Increase the number of women in your technology, science and engineering classrooms with the strategies you'll learn through the WomenTech Educators Training

June 19 - 20, 2014
San Francisco Bay Area

This training (a $600 value) is free for community college ICT educators in the MPICT region (CA, NV and HI) and limited travel stipends are available. The curriculum includes the "best-of-the-best" of IWITTS's proven strategies, culled from our 4 National Science Foundation (NSF) projects and over 18 years of success helping educational institutions recruit and retain women in STEM programs. Applications are reviewed on a rolling admissions basis and the training fills fast, so apply before the April 4 deadline. Preference will be given to those that apply in teams.

In this video, your trainer Donna Milgram shares an important realization about recruiting women to STEM classes:

Watch this short video to learn how to avoid the most common mistakes educators make in recruiting female students

What Educators Are Saying
About the Training


 

OnsiteChartKnowledgeConfidenceSource: Participants in WomenTech Educators Training. External evaluator’s report to the National Science Foundation for the CalWomenTech Scale-Up Project, March 2013.

You Will Learn:

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Join like-minded educators from around the country at the WomenTech Educators Training

Females in STEM: Key Factors for Recruitment

✓ Top 3 recruitment strategies & how to put them to use
✓ How to adopt a program-wide “female friendly” recruitment approach
✓ How to communicate the benefits of STEM at each stage of the recruitment process
✓ Effective strategies to involve faculty & staff in your recruiting effort

Gender Diversity in STEM: Boosting Enrollment & Implementing New Culture

✓ Barriers to recruiting women into STEM & how to overcome them
✓ How to identify your target audience for recruitment and low-hanging fruit
✓ Success in STEM: See actionable examples of successful STEM programs

Strategies to Keep STEM Students on Course & Improve Graduation Rates

✓ How to make female students feel welcome and what not to do
✓ Ways to bolster confidence in STEM students to ensure success
✓ Strategies to help your female students be successful in the lab
✓ Building block skills to help close the experience gap

Addressing the STEM Challenge: Appeal to Women Who Aren't Excited by STEM

✓ How faculty can teach to female learning styles
✓ How to connect students with female role models & create community
✓ An "ah-ha" moment on spatial reasoning - what you need to know

Build a Leadership Team Model for Women in STEM: Strategies for Success

✓ Ways to partner with faculty, administrators, student services & others
✓ No educator is an island: How to work together & boost STEM retention
✓ Top 3 qualities of an effective Leadership Team & how to employ them

Download the sample training agenda (PDF)

You Will Take Away:

  1. An easy-to-implement recruitment plan to greatly increase the number of women and girls in your STEM classrooms.
  2. A retention plan for your school to increase the completion rate of your female (and male students), starting this semester.
  3. The knowledge and confidence you need to put these plans into action, right away.

Continuing Education Credit:

Fresno Pacific University is offering one unit of continuing education credit to training participants! Please be sure to select the unit for the training start date of June 19, 2014. The cost of one unit is an additional $70, payable directly to Fresno Pacific University. Register for credit online.

Who Should Apply:

Community college administrators, professors, instructors, counseling and outreach staff from Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) programs in which women are underrepresented in the Mid-Pacific ICT (MPICT) Center's region -- CA, NV and HI. Preference will be given to applicants who apply in teams; however, we also encourage individuals connected with ATE Projects or Centers to apply. We expect to have a mix of teams and individual participants in the training.Thirty fellowship spots are available.

Attend the Training in a Team:

The more people that you can get involved in this campaign, the more lasting change you're going to have. Yes, one teacher on their own can get more women in the classroom, but the schools that have been the most effective and had lasting institutional change have had more people involved. Together, you and your team members will work together to develop an action plan and provide support to each other as you implement it.

Who Should Be on Your Team:

Your team will be the most effective if it includes a variety of stakeholders from your college dedicated to increasing the number of female students in the targeted STEM program(s). Teams should have between 3-6 members. The larger the team the greater the likelihood for change. Ideally, a dean, department chair, technology center director, or Principal Investigator (PI) of an Advanced Technology Education (ATE) grant will act as key leader and an instructor from the targeted program will act as co-leader.

Recommended core team members:

  • Dean or Chair of the Department of the targeted program;
  • Director of the Technology Center (or equivalent if applicable);
  • Principal Investigator of the ATE grant (if applicable);
  • Minimum of two instructors in targeted technology courses, with one being an adjunct if possible (highly recommended);
  • If you have math prerequisites for core targeted courses, a math administrator.

Other potential team members could include counselors, advisors, outreach and recruitment coordinators, learning center staff, curriculum developer, STEM coordinator, Workforce Development Director, and other key stakeholders. The NSF-Funded WomenTech Educators Training includes additional guidance on forming and working with a Women in STEM Leadership Team.

Career Pathways:

Targeted STEM career pathways must be in areas where women are under-represented.


