News from Girls Raised in Tennessee Science (GRITS)

Holidays seem to be the perfect time to work on the GRITS Collaborative Project Newsletters. The November newsletter was written on Halloween! Writing is important and is a major form of communication for scientists, on paper or on the Internet. Thus Girls Raised In Tennessee Science need to learn communication skills as well as science and math.

For those of you who know me personally, already know that I do not hesitate to ask questions or to ask for help when the need arises. Thus during a discussion on writing with a dear friend, a cat lover and Ph.D. candidate, Kirsten Boatwright, I asked her to share her thoughts on the importance of communications in STEM. Kirsten was a Writing Fellow in a physical science class that I taught a few years ago. In fact, Kirsten asked more science related questions in that class than the students! I truly enjoyed the collaboration that we shared as we helped our students to learn science as well as to communicate science. I do not think that Kirsten will mind me saying that she is truly a Girl Raised In Tennessee Science!

If you are in the Nashville area next weekend, check out the National Science Teachers Association Nashville Area Conference. I will be talking GRITS! Details are below.

Happy Holidays.

Judith

Writing Science

Science associations worldwide including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Mathematical Society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Institute of Physics, and the Association for Woman in Science now recognize and promote effective writing in the sciences with scholarships, grants, and fellowships. Writing in science, technology, engineering, and math requires precision and clarity, and while it may differ stylistically from writing in other fields, STEM writing is no less important. In fact, research has repeatedly demonstrated that writing is the most powerful portal to learning. Encourage your teen woman to keep a journal where she can explore her questions, ideas, and discoveries in writing, and ask her to share her writing. Act as her audience and read what she shares. Ask questions and provide her with opportunities to rewrite, revise, and refine her writing. Whether testing the discoveries of others or explaining her own breakthroughs, your budding scientist, technician, engineer, or mathematician's ability to write clearly about complex ideas is crucial-to her, the community, and the world.

Kirsten Boatwright

Ph.D. Candidate

MTSU English Department

Sound Science: Southern Style

Join us in Music City for NSTA's December conference on science education. The conference headquarters hotel is the Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Convention Center. Conference registration and sessions will be scheduled here, as will the exhibits and the NSTA Science Bookstore. The conference will begin with concurrent sessions on Thursday, December 2, at 8:00 AM and end on Saturday, December 4, at 12 Noon. General information, registration and program details can be found at http://www.nsta.org/conferences/2010nas/

I will take this opportunity to note that GRITS is on the program on December 2 from 12:30 to 1:30 PM I am presenting a talk titled: Leveraging STEM Resources Through GRITS

in the Magnolia Boardroom B, in the newly renovated Gaylord Opryland Hotel.

Also check out the exciting "Science Matters" community event on Saturday, December 4 from 8:00 am to 11:30 AM at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, Ryman Hall C2. NSTA is pleased to announce that it will again host this FREE community science events for elementary teachers, parents, school officials, and other community members. Engage in exciting hands-on activities and discover new ways to bring science to life for your students and children. And learn about NSTA's newest initiative, Science Matters, designed to rekindle a national sense of urgency and action among schools and families about the importance of science education. Emmy award-winning meteorologist at WTVF NewsChannel 5 in Nashville, Lelan Statom, will give the keynote address at Science Matters.

General information, registration and program details can be found at http://www.nsta.org/conferences/2010nas/

Thank you for supporting Girls Raised In Tennessee Science!

Judith Iriarte-Gross Ph.D.

GRITS Collaborative Project

WISTEM Center

615.494.7763