STEM Girls: Ways to Motivate the Next Generation of Women in STEM

Outline

The CONTENT will be broken up into 3 parts:

1)Introduction/Why It Matters
This section includes research on why it matters according to research as well as why it matters to educators.
TIME: 10 minutes

2) Three Major Problems
In this section, we will discuss the three main issues that contribute to girls being underrepresented in STEM:
*Scientist Stereotype
*Diminished Interest
*Absence of Role Models
TIME: 15 minutes

3) What We Can Do
I will share 4 classroom shifts teachers can implement to create instructional experiences and a cultural environment more conducive to engaging girls in STEM. These classroom shifts will be accompanied by actional resources and strategies teachers can put into practice immediately.
TIME: 35 minutes

ENGAGE: During the session, teachers will be engaged in interactive discussions with other attendees and polls. They will also hear from a diverse sampling of female research scientists from the Van Andel Institute in a pre-recorded video.

PROCESS: The polls will be device-based. The interactive discussions will be done on a peer-peer basis. These will be sprinkled throught the session, roughly one interactive engagement every 10-15 minutes.

Supporting research

*National Girls Collaborative Project: https://ngcproject.org/resources/state-girls-and-women-stem

*American Association of University Women (AAUW)
https://www.aauw.org/

*Glassdoor Research Report
https://research.glassdoor.com/site-us/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/FULL-STUDY-PDF-Gender-Pay-Gap2FCollege-Major.pdf

*US Bureau of Labor Statistics
https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-10/why-computer-occupations-are-behind-strong-stem-employment-growth.htm#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20Bureau%20of%20Labor,3.7%20percent%20for%20all%20occupations.

*Gender in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: Issues, Causes, Solutions
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6759027/

* Race and gender differences in how sense of belonging influences decisions to major in STEM
https://stemeducationjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40594-018-0115-6

*Book: The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance---What Women Should Know (Katty Kay and Claire Shipman)

* Book: Brave, Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More, and Live Bolder (Reshma Saujani)

*Edweek: Girls Likelier to Major in Science Field if High School Had Women STEM Teachers
https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/girls-likelier-to-major-in-science-field-if-high-school-had-women-stem-teachers/2016/03

*Harvard Business Review- Why Women Don’t Apply for Jobs Unless They’re 100% Qualified
https://hbr.org/2014/08/why-women-dont-apply-for-jobs-unless-theyre-100-qualified