On the heels of a highly successful inaugural year, "Gaining Options: Girls Investigate Real Life" (GO-GIRL) mathematics program will offer a 10-week fall session at Wayne State University beginning Sept. 27 and running through Dec. 13, 2003. The deadline for applications is Aug. 1 for seventh-grade girls.
Developed exclusively for middle school girls, the GO-GIRL project is offered jointly by Wayne State University and the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at the University of Michigan. A National Science Foundation grant award funds it.
Students will learn skills that are beneficial in seventh-grade and beyond encouraging them to achieve their full academic potential. Such skills include scientific reasoning, confidence with computers, using a graphing calculator, learning about careers in mathematics and science, friendships with college student mentors and teachers and enhancing academic self-confidence.
Spearheaded by Pamela Trotman Reid, director of the University of Michigan Women's Studies Program and professor in education and psychology, and Sally K. Roberts, assistant professor at Wayne State's College of Education, GO-GIRL will also provide academic training for college students. Pre-service teachers from Wayne State and undergraduate mentors from the University of Michigan will work with the girls providing them with assistance and instruction on their research projects while helping them explore future career alternatives.
According to the most recent data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the mathematics assessment testing at grades 4, 8, and 12 to approximately 47,000 students nationwide revealed a gender gap in terms of mathematics proficiency. The data showed that male students had higher scores than females at all three grade levels with the gap widening between grades 8 and 12.
GO-GIRL is free and open to a limited number of seventh-grade female students. An adult educator nominates participants. For more information about the program and registration process, you may use any of the following methods: Visit the GO-GIRL Web site at or contact Prof. Sally Roberts by email at: s.k.roberts@wayne.edu.