A few years ago, one of my former students came back to visit. After completing a year as a civil engineering major at VTC, she was excited to tell me that after a successful first year she was transferring to Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. As she described her first year of college to me, she gave me the nicest compliment.
"Ms. deLaBruere, I would have never survived the first year if you had not explained to us the concept of 'experience gap". Every time we got an assignment, I would go to the tools closet and try to figure out which tools we needed. Then when I found them I had to figure out how to use that tool. Meanwhile the boys in the class were on step 10 of the assignment. My understanding the "experience gap' concept was key to my 'not dropping out'.
As you work with women and girls, make sure they understand "the experience gap"
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| Photo Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erector_Set |
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