Learning Through Teaching: A Year in an All-Girls Engineering Class

This chapter narrates a work-integrated learning experience in which I navigate a year of teaching an all-girls high school engineering class with the aim of improving girls’ engagement and success in STEM fields. My initial hypothesis was that teaching girls in engineering would be similar to teaching boys, but the experiential learning process led me to recognize the need for tailored pedagogical approaches. Through reflective inquiry and engagement with educational literature on gender bias, I came to identify three main pedagogical shifts to my practice as a result of the work-integrated learning experience. These are: (1) modifying my teaching practice to include additional structure and support for girls during engineering instruction, (2) holding conversations with girls about gender stereotypes and implicit gender bias which improved my teacher-student relationships and effectiveness as a teacher, and (3) developing a new confidence in modifying the curriculum to meet the specific needs of a student population. This study resulted in positive outcomes, with girls expressing increased interest in engineering and leaving the course with a sense of competence. Throughout the chapter I emphasize how hands-on problem solving and transformative inquiry-based learning, coupled with critical reflective thinking, have transformed my teaching approach, emphasizing the importance of adapting curriculum to meet the needs of diverse student populations.