Ethel Walker School
Walker’s alumna Kelsey Ballard Rogers ’11, STEM Career and Programs Coordinator at the Connecticut Science Center in Hartford, visited Walker’s 10th grade Coding Seminar in the Steelcase Active Learning Center on Thursday. Kelsey and her CT Science Center colleague, Public Programs Educator Nathaniel Gagnon, led coding activities with the class, including writing binary code and helping students program robots. Kelsey, Nathaniel, and STEM Educator Aoife Ryle will co-teach the seminar this year alongside Walker’s science faculty member Dr. Emma Mitchell.
Coding is part of Walker’s Capabilities Approach Seminar which challenges students’ assumptions about gendered mindsets about what girls can do and be, and helps students take responsibility for their own learning, develop a growth mindset, and increase their confidence, self-esteem, and ability to collaborate. Tenth Grade Coding provides students with a hands-on introduction to the world of computer science. The course will focus on coding and artificial intelligence, and will culminate in students developing collaborative projects on programming and/or artificial intelligence to find potential solutions for problems in their communities.
In her role at the CT Science Center, Kelsey helps build interactive learning experiences with STEM professionals and educators to inspire local youth to pursue STEM careers in their home state. Kelsey studied Biological Sciences and Psychology at the University of Connecticut and received her Master’s in Healthcare Administration at the University of New Haven.
