Global Fund For Women Inc

USAID RESOURCES WILL SUPPORT THE CREATION OF A NEW MECHANISM TO ENABLE TIMELY AND STRATEGIC DEPLOYMENT OF RESOURCES TO LOCAL, GRASSROOTS GENDER JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS ENABLING THESE ORGANIZATIONS TO CONTRIBUTE TO PRIORITIES IDENTIFIED BY MISSIONS, REGIONAL OR PILLAR BUREAUS. A CORE GRANT FROM USAID/DDI GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT HUB WILL SUPPORT THE CREATION OF THE MECHANISM AND A PROOF OF CONCEPT PHASE, AND IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT MISSIONS AND OTHER OPERATING UNITS (OU)S WILL UTILIZE THE MECHANISM AND CONTRIBUTE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO ADDRESS EMERGING PRIORITIES.

A CULTURALLY-RESPONSIVE MAKER PROGRAM DESIGNED TO DEVELOP THE STEM INTEREST, SELF-EFFICACY AND SCIENCE IDENTITY OF BLACK GIRLS -BLACK GIRLS CREATE (BGC) IS A PROGRAM THAT USES MAKER PEDAGOGY, SOCIAL HISTORY (I.E., BLACK WOMEN?S CONTRIBUTIONS IN STEM), CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGY, AND MENTORING TO ENGAGE BLACK GIRLS IN STEM. FOR THE PROJECT, CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE MAKING IS OPERATIONALLY DEFINED AS THE USE OF CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE AND MAKER TECHNOLOGIES TO CREATE, DESIGN, AND PRODUCE ARTIFACTS THAT ARE RELATED TO A PARTICULAR CONCEPT, THEME, OR PERSON. THE PROJECT WILL CONDUCT A FEASIBILITY RESEARCH STUDY THAT INVESTIGATES HOW ENGAGEMENT IN BGC AFFECTS PARTICIPANTS' STEM INTEREST, STEM CONFIDENCE, AND RACIAL AND GENDER IDENTITIES. IN THE PROJECT, PARTICIPANTS WILL DISCOVER HOW BLACK WOMEN HAVE MADE AN IMPACT IN STEM FIELDS AND WILL LEARN HOW TO DIGITALLY CREATE CULTURAL ARTIFACTS/WEARABLE ART RELATED TO THEIR DISCOVERIES. APPROXIMATELY 120 MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS IN GRADES 6-8 (8 GROUPS OF 15 PARTICIPANTS EACH) FROM UNDERSERVED NEIGHBORHOODS WILL BE RECRUITED FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS TWO-YEAR STUDY. EACH GROUP WILL MEET FOR 3 HOURS PER WEEK OVER AN 8-WEEK PERIOD. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FROM THIS RESEARCH WILL BE MADE FREELY AVAILABLE ONLINE SO THAT THEY CAN BE ADAPTED AND USED AT OTHER FORMAL AND INFORMAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS THAT SEEK TO GARNER INTEREST AND ACCESS TO STEM LEARNING FOR BLACK GIRLS AND WOMEN. A PRE- AND POST-TEST, QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN WILL BE USED TO RESEARCH THE PROGRAM?S INFLUENCE ON PARTICIPANTS? SELF-EFFICACY, RACIAL IDENTITY, AND GENDER IDENTITY. LAGGED REGRESSION MODELS THAT CONTROL FOR STUDENTS? AGE, RACE/ETHNICITY, AND PRE-SURVEY SCORES WILL BE USED TO EXAMINE GROWTH IN EACH OF THE FOUR OUTCOMES. ONCE ALL OF THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE GROUPS HAVE COMPLETED BGC, DATA FROM ALL GROUPS WILL BE COMBINED TO INCREASE POWER AND THEREBY DETECT STATISTICALLY MEANINGFUL DIFFERENCES IN PRE- AND POST-SURVEY SCORES. IN ADDITION, VARIABLES REPRESENTING ATTENDANCE AND PROGRAM ENGAGEMENT WILL BE ENTERED INTO THE MODEL TO EXAMINE WHETHER STUDENTS WHO ARE HIGHLY ENGAGED IN BGC PROGRAMMING EXHIBIT MORE GROWTH IN THE FOUR OUTCOMES. QUALITATIVE DATA WILL BE DERIVED FROM STUDENTS' JOURNAL ENTRIES AS WELL AS FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEWS. WEEKLY JOURNALS WILL BE USED TO GATHER DATA ABOUT THE CONTEXT AND EXPERIENCES OF PARTICIPANTS AS THEY UNFOLD THROUGHOUT THE PROGRAM. SEMI-STRUCTURED FOCUS GROUPS WILL CENTER AROUND THE USEFULNESS OF SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE GAINED FROM THE PROGRAM ACTIVITIES, SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES WITH PEERS AND PROGRAM STAFF, THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN ABOUT BLACK WOMEN STEM PROGENITORS, AND LEARNING HOW TO MAKE DIGITALLY FABRICATED ARTIFACTS. NVIVO, A COMPUTER SOFTWARE PROGRAM, WILL BE USED AS A TOOL TO SUPPORT THE ANALYSIS OF THE RICH, TEXT-BASED INFORMATION RESULTING FROM THE JOURNALS AND FOCUS GROUP NARRATIVES. THIS FEASIBILTY RESEARCH PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE ADVANCING INFORMAL STEM LEARNING (AISL) PROGRAM, WHICH SEEKS TO (A) ADVANCE NEW APPROACHES TO AND EVIDENCE-BASED UNDERSTANDING OF THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF STEM LEARNING IN INFORMAL ENVIRONMENTS; (B) PROVIDE MULTIPLE PATHWAYS FOR BROADENING ACCESS TO AND ENGAGEMENT IN STEM LEARNING EXPERIENCES; (C) ADVANCE INNOVATIVE RESEARCH ON AND ASSESSMENT OF STEM LEARNING IN INFORMAL ENVIRONMENTS; AND (D) ENGAGE THE PUBLIC OF ALL AGES IN LEARNING STEM IN INFORMAL ENVIRONMENTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

TO SUPPORT IGNITE: WOMEN FUELING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, A TRANSMEDIA PROJECT AND ONLINE EXHIBITION BY THE INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN.

TO SUPPORT STAFF AND ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS FOR PRODUCTION POST-PRODUCTION AND OUTREACH FOR A SHORT DOCUMENTARY FILM SERIES DIRECTED BY SHARMEEN OBAID-CHINOY.