Project Mission and Goals

The Project mission is to establish confidence by building competence. ESTEEM will more fully engage community college women in STEM education by strengthening their knowledge, skill, and leadership abilities, thus enhancing their ability to pursue promising and viable STEM careers. Specifically, the Project will:

• Develop a framework to enable instructors and curriculum developers to equitably adapt existing STEM materials so that an educational environment is created that is enriching for students of both genders and especially appealing to CC females.
• Model equitable educational practices by using the ESTEEM framework and guidelines to infuse gender-equitable activities and pedagogy into community college ATE curriculum exemplars.
• Improve understanding of important (standards-based) STEM concepts and skills and thereby increase students’ capability, self-esteem, and self-confidence in technical areas.
• Generate increased student and teacher interest in, and positive attitudes toward, technological careers.
• Evaluate, publish, and disseminate methods, materials, and results.