You Challenge Privilege, Confront Systemic Racism, and Engage in Collective Healing. Anneliese is co-founder of the Georgia Safe Schools Coalition and the Trans Resilience Project.
Dr. Natoshia (“Dr. Toshia”) Anderson, is a Mechanical Engineer-turned award-winning STEM educator and STEM advocate, STEM leadership consultant, and dynamic and informative, in-demand STEM motivational speaker, podcast host, and author. Dr. Toshia offers intensive professional and leadership development coaching and training for STEM entities, educators, and school system staff, and mentorship for young minority women and girls in STEM. She also offers STEM keynote/motivational speaking services to organizations, associations, corporations, conferences, and educational systems nationwide. Currently, Dr. Toshia is the VP of Implementation and Training, for Woz Ed, a STEM education company that specializes in customized Science and STEM Kits and curriculum. In her spare time, Dr. Anderson can be found reading a good romance novel or binge-watching Netflix shows. She is a wife of 21 years and is a mother to one college sophomore and one high school junior.
WORKSHOP
Blowing up Stereotype Threat: Optimizing History and Storytelling to Bring STEAM to Life for Underrepresented Students in the Classroom
Participants will leave understanding the role of stereotype threats in undermining underrepresented student performance and interest in STEM fields and how to overcome it in the classroom using established best practices, history, and storytelling. This interactive workshop will give participants implementable techniques and strategies that involve storytelling techniques and STEM history to incorporate into their classroom routines that will help reduce or eliminate stereotype threat for underrepresented students in their classroom.
Ms. Barnett’s degrees include a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and a Masters of Art in Teaching Mathematics. Ms. Barnett holds certifications in Mathematics (6-12), Middle Grades Science (4-8), and Elementary Education (P-5). Ms. Barnett currently serves as the STEM Director and middle grades STEM teacher at Amana Academy. Her experiences as an educator include work as a classroom teacher in grades K-1, 4-5, and 6. Ms. Barnett has also taught middle grades science and mathematics for 6th grade and STEM engineering classes for elementary and middle school students. As the current STEM Director at Amana Academy, Ms. Barnett coordinates STEM programming, supports scholars in school-wide and grade-level STEM enrichment activities, and assists with teacher professional development.
WORKSHOP
Coding Fun: Making Music and Teaching Coding with Ear Sketch
This workshop will explore the basics of coding in Ear Sketch and possibilities for integrating grade-level projects (grades 5-12). The Georgia Tech Ear Sketch program was created to encourage students to learn to code while creating music using Python or JavaScript languages. Participants in the workshop will create their first beat, explore the Ear Sketch curriculum, and learn about simple integrated projects that students can create.
Suzy Beckham, PhD
Chemistry, calculus, and physics teacher
Chemistry, calculus, and physics teacher
Suzy Beckham joined the math and science departments at AGS in 2016. Her teaching experience began as an Assistant Professor at Georgia Institute of Technology, where she taught chemistry for 11 years. Suzy’s two daughters, Lucy and Molli, and her stepdaughter Audrey are all AGS alumnae. She has snorkeled on the Great Barrier Reef!
Education:
Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, Davidson College
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry, Stanford University
Eliza Bruno is a first-year undergraduate Biomedical Engineering major at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Alongside graduating as Valedictorian of Mount Vernon School’s Class of 2020 in her hometown of Sandy Springs, Georgia, she spent much of her high school experience gaining design thinking skills through Mount Vernon School’s Innovation Diploma program.
WORKSHOP
Wish for WASH Design Jam Workshop
How might we use design thinking methods to engage students in STEM? Work with current and former Georgia Tech students that are a part of the organization Wish for WASH as they guide you through the process of human-centered and empathic design. Wish for WASH Thinks Inc’s mission is to bring more diverse minds, talent, and innovation to the problems of global health and WASH in our world through the lens of research, design, and education because #everybodypoops. Over the past 4 years Wish for WASH has been running design thinking workshops and courses with partners such as OpenIDEO, The Paideia School, The Weber School, Girl Scouts of Atlanta, and the Museum of Design Atlanta as a part of our educational and advocacy workstream.