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This fellowship is free to community college ICT educators in the MPICT region (CA, NV and HI).
Limited travel stipends available. See above for who should apply.

 


What Educators Are Saying About the Training:

pthiry

"Participating in the IWITTS training refined my skills as an instructor and administrator to be an agent of change in this realm. Because Computer Networking and Information Technology was not on the radar of many women, the tools that were given to us by IWITTS for reaching out to students for our entry level class were very effective. And those changes have been institutionalized in my department. Thanks to our work with IWITTS, female enrollment in my department has risen from 19% to 33%."

~ Pierre Thiry, Principal Investigator, Mid-Pacific ICT Regional Center, San Francisco, CA (ATE Center)

Yanez_Hector_crop

"Completely made me re-evaluate the approach that we have been taking. I realized the many mistakes and plan to make changes that I learned from the training. Great information!"

~ Hector Yanez, Department Chair/CADD Manager of Computer Drafting and Design Technology, Texas State Technical College, Harlingen, TX

fmartin

"Last year, the Computer Science department held an Open House event for prospective students. Although a few female high school students came, none of our female faculty members could attend and there weren’t any women there representing the department.

After attending the workshop with IWITTS, I was committed to making sure that didn’t happen again. At this year’s Open House, the College of Sciences held a special Women in Technology event in partnership with the College of Engineering. The girls who came had a great experience, they learned a lot, and I’m confident that it strengthened their resolve to pursue careers in science and engineering. Our goal is to have enough female students in science and engineering majors so that the process can become self-reinforcing."

~ Fred Martin, Associate Dean of College of Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell

jmaine

"The most valuable things I received from working with IWITTS were strategies that have been researched and have data to support them. There are also many inexpensive strategies; "inexpensive" is a key term in these difficult economic times. I anticipate additional increased retention in my programs. I have already implemented retention strategies from IWITTS with much success. The workshop has empowered me!"

~ Jessica J. du Maine, Assistant Professor/Program Coordinator, Electrical/Electronic Engineering & Technology, St. Louis Community College, St. Louis, MO

After the WomenTech Educators Training: Follow-Up Support

Keep participants and your educational institution as a whole focused on your goal of increasing the number of women in STEM. With this ongoing support, you’ll receive help as you work to improve and implement the recruitment and retention plans that you develop during the training. In our successful CalWomenTech Project, the external evaluators found that along with the training, support for implementation was one of the top two most important things that helped schools achieve their impressive recruitment and retention results.

 You will receive:

➤ Follow-Up Support on Plan Development:

You'll have direct access to your trainer, Donna Milgram, on live group Immediate Plan Feedback Tele-Calls. You'll meet by phone with Donna in the weeks immediately following the training. She'll give "focused advising" and personalized feedback on strategic plans during each 1-hour call, share input from other participants, and answer questions. Teams may present their plans collaboratively. Colleges that have received this type of follow-up support have found that it was extremely effective in moving them from plan to action, and ultimately helping them see significant gains in the number of women in their STEM classrooms. All calls are recorded and emailed to participants.

 

➤ Exclusive Online Learning Community:

All of the educators who attend the training will be granted access to a private members-only online course in Canvas -- an open source learning management system. Our online learning community in Canvas is a place to receive support, additional resources, and space to work together with other training participants to share documents and progress on plan implementation. Be a member of our community whose culture is one of positive change around increasing the number of women in STEM. The culture of our online community is, “We can do it!”


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This fellowship is free to community college ICT educators in the MPICT region (CA, NV and HI).
Limited travel stipends available. See below for eligibility.


About Your Trainer: Donna Milgram

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Learn directly from Executive Director Donna Milgram, the creator of the WomenTech Educators Training

Donna Milgram is the founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Women in Trades, Technology and Science (IWITTS), a national nonprofit organization, founded in 1994, that provides educators with a roadmap to increasing the number of women and girls in science, technology, engineering and math.

  • Ms. Milgram developed the WomenTech Educators Training to help educators nationwide increase the number of women in their technology programs.
  • A national expert on recruiting and retaining female students in STEM programs in which they are underrepresented, Ms. Milgram has personally trained educators in 44 states and Canada.
  • Ms. Milgram is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles and conference presentations including the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and Women in Engineering Proactive Network (WEPAN). Most recently, she received a reader's choice award from the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) for her November 2011 cover article, "How to Recruit Women & Girls to the STEM Classroom" published in the journal, Technology and Engineering Teacher.  The success of the CalWomenTech Project was featured in articles on the NSF "Discoveries" website in April 2012 and the Community College Times in May 2012. 
  • Ms. Milgram has testified before the U.S. Congress and appeared extensively in the news media. Her media appearances include CNN, Fox Morning News, C-Span and National Public Radio. She has been quoted in major news outlets such as The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune and the Associated Press.

