The Science Center is hosting a professional development seminar for middle and high school teachers on Wednesday, Feb. 27 in conjunction with our Women in Science and Engineering student career days.

The WISE career event will focus on reducing the gender imbalance in engineering, math, and computer science. Discussions and activities will address ways to increase the persistence of girls in these subjects and combat implicit bias, stereotype threat, and the lack of female role models.

The session will run from 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. and will provide 6.5 hours of Act 48 credit each. The price per attendee will be $100 per session, which includes lunch and museum admission. Assistance from the Linny Fowler Science Inquiry Fund is available for low-income schools.

Event Activities:

• A panel of female STEM professionals will describe their career pathways and advise teachers on what skills students need to succeed in careers like theirs.
  • Donna DeMarco, Computer Science professor at Kutztown University
  • Saima Ahmed, MD, of St. Luke’s Sacred Heart Family Medicine Residency Program
  • Kat Mahoney, STEAM video game educator, Owner/Creative Director of WeDiscoverGeeks.com
  • Kallie Ziltz, PhD student at Lehigh University studying ways to reduce the gender gap in computer science
• Eva Goedhart (Lebanon Valley College) and Miranda Teboh-Ewungkem (Lehigh University), from the Association for Women in Mathematics, will lead a range of fun activities designed to increase engagement and deepen learning in math.
• Tamara Persico and members of the Manufacturers Resource Center Dream Team will join the teachers for lunch to explain their fun, interactive classroom visitation program:  Karilyn Ruiz (B.Braun), Hilary Schmidt (Victaulic), Monique McCants (Air Products), and Jackie Hamer (Mack Trucks).
• Discuss ways to meet ESSA Guidelines for College and Career Readiness.
• Learn about STEM opportunities available at Career and Technical Institutes, including job shadowing, internships, co-ops, and dual enrollment college courses.