Through our workshops and curricula, we seek to empower the next generation of STEM learners, design thinkers, and human-centered problem-solvers to use empathic, interdisciplinary, and iterative tools to build sustainable and inclusive innovation in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector to help the world reach the 6th Sustainable Development Goal by 2030. In this specific 3-hour workshop, we will first do a 2-hour Design Jam – a rapid sprint through the design thinking process where participants will get first hand condensed experience going through all of the phases of a design challenge addressing one of our modern world’s biggest problems: water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). After learning more about design thinking through experience, we will then conclude with a 1-hour facilitation training to learn how to take design thinking tools and methodologies and bring them into a classroom setting with your own specific topics. Learn more.
Jasmine Burton is a social inclusion and design specialist with a focus on gender equity, meaningful youth engagement, and innovation in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and global health sectors. With a BSc in Product Design and MSc in Public Health, Jasmine has spent over 7 years leading iterative toilet innovation pilots and research across Sub-Saharan Africa and in resettled refugee communities as the Founder and Executive Director of Wish for WASH, a social impact organization that seeks to bring innovation to sanitation with a design thinking lens. Following a decade of diverse independent freelance work across the 3rd, 5th, and 6th Sustainable Development Goals, Jasmine became the Principal and Founder of the Hybrid Hype, LLC, a certified, woman-owned global consulting firm, and the Co-Founder of Period Futures, an early-stage project focused on sparking curiosity, conversation, and commitment to designing positive #periodfutures. Outside of work, Jasmine enjoys service-learning, cross-cultural immersion, community engagement, fitness adventures, and travel photography. (jasminekburton.com)
WORKSHOP
Wish for WASH Design Jam Workshop
How might we use design thinking methods to engage students in STEM? Work with current and former Georgia Tech students that are a part of the organization Wish for WASH as they guide you through the process of human-centered and empathic design. Wish for WASH Thinks Inc’s mission is to bring more diverse minds, talent, and innovation to the problems of global health and WASH in our world through the lens of research, design, and education because #everybodypoops. Over the past 4 years Wish for WASH has been running design thinking workshops and courses with partners such as OpenIDEO, The Paideia School, The Weber School, Girl Scouts of Atlanta, and the Museum of Design Atlanta as a part of our educational and advocacy workstream.
Through our workshops and curricula, we seek to empower the next generation of STEM learners, design thinkers, and human-centered problem-solvers to use empathic, interdisciplinary, and iterative tools to build sustainable and inclusive innovation in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector to help the world reach the 6th Sustainable Development Goal by 2030. In this specific 3-hour workshop, we will first do a 2-hour Design Jam – a rapid sprint through the design thinking process where participants will get first hand condensed experience going through all of the phases of a design challenge addressing one of our modern world’s biggest problems: water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). After learning more about design thinking through experience, we will then conclude with a 1-hour facilitation training to learn how to take design thinking tools and methodologies and bring them into a classroom setting with your own specific topics. Learn more.
Abby Butler followed her dreams to become an educator, attending Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College to earn her B.S. in Elementary Education and Child Studies, and her M.Ed. in English Language Learners. Abby taught 2nd and 4th graders in Nashville, TN; Cary, NC; and Durham, NC before transitioning to her role as a Teaching and Learning Coach in Durham Public Schools. Abby currently works as a Literacy Coach with NC State’s Wolfpack WORKS program. Through experiences such as Metro. Nashville Public Schools’ Teacher Leadership Institute and the North Carolina Digital Leaders Coaching Network (NCDLCN), she built her coaching philosophy to center building instructional capacity within teachers and students, personalizing learning through innovative practices, and fostering independent learners through culturally responsive pedagogy.
WORKSHOP
Getting Past the Buzzwords to Close the Opportunity Gap
Imagine for a moment that your school has a culture of powerful teaching and learning, where every student is collaborating in an environment that routinely makes interdisciplinary connections to real problems that are engaging and relevant to the things they care about. A school where the work students do is facilitated by teachers, leaders, and coaches who are passionate about equipping young people with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in a rapidly changing world, especially students who have historically been furthest from opportunity. A school where every stakeholder understands the unique purpose of its learning community has deep trust and mutual respect for others and is constantly sharing ideas to make the STEAM learning environment more relevant and inclusive for all. This is not some abstract ideal – it’s happening now in schools around the world. This session will allow participants to not only see the ingredients that enabled these schools to move away from chasing buzzword strategies that have fleeting success, but will also provide tools to allow similar cultures of authentic learner-centered innovation to be built and sustained in their own schools.
