Grace Navratil

Article #1
Sullivan, A. (2017, October 9). Breaking Gender Stereotypes Through Early Exposure to
Robotics. Education Week.
https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/education_futures/2017/10/the_new_girl_code_breakin
g.html
- This article stuck out to me among the others because if focused more on a solution than
the other results. It’s important to be informed about issues, but it is much more
beneficial to read an article that also has a solution.
- Sullivan has her Master’s and Ph.D in Child Development from Tufts University. She is
also the author of the book Breaking the STEM Stereotype.
- Sullivan’s main arguments in her article is that gender stereotypes need to be broke from
day one. Her other argument is the fact that females are taught from a young age that
STEM jobs are not for them, they are for males. She illustrated this in her article by
stating, “Children as young as 4 are already beginning to develop basic stereotypes and
attitudes based on gender, so educators can start providing girls with playful
introductions to the world of technology and engineering beginning in early childhood.

Section 1 – how does your chosen author discuss the relationship between gender and teaching
and learning in your licensure area?
a) Sullivan addresses gender in the mathematics classroom through a solution she
believes will help break stereotypes. She says that females from a young age are not
exposed enough to STEM classes due to gender role stereotypes. The solution to the
problem that she believes consists of exposing young females to robotics from a very
young age. This is claimed to be essential because if they develop an interest early,
females will be less likely to listen to stereotypes later on.
b) Sullivan lists resources that are available to teachers to support them proving the
importance of starting early. She then backs her research with many studies about both
gender role stereotypes and the importance of robotics in general.
c) “Today's teachers have access to a wealth of new tools directed at engaging young
children with STEM content. While the battle of the "pink aisle" versus the "blue aisle"
 in toy stores continues (think Goldie Blox and LEGO Friends versus LEGO City), new
tools like the KIBO Robotics Kit offer a different approach to engaging young girls in
building and coding: a gender-neutral design that is marketed towards all young
children.
Section 2 – what are the specific gendered challenges or benefits experienced by learners in
your licensure area as argued by your author?
a) The main argument made about challenges facing women in STEM is the idea of
gender roles. These stereotypes are imbedded in our society with all major STEM jobs
being held by males. This challenges females a lot because they don’t have many role
models to look up to and start a step back in a sense because they are told it’s not for
them by society. This same fact may benefit the males because they have many role
models to look up to and are encouraged by society to pursue STEM careers.
b) Sullivan supports this argument by talking about the toy isles in your typical store. In
what she refers to the ‘blue isles’ there are things such as Legos and trucks, overall
things that pertain to physics. In the ‘pink isles’ there are dolls and crafts, things that
pertain more to practice in using language and creativity. She also includes that fact
that there are much fewer gender stereotypes pressing on students who start with
robotics from a young age.
c) “While the battle of the "pink aisle" versus the "blue aisle" in toy stores continues
(think Goldie Blox and LEGO Friends versus LEGO City), new tools like the KIBO
Robotics Kit offer a different approach to engaging young girls in building and coding:
a gender-neutral design that is marketed towards all young children.”
Section 3 – what educational strategies or interventions are offered by your chosen author to
increase gender equity in the teaching and learning in your licensure area?
Sullivan lists the following six big pieces of advice for educators.
- Start them young: the biggest impacts are made when the females are in early
elementary school.
- Choose engaging, open-ended STEM tools: this allows females to be the creator of
their own experiment instead of being a consumer of it.
- Consider collaborative projects over competitive ones: this allows all students to be
able to participate without pressure.
- Be aware of your own stereotypes and biases: children will pick up on your biases,
 therefore it is important you are aware of them.
- Expose children to STEM role models from a range of genders and backgrounds: let
them see people in STEM that look like themselves.
- Actions speak louder than words: role modeling these STEM characteristics as a
female teacher is also very important.

Article #2
Hawkins, B. D. (2015, October 15). Bias and Stereotypes Sideline Girls in STEM. NEA Today.
https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/bias-and-stereotypes-sideline-
girls-stem
- I chose this article because in the first paragraph it talks about how early exposure is
important, but that there is more to the issues than simply early exposure. This was
interesting to me and I thought it would pair with the previous article. I also chose this
one because it was written by a female and I feel this is important given the topic.
- B. Denise Hawkins is a Penn State University graduate. She is also an award-winning
journalist that advocates for groups that need the exposure. Hawkins is also a
communications professional and a proud self-motivator.
- In Hawkins’ article she talks about the additions struggles in STEM that females of color
and of low-income receive. Her other argument is that although starting females in STEM
early is important, teachers attitudes in middle/high school is what typically discourages
them in later ages.
Section 1 – how does your chosen author discuss the relationship between gender and teaching
and learning in your licensure area?
a) The author starts by supporting the importance that starting females with exposure to
STEM content early, however, it doesn’t stop there. She claims that many teachers
with societal stereotypes in future years is what ultimately will discourage those
females to pursue a career in STEM. Hawkins also goes further with the argument by
drawing attention to the additional struggles that non-white females and low-income
females have to face.
b) Hawkins supports her claims by including Andresses St. Rose who is a senior director
for research. She also supports her claims through using Robin Curtis who is a sixth-
grade teacher who believes encouragement is the most powerful thing a teacher can
 give a student.
c) “Curtis is eager to help girls early to discover STEM’s spark and get them ignited, even
if it means having to work harder and “think strategically” about ways to get them
and all of her students engaged in science. Without a caring push, says Curtis, some of
them could get lost and fall back.”
Section 2 – what are the specific gendered challenges or benefits experienced by learners in
your licensure area as argued by your author?
a) Hawkins believes that the first struggle females face is a lack of exposure from a young
age. She takes this further by claiming that even though some female students may get
sufficient exposure from a young age, they don’t receive enough encouragement when
they are older. To go even further, she explains how non-white females and low-
income females struggle with this even more because they are already starting behind
their peers. The source of this lack of encouragement comes from teachers’ internal
biases.
b) She highlights a teacher that focuses on encouraging all of her students and how her
students are succeeding in many categories. Hawkins also includes Robert Goodman
who is the director of the New Jersey’s Center for Teaching and Learning. She uses
him and his ideas to support her main arguments.
c) “A teacher’s STEM biases are real, says Robert Goodman, Ed.D., who directs New
Jersey’s Center for Teaching and Learning, even if they are undergirded by outdated
myths and stoked by perceptions of boys as smarter and better than girls in STEM.
Unfortunately, says Goodman, girls learn early from toys, media, peers and parents—
and even from educators— that STEM studies are for boys.”

Section 3 – what educational strategies or interventions are offered by your chosen author to
increase gender equity in the teaching and learning in your licensure area?
- Start STEM exposure to females from an early age.
- ENCOURAGE all students to succeed in every aspect in the classroom.
- Give children gender neutral toys at an early age that explore both physics and
linguistic characteristics.