A Utah teen created an engineering curriculum that is now being used in her high school and is being distributed to schools throughout the country.
Amber Barron, who recently graduated high school and will be attending the University of Utah in the fall, developed the curriculum to help students participate in engineering fairs, according to local outlet KUTV.
"Engineering fair is similar to science fair, except you create a new innovation. I also authored an engineering fair curriculum to help guide that process and help students understand how to do that better," she told the outlet.
Now, her former Jordan School District physics teacher, Mrs. Craig, will be using the curriculum in her classroom. Craig favors it because it's “short and designed for students to read, not for teachers to read,” per KUTV.
Barron is a champion for the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. After winning a scholarship in March 2014, Barron told Utah outlet The Deseret News, "Through my participation in science, specifically engineering and physics, I have developed logical reasoning and thinking skills.”
She added, "By developing these skills, I am able to brainstorm solutions and demonstrate real-world connections on a daily basis."
There is a notable gender gap when it comes to women in STEM fields. A 2011 report from the U.S. Department of Commerce found that “[a]lthough women fill close to half of all jobs in the U.S. economy, they hold less than 25 percent of STEM jobs.”
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