Abigail is a creator looking for new ways to solve problems. She is an Industrial Design major at Georgia Institute of Technology, and an alumnus of Mount Vernon and its Innovation Diploma Program. For the past 7 years, Abigail has been a facilitator and practitioner of design thinking and has worked with clients, such as S.J. Collins Enterprises Developing Company, CDC Turning Point, and Corporate Chick-fil-A. Her favorite pastimes are giving out high-fives and telling puns. Abigail strives to inspire and empower other students to believe that they can make a change now and don’t have to wait until they’re “older” and “wiser” to start.
WORKSHOP
Wish for WASH Design Jam Workshop
How might we use design thinking methods to engage students in STEM? Work with current and former Georgia Tech students that are a part of the organization Wish for WASH as they guide you through the process of human-centered and empathic design. Wish for WASH Thinks Inc’s mission is to bring more diverse minds, talent, and innovation to the problems of global health and WASH in our world through the lens of research, design, and education because #everybodypoops. Over the past 4 years Wish for WASH has been running design thinking workshops and courses with partners such as OpenIDEO, The Paideia School, The Weber School, Girl Scouts of Atlanta, and the Museum of Design Atlanta as a part of our educational and advocacy workstream.
Through our workshops and curricula, we seek to empower the next generation of STEM learners, design thinkers, and human-centered problem-solvers to use empathic, interdisciplinary, and iterative tools to build sustainable and inclusive innovation in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector to help the world reach the 6th Sustainable Development Goal by 2030. In this specific 3-hour workshop, we will first do a 2-hour Design Jam – a rapid sprint through the design thinking process where participants will get first hand condensed experience going through all of the phases of a design challenge addressing one of our modern world’s biggest problems: water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). After learning more about design thinking through experience, we will then conclude with a 1-hour facilitation training to learn how to take design thinking tools and methodologies and bring them into a classroom setting with your own specific topics. Learn more.
Naitnaphit Limlamai is a doctoral candidate in the Joint Program in English and Education at the University of Michigan, where she studies how secondary English preservice teachers take up their English education training. She specifically focuses on preservice teachers’ ideas and practice of teaching that is oriented to diversity, inclusion, justice, and equity. She explores how to support teacher educators in envisioning and building new English classrooms that reject the status quo in order to help students build literacy and critical thinking skills to be thoughtful and contributing members of our democracy. She uses the knowledge she gains from her research, which includes studying her own teaching, to teach current and future teachers. In 2019 she was named the Diversity, Inclusion, Justice, and Equity Chair of the Michigan Council of Teachers of English.
Before returning to graduate school she taught high school English for 13 years in public and private schools in Florida, Georgia, and New York. At the University of Michigan, Naitnaphit is a teacher educator in the School of Education and a Graduate Student Instructional Consultant at the Center for Research in Teaching and Learning. She has also taught first-year writing in the English Department and has served as a Graduate Student Research Assistant in the Sweetland Center for Writing.
WORKSHOP
We Can’t Hide from the Whiteness that Shows Up in Our Classrooms—So What We Gonna Do About It?
Our social identities, including and especially our racial identities, affect how we move through the world, and how others see us. This is especially true in classroom spaces as teachers and students together encounter curricula, pedagogical practices, and assessments that are founded and grounded on principles of whiteness and white supremacy. Despite our best efforts to diversify what we do in the classroom, without an honest self-reflection on how our racial identities affect our work in the classroom with students, we are likely perpetuating curricular violence, harm, and trauma. In this session, we will consider how our social identities, particularly race, affect our work in the classroom, and how we can push back against our educative socialization.
Maggie McHugh, PhD, works for a project-based learning charter school in La Crosse, WI. Having taught for over 14 years, Maggie has found a passion for teaching mathematics and humanities to middle school students, specifically through a social justice PBL lens. Maggie received her doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from New Mexico State University in 2015. She is a National Faculty member for PBLWorks. Maggie loves blending her passions for photography and writing into projects with students and her everyday life as she has more pictures of her cats and students than her husband.