 

hotel

Event Details At-A-Glance:

Event: NSF-Funded WomenTech Educators Training

Hosted by: Mid-Pacific ICT (MPICT) Regional Center

Location: San Francisco Bay Area, California

Dates: Thursday, June 19 to Friday, June 20

Schedule: Thursday, June 19, 2014: 8:30 am – 5:00 pm
Friday, June 20, 2014: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm

Airport: San Francisco International Airport (SFO) or Oakland Airport (OAK)

Hotel: The event will be held at one of our favorite San Francisco Bay Area hotels, a beautiful Sheraton with a specially
reduced event room rate.

Click here for full hotel and travel details.

 

WomenTech Educators Training Fellowship Application:

Who is eligible?

Community college administrators, teachers, professors, instructors, counseling and outreach staff from ICT programs in which women are underrepresented in the MPICT Center's region -- CA, NV and HI. Preference will be given to applicants who apply in teams; however, we also encourage individuals connected with ATE Projects or Centers to apply. We expect to have a mix of teams and individual participants in the training.Thirty fellowship spots are available.

Cost:

This fellowship is FREE to eligible participants, as part of the National Science Foundation-funded CalWomenTech Scale Up Project. This fellowship, including the training, follow-up support, and access to the online learning community normally costs participants more than $600, per person. Travel stipends are also available to ICT faculty and administrators from California.

Benefits:

What is the #1 benefit to participating? More female students in your classes! Here are some additional benefits to you if you are accepted for the WomenTech Educators Training:

  • Certificate of completion. At the end of the implementation period, you will receive a certificate which can be referenced in your future grant proposals.
  • If you are an ATE grantee, this training will strengthen the "Broader Impacts" you report to NSF.
  • IWITTS has included past training recipients who have successfully increased the number of women in their classes in national conference presentations.
  • Your achievements in increasing the number of women in your classes will be highlighted by IWITTS as case studies to inspire other educators and for your own future use.
  • The top 3 Women in STEM Recruitment and Retention Plans in the training will be chosen by your trainer Donna Milgram. The selected plans will be featured in the private online learning community and an email will be sent to the dean of each winner recognizing his/her achievement.

What's expected of you:

  • Take part in the WomenTech Educators Training, develop a recruitment and retention plan for your program/college, and post your plans for feedback in the private online learning community.
  • Actively participate in the follow-up support after the training. (Trainer will provide personalized plan feedback during 1-hour telecalls.)
  • Post your successes and challenges in the online learning community, and respond to the posts of others.
  • Participate in evaluation-related activities.

How to apply:

  1. Submit an online application by April 4, 2014. Please note that applications will be accepted on a rolling admissions basis and seats are limited to 30, so apply early: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LSXK3J9
  2. Have your dean sign a letter of commitment (PDF).
  3. Return the signed letter from your dean by fax (510-749-0500) or email to seminars[at]iwitts.org.
  4. If you are applying as a team, please create a team name (e.g. Greenville Technical College Engineering Department or "ATE Project Name" team) and select a key contact for the application process. Each team member must submit their own application and signed letter of commitment from their dean. There will be a place to enter your team name in the application.

Note: If you are unable to submit the letter from your dean by the application deadline, go ahead and apply anyway. Contact us at seminars[at]iwitts.org and we will try to accommodate you.

More information:

For additional information about the WomenTech Educators Training, contact us at seminars[at]iwitts.org or call Christine Lesaca, Program Assistant, at 510-749-0200 ext 105.

Travel Assistance for ICT Faculty and Administrators in California:

Because it is still so difficult for many faculty to travel in these tough economic times, MPICT will provide stipends to qualified community college faculty and administrators teaching ICT related subjects, on a first-come, first-served basis, until funds are exhausted:

  • a $50 stipend for educators whose community college is within 70 miles of San Francisco,
  • a $100 stipend and two paid hotel nights* to ICT educators whose college is between 71 and 250 miles of San Francisco,
  • a $250 stipend and two paid hotel nights* to ICT educators whose college is between 251 and 500 miles of San Francisco

*Note: Hotel must be booked at the conference hotel and paid directly by MPICT on a master bill. Room sharing increases the people MPICT can support to attend, and is encouraged.

Our funding source for this training restricts stipends to California ICT faculty and administrators only.

Instructions: Stipends will be available on a first-come, first serve basis so please apply early. You will be able to request a stipend in the online application for the training.

Stipend Questions? Please contact Elise Staples, MPICT Program Assistant, with any questions about travel stipends (email: EStaples[at]mpict.org; phone: 415-239-3600).

There are a limited number of WomenTech Educators Training spaces available.


applynowbutton
This fellowship is free to community college ICT educators in the MPICT region (CA, NV and HI).
Limited travel stipends available. See above for eligibility.

nsf-logoThe CalWomenTech Scale Up Project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education Program and the Program for Research on Gender in Science and Engineering from The National Science Foundation - Grant no. 1102996

Stipend Questions? Please contact Elise Staples, MPICT Program Assistant, with any questions about travel stipends (email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; phone: 415-239-3600).