Design Connect Create
Impact
Design Connect Create (DCC) has helped increase the number of girls in the Dallas area who are taking and passing the AP Physics exam. At a time when only 20% of physics degrees go to women, the initiative is critical to helping the nation tap the talents of fully half its workforce.
Accomplished
- Need Accomplished
- Evaluation Developing
- Sustainability Accomplished
- Replication & Scalability Developing
- Partnerships Accomplished
- Capacity Accomplished
- Challenging & Relevant Content Accomplished
- STEM Practices Accomplished
- Inspiration Accomplished
- Under-Represented Groups Accomplished
Technology companies like Texas Instruments need access to high performing STEM employees, especially women and minorities, to continue to grow and innovate. The physics camps are a proven way to increase the interest of young women in a STEM career by helping them feel confident about their ability to succeed and connect how they can make a difference in society through a technology profession.
Chief Citizenship Officer, Texas Instruments
Design Principles
The programs in this database clear a high bar. STEMworks reviewed each program against the Design Principles for Effective STEM Philanthropy. Programs must be Accomplished () across all Design Principles, or be Developing () in a maximum of three areas.
Overarching Principles
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Need Accomplished
Identify and target a compelling and well-defined need.
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Evaluation Developing
Use rigorous evaluation to continuously measure and inform progress towards the compelling need identified.
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Sustainability Accomplished
Ensure work is sustainable.
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Replication & Scalability Developing
Demonstrate replicability and scalability.
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Partnerships Accomplished
Create high impact partnerships.
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Capacity Accomplished
Ensure organizational capacity to achieve goals.
STEM Principles
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Challenging & Relevant Content Accomplished
Offer challenging and relevant STEM content for the target audience.
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STEM Practices Accomplished
Incorporate and encourage STEM practices.
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Inspiration Accomplished
Inspire interest and engagement in STEM.
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Under-Represented Groups Accomplished
Identify and address the needs of under-represented groups.
Program Overview
Design Connect Create is a two-week summer day camp that was created to prepare girls for their first high school physics course. The camp reinforces basic math skills, offers hands-on labs, provides close interaction with instructors, fosters an atmosphere of collaboration and teamwork, and exposes girls to STEM careers through female role models. Students take field trips to a university and to a technology related company. To introduce students to STEM careers, time is allotted each day for a female speaker working in a STEM field. Two-week camps are taught by Physics teachers who have attended gender equity training. Camps are held in high school classrooms and can accommodate up to 60 girls who have taken the prerequisite courses for AP Physics. The typical high school physics class can be intimidating for most girls, even for those who excel in math. The goal of Design Connect Create is to increase the number of females who take AP Physics classes and pass the AP Physics exam, because physics is a critical gateway class to the study of STEM majors in college. To close the gender gap in the STEM professions, we must increase the number of girls graduating from high school and entering college degree programs in STEM.
Funders and Partners
Texas Instruments, Texas Instruments Foundation, High-Tech High Heels Fund at Dallas Women’s Foundation