WORKSHOP
Building Empathy using Design Thinking in STEAM
Design thinking is a methodology to explore problems using empathy and iteration to create a solution. This session will explore how design thinking can be used in the K-12 classroom, with numerous examples provided of short “Design Challenges”. During the session, participants will engage with a problem and use the notions of design thinking to explore solutions.
A former Geometry teacher, Charity currently serves on the National Faculty for PBL Works and is the founder of iDoSchool.com, training educators nationally and internationally, meeting a variety of school program development needs. Over the past 16 years, Charity has served as a New Tech Network School Development Coach, Elementary Title I Coordinator, Alternative Math Coach, Adjunct Professor, & Culturally Responsive Teaching Curriculum Designer for AdaptiveX. With iDoSchool, Charity’s work and research revolve around establishing a safe space for teachers to innovate and develop the skills to decolonize curricula, build culturally responsive learning experiences, and debunk myths around students of color. Together with PBL Path, Charity has facilitated place-based learning projects at Whitney Plantation – expeditions & experiences crafted for both teacher and student to experience, learn from, and appreciate the place and its history.
WORKSHOP
Culturally Embedded Maker Movement Practices
Today’s Makers often have ties to other communities of practice, such as the “hacker” community, the DIY community, the crafting community, the progressive education community, the constructivist education community, the constructionist education community, the informal learning community, and the STEM education community, to name but a few. Oftentimes, this Maker movement leaves out culturally embedded ways of making. This session will take on a high-level exploration of culturally embedded maker movement practices in the K-12 learning environment.
Ben Owens is a graduate of Georgia Tech who worked as a mechanical engineer for 20 years before becoming a STEM teacher at Tri-County Early College, a wall-to-wall PBL school in Cherokee County, NC. In his 11-year teaching career, he helped transform the school into one that has gained international recognition for its unique approach to learner-centered innovation, especially for students historically furthest from opportunity. Ben was the 2017 Bridging the Gap Distinguished Teacher in STEM Education; the 2016 Science Math & Technology Center’s Outstanding 9-16 Educator; a Hope Street Group National Teaching Fellow; and served on the Gates Foundation Teacher Advisory Council. He is on the National Faculty for PBLWorks, an Open Organization Ambassador, and a routine “Community TA” for the MIT Teaching Systems Lab. He co-authored the book, “Open Up, Education!” and in 2018, founded the non-profit, Open Way Learning to help schools create the cultural conditions where authentic innovation will thrive.
WORKSHOP
Getting Past the Buzzwords to Close the Opportunity Gap
Imagine for a moment that your school has a culture of powerful teaching and learning, where every student is collaborating in an environment that routinely makes interdisciplinary connections to real problems that are engaging and relevant to the things they care about. A school where the work students do is facilitated by teachers, leaders, and coaches who are passionate about equipping young people with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in a rapidly changing world, especially students who have historically been furthest from opportunity. A school where every stakeholder understands the unique purpose of its learning community has deep trust and mutual respect for others and is constantly sharing ideas to make the STEAM learning environment more relevant and inclusive for all. This is not some abstract ideal – it’s happening now in schools around the world. This session will allow participants to not only see the ingredients that enabled these schools to move away from chasing buzzword strategies that have fleeting success, but will also provide tools to allow similar cultures of authentic learner-centered innovation to be built and sustained in their own schools.
Dr. Tamara Pearson has been a champion for educational equity for over 20 years. From her work as the Education Director at the Jacob Riis Neighborhood Settlement House in the Queensbridge Housing Projects to her current position as the Inaugural Director of the Center of Excellence for Minority Women in STEM at Spelman College, she has dedicated herself to creating opportunities for all students to experience high quality, inclusive education. Dr. Pearson knows the crisis we are in, especially when it comes to the public education system, and that the transformation of schools starts in classrooms. Unfortunately, many of the educators doing the hardest work are stressed out, burnt out, and under attack. She teaches to help people re-connect with their hearts. Her offerings, through the Practice Freedom Project, have helped hundreds of educators use yoga and meditation to liberate themselves so they can be better prepared to show up fully in the creation of liberated educational spaces for children. The strength, vulnerability, and compassion they feel on the mat can, and should, transfer off the mat and into their classrooms. Dr. Pearson is a Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher (RYT-200) and completed her training at Sacred Chill {West} under the guidance of Octavia Raheem and Meryl Arnett.
