International Coalition of Girls Schools conference - Philadelphia, June 2025
I attended and presented at the ICGS annual conference in Philadelphia. My presentation was "Who Is a Scientist? Broadening Girls' Vision of STEM Role Models". In it, I summarized research about students' perception of scientists, particularly related to gender and race/ethnicity, and shared my "Scientist of the Day" routine that I work into each science class to give Burke's students a wide range of examples of real-world scientists. You can see my presentation slides here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1jCKdhIW1JVmD0UclDY8VJHeRUc7t1ur5_8VDbaTe5cs/edit?usp=sharing
I also attended various other presentations and workshops put on by educators from girls' schools around the world. A few highlights:
A workshop about teaching consent from I Have the Right To, an organization focused on helping survivors of sexual assault. Key quote: "Teaching consent is like fire drills."
A presentation about a framework for empowering student-led small-group discussions, with the guidelines of R.E.A.L. - Relate to what others have said, give Evidence, Ask questions, Listen to others. I hope to use this to teach scientific discussion skills more explicitly, especially with my older students.
"The Attack on Trans Youth" by Julie Mencher - a sobering presentation/discussion about the current political climate, which made me very grateful that Burke's started our work with a Gender Inclusion Statement before this moment.
A workshop on using improv theater games to empower students and promote collaborative creativity. "Mistakes are fumbles and fumbles are opportunities."
A talk on perfectionism and neurodiversity from Dr. Sharon Saline - even though I have seen her speak before, her messages were great reminders about how to support students who are neurodiverse.
All in all, this was a fantastic conference, and I recommend others consider attending it in the future!
Wow - I loved getting to see your slides from the presentation! It is a powerful message that so many other girls' schools benefit greatly from hearing. It sounds like you also attended many great sessions getting a glimpse at what other schools are doing and I am so glad you enjoyed the ICGS conference.