The proposed interdisciplinary, collaborative curriculum at the new east side middle school could help narrow the gap between girls and boys in science and math, according to Nell Pederson, Natrona County School District's community relations coordinator.

Studies completed by the American Association of University Women in the past have found that more girls than boys lose interest in mathematics and science after elementary school. They also found a greater loss of self-esteem during the middle school years among girls than their male counterparts.

Pederson and Patricia McEneaney-Colley, a teacher at CY Junior High and member of the middle school planning committee, spoke Saturday morning at Casper College to the Casper Chapter of the association about the recommendations for the new school .

The school, which will replace the old East Junior High, is set to open for the 2005-06 school year.

While no recommendations in the plan are final, they are currently under review by the Natrona County School Board.

The philosophy behind the new middle school is an interdisciplinary approach to learning, removing the conceptual separations of subject areas and letting the students' needs develop the schedule.

For example, Pederson said, the theme of "Change" could be used to teach all subjects including science, math, history, literature and art.

"You won't go sit in school in science class for an hour, then switch to social studies for an hour," she said. "The content will blend together."

The proposed recommendations also include collaboration among parents, teachers and students. Instead of the top-down model of a teacher standing in a classroom and lecturing, students will work in groups and create their own learning processes.

However, by allowing students to create some of their own learning experiences, the instructors must not let girls shy away from math and science, Marianne North, an AAUW member, said.

"It's well-researched and documented that girls avoid those areas, and their parents often don't encourage them to go into those areas," North said, suggesting setting some sort of benchmarks to measure girls' progress and interest in math and science.

Pederson said this issue can be addressed through the school's leadership team, which will consist of school and community members.

"If someone feels girls are not being fully encouraged in those areas, the school will listen," Pederson said.

But she added that the collaborative environment should make it easier for girls to thrive.

"In some traditional science classrooms with 28 kids, boys have the perfect setup to go to the top of the class while the girls can sit back and be quiet," Pederson said.

However, in a school where no teacher is standing in the front, but there is cooperative learning, it's not as easy for some students to sit back, she said.

"Every student in the team has an expectation, and a job doing something, no one gets to sit back," she said. "In that way we can remove some of the gender biases that occur in the middle school years."

The recommendations will be reviewed through a second reading and voted on at Monday's school board meeting.