WORKSHOP
Honey for Wounds: A Mini-Retreat for Educators
Honey for Wounds is designed as space where educators can learn, in community, about how we can begin to be well for ourselves and for our students. Through yoga, we learn to connect our body and breath. Through discussion and reflection, we are able to process our feelings and go deeper into understanding ourselves. Through meditation, we connect to the source. In stillness, we can hear what the universe is trying to say to us.
Margaret is the Director of STEAM Innovation at an independent school outside of Philadelphia.
She works with teachers as a catalyst, coach, and collaborator to bring innovative ideas to life in the classroom. She also works as an Ed Tech and Innovation Consultant, specializing in STEAM, design thinking, the maker movement, global education, early childhood education, and mindfulness.
Margaret is a Google Certified Innovator, Raspberry Pi Certified Educator, and a PBS Digital Innovator and has written for blogs like InnovateMySchool, EdSurge, and GettingSmart. She regularly facilitates professional development, online and in-person, across the United States and internationally.
WORKSHOP
Empathy: The Heart of STEAM Education
In this workshop, we’ll explore how maker activities and design thinking mindsets can support an empathy-focused approach to interdisciplinary, STEAM projects. We’ll explore classroom examples, engage in some shared brainstorming and discussion, and partner up to practice some empathy work with one another. You’ll leave with a digital toolbox of resources and ideas for integrating empathy into your classroom practice.
Dara Laws Savage is a 26-year educator from the great state of Delaware. She has served on numerous local, regional, and state committees, and has been Teacher of the Year in two different districts. She is an Emeritus national faculty member of PBLWorks, and is presently the English 9 teacher and Instructional Coach at the Early College High School at Delaware State University while working on her doctorate. Dara is a proud Board of Education member for the Seaford School District (alumna) and she is the owner of Savage Educational Consulting.
WORKSHOP
Engagement is More than Cameras Being On
Engagement is more than using technology platforms. How do you measure it? How do you improve it? Our workshop can help teachers more effectively engage students and provide a way to measure that engagement so improvements are a cinch!
Anya is a 2017 graduate of the Innovation Diploma and a current Stamps Presidential Scholar at Georgia Tech studying business and psychology to become a social entrepreneur in education. Since high school, she has been striving to forward the Education Transformation Movement by networking with thought leaders around the world, speaking and coaching at education conferences, and being a pioneer of innovative learner-centered education practices. Anya is currently Co-Founder and Editor in Chief of Trailblazers ed-magazine, Director of Design Thinking Education and Research for the social impact organization Wish For WASH, and a gymnastics coach/head choreographer at Jump Start Gymnasium. For the past few years Anya’s primary driving question has been, “How might we make student voice at the forefront of education redesign?” This question has led her into a life striving to “blur the lines between school and the real world.” Anya dreams of a future where “school” consists of students working side by side with community leaders to design for pressing issues in the world.
WORKSHOP
Wish for WASH Design Jam Workshop
How might we use design thinking methods to engage students in STEM? Work with current and former Georgia Tech students that are a part of the organization Wish for WASH as they guide you through the process of human-centered and empathic design. Wish for WASH Thinks Inc’s mission is to bring more diverse minds, talent, and innovation to the problems of global health and WASH in our world through the lens of research, design, and education because #everybodypoops. Over the past 4 years Wish for WASH has been running design thinking workshops and courses with partners such as OpenIDEO, The Paideia School, The Weber School, Girl Scouts of Atlanta, and the Museum of Design Atlanta as a part of our educational and advocacy workstream.
Through our workshops and curricula, we seek to empower the next generation of STEM learners, design thinkers, and human-centered problem-solvers to use empathic, interdisciplinary, and iterative tools to build sustainable and inclusive innovation in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector to help the world reach the 6th Sustainable Development Goal by 2030. In this specific 3-hour workshop, we will first do a 2-hour Design Jam – a rapid sprint through the design thinking process where participants will get first hand condensed experience going through all of the phases of a design challenge addressing one of our modern world’s biggest problems: water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). After learning more about design thinking through experience, we will then conclude with a 1-hour facilitation training to learn how to take design thinking tools and methodologies and bring them into a classroom setting with your own specific topics. Learn more.
