Virginia Tech
The Science and Gender Equity Program
http://www.cis.vt.edu/sage
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[Return to Index of Expertise] Last updated 08/28/02
Contact Information:
253 Lane Hall
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Phone: 540-231-8808
Fax: 540-231-7013
CENTER DESCRIPTION
The Science and Gender Equity Program at Virginia Tech is devoted to improving the status of women in science and engineering. SAGE publishes the Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, which reports innovative ideas, programs and studies for and about underrepresented groups in science and engineering at all levels. SAGE leads workshops on gender equity in education and information technology within and outside of the university.
AREA(S) OF EXPERTISE
Education; equity issues; K-12 education; science, math, engineering, and technology; women's studies.
RECENT PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES
Counseling for Gender Equity. Resources and strategies included in this program equip K-12 school counselors with the tools they need to facilitate gender equitable learning environments, foster participation and leadership in the sciences among their female students, and provide effective academic and career counseling for girls. http://genderequity.vsgc.odu.edu
Women in Information Technology: Pivotal Transitions from School to Careers. This project will provide primary research data for K-12 and university educators, policy makers, and administrators about those pivotal transition points in girls' lives that result in their positive or negative view of information technology as a viable career choice. By combining standard interview and survey techniques within the theoretical framework of self-authorship, we will gather new information about how the total environment - both inside and outside the school - helps shape girls' perceptions of technology as friendly or unfriendly to them. http://www.wit.vt.edu
Web-enhanced Women's Studies classes. The use of online modules in an introductory women's studies course, or other social sciences/humanities courses, has not been universally accepted by the instructors or students of such classes. We found that the Internet can be used as a positive--and feminist--pedagogical tool by allowing private exploration of intimidating topics, increasing students' access to opportunities for activism and to local crisis resources, and expanding the instructors' repertoire of material. The start-up time investment for instructors has shrunk dramatically because of the web resources compiled and made available by others. We suggest that women's studies courses, especially those with larger than desired enrollments, would benefit from the inclusion of online learning modules, web-based assignments, and chatrooms. http://www.cis.vt.edu/ws/default.html
PUBLICATIONS
Burger, Carol J. 2002. Helping Girls Take a Byte Out of Technology. PRINCIPAL. 81(3): 42-43.
Sandy, Mary and Carol J. Burger. 2000. Women and Minorities in Information Technology Forum: Causes and Solutions for Increasing the Numbers in the Information Technology Pipeline. A publication of the Virginia Space Grant Consortium. 23 pp.
Burger, Carol J. and Mary Sandy. 1998. A Guide to Gender Fair Education in Science and Mathematics. A publication of the Eisenhower Regional Math/Science Consortium at AEL. 32 pp.
Burger, Carol J. and Mary Sandy. 2002. A Guide to Gender Fair Counseling for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Virginia Space Grant Consortium, Hampton, VA.
McCaughey, Martha and C.J. Burger. 1999. "Cybergrrrl Education and Virtual Feminism: Using the Internet to Teach Introductory Women's Studies." In Teaching Introduction to Women's Studies: Expectations and Strategies, B.S. Winkler and C. DePalma, eds. Greenwood Publishing Group, Westport, CT pp. 151-161.
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