Diane Sande, Anna Burnham and Ann Prichard

The team’s innovative teaching idea, “STEM,” focuses on increasing young girl’s interest in pursuing STEM-based fields, putting a particular emphasis on careers in engineering. During this project, girls will be introduced to a variety of engineering challenges, followed up with specific activities based on differing types of engineering such as electrical, acoustical, aeronautical, material, packaging and structural. For the small, rural community where Sande and her team teach, this program will be the first of its kind. They believe that it will help girls gain confidence, build collaboration skills and develop problem solving abilities as they work in groups to solve real-world engineering problems.