Lacrecia Terrance the owner and CEO of theEduProject, An advocate of comprehensive education for all students with a particular interest in black/brown students. She has been in the education field as a certified educator for 20 years with more than eleven years of her tenure in administrative capacities. Having served in every level of education including; a teacher, Academic Dean, Principal, High School Director, Instructional Coordinator, District STEM Director, National Faculty Member, Adaptivex Consultant, and Lead Educational Consultant for theEduProject. With a deep passion for educational equity, Lacrecia’s goal as an educator is to ensure that all students – no matter where they live or what their background – will have access to quality instruction to deepen their learning and achieve success in college, career, and life.
WORKSHOP
STEM-Engaged w/ PBL
Leveraging the strengths of both STEM and PBL. Culturally relevant PBL can provide a bridge to STEM education for underrepresented populations. Low-income students are 10 times less likely to attain a STEM degree than their upper-income peers. Reasons for this include limited exposure to STEM pathways and mentorship. This session will take a journey on how to generate interest and excitement in STEM topics and careers and support STEM career achievement persistence through PBL.
Katy Weber has been teaching in a project-based learning charter school for seven years, focusing on her passions of Science and Mathematics. Katy earned her Masters in Education–Professional Development from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse where she focused on engaging middle school students in problem-solving tasks. Katy loves adding art into STEM projects as her creative outlet includes crafting projects with her Cricut. Katy is a proud mom of two beautiful girls (Nora and Aubrey) who, with her husband, remain the light of her life.
WORKSHOP
Infusing Social Justice in STEAM
How can the content lenses of STEAM provide a unique way to look at the social justice topics in our local, national, and global society? Explore how social justice can be infused into the curriculum. During this session, spend time generating ways to engage students in critical analyses of social justice issues while teaching content standards. See examples of integrated social justice STEAM projects from middle school students.
About the Institute
The 2-day virtual Institute costs $100 and will include both public and private school educators to explore best practices and research that shows how to engage girls, young women, and students of diverse backgrounds in interdisciplinary learning that highlights STEAM by promoting awareness, education, and networking opportunities.
Virtual sessions will explore:
- STEAM and interdisciplinary teaching and learning strategies
- Growth mindset, stereotype threat, and unconscious bias
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion work
- Design-thinking and project-based learning
Schedule of Sessions*
Wed, June 9
| Time | Title |
|---|---|
| 9:00am -12:00pm | Design Thinking workshop by Wish for WASH |
| 3:00pm – 6:00pm | Honey for Wounds: A Mini-Retreat for Educators |
| 7:00pm – 8:00pm | Keynote 1 with Dr. Lisa Damour |
Thu, June 10
| Time | Title |
|---|---|
| 9:00am – 9:45am | Keynote 2 with Dr. Bettina Love |
| 10:00am – 10:45am | Workshops A |
| 11:00am – 12:00pm | Keynote 3 with Dr. Annaliese Sigh |
| 1:00pm – 1:45pm | Workshops B |
| 2:00pm – 2:45pm | Workshops C |
| 3:00pm – 4:00pm | Workshop with Dr. Lisa Damour |
| 4:00pm – 4:30pm | Closing Session: Next Steps |
*Schedule is subject to change
Summer Institute Leaders
For questions and inquiries regarding Atlanta Girls’ School Summer Institute 2021 contact:
James Campbell
Director of Innovative Programs & Strategic Initiatives, Atlanta Girls’ School
Summer Institute Leader
e: jcampbell@atlantagirlsschool.org
t: 404-845-0900
Shetal Shah
Director of External Affairs, Atlanta Girls’ School
Summer Institute Leader
e: sshah@atlantagirlsschool.org
t: 404-845-0900
FAQs
Who should attend the Summer Institute?
This summer institute is for educators who wish to explore and gain practical training in STEAM interdisciplinary teaching and learning with a focus on growth mindsets, stereotype threat, and unconscious bias.
Is the program designed for educators of all girls’ schools only?
No, it is an inclusive space for all teachers across grade levels, designed for those most interested in advancing access and opportunity for girls and underrepresented students in STEAM.