Black SciGirls: Investigating a Culturally Responsive Media-enriched Approach to STEM Teaching and Learning

黑人女孩对STEM表现出很高的兴趣、信心和能力，但面临多重障碍，包括种族、民族和性别刻板印象，接触STEM榜样的机会较少，对STEM多样化领域的认识不足，以及STEM教育的经济障碍。为吸引和留住STEM领域的黑人女孩，在STEM教育中注入具体和有意识的文化响应和反种族主义战略至关重要。通过媒体、榜样和外联的结合，黑人女学生将帮助黑人女孩增加接受STEM教育的机会，为未来的劳动力参与做好准备。该项目将研究中小学黑人女孩接触早期职业黑人女性STEM专业人士作为榜样的影响。可交付成果包括：1)STEM教育工作者和黑人STEM专业女性的专业发展，为她们领导女孩的STEM项目做好准备；2)PBS系列早期职业黑人STEM专业人士的榜样视频；3)一项研究，探讨个人和基于媒体的STEM榜样如何/是否增加黑人女孩对STEM的兴趣和信心，追求未来STEM学习的动力，以及STEM身份。虽然女性占美国劳动力的47%，但她们在STEM领域的代表性不足，黑人女性仅占1.6%。这项研究将研究教育工作者如何使用榜样来解决黑人女孩的一个关键障碍，看到STEM领域的女性像她们一样。研究的问题是：黑人STEM女性的榜样如何以及以何种方式影响黑人女孩对STEM的兴趣？作为榜样的最佳实践培训的结果，榜样如何以及在多大程度上报告了他们吸引女孩参与STEM的信心和能力的变化？以及，由于榜样的参与，父母如何以及在多大程度上支持女孩参与STEM ？研究小组将访问当地参与的SciGirls项目，收集定性数据，包括对项目活动的观察、访谈和焦点小组。为了确保可靠的结果和利用强大的理论基础，研究将结合前后调查数据和深入的跨案例研究，采用定性和定量数据收集。这种混合方法将能够收集数据，全面了解黑人女孩的STEM经历，以及黑人STEM职业女性榜样和支持她们的父母的经历。以女孩、榜样和父母视角为中心的定性数据将有助于这项以身份为中心的研究。文化响应性评估将决定该项目在多大程度上培养教育工作者整合公平和反种族主义做法的能力，以培养黑人女孩对STEM研究的兴趣和信心。这项服务于实践的研究项目由推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划资助，该计划旨在(a)推进非正式环境中STEM学习设计和开发的新方法和基于证据的理解；(b)提供多种途径，以扩大获得和参与STEM学习经验的机会；(c)推进非正式环境中STEM学习的创新研究和评估；(d)让所有年龄段的公众在非正式环境中学习STEM。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Black girls display high interest, confidence and ability in STEM but face multiple barriers including racial, ethnic and gender stereotypes, low exposure to STEM role models, low awareness of diverse STEM fields and financial obstacles to STEM education. It is critical to infuse STEM education with specific and intentional culturally responsive and anti-racist strategies to attract and retain Black girls in STEM. Through this combination of media, role modeling and outreach, Black SciGirls will help increase access to STEM education for Black girls, preparing them for future workforce participation. This project will study the impacts on elementary/middle school Black girls’ exposure to early career Black female STEM professionals as role models. Deliverables include 1) professional development for STEM educators and Black STEM professional women to prepare them to lead STEM programs for girls 2) a PBS series of role model videos of early-career Black STEM professionals and 3) a research study that examines how/if in person and media-based STEM role models increase Black girls’ interest and confidence in STEM, motivation to pursue future STEM studies, and STEM identity. While women make up 47% of the U.S. workforce, they are underrepresented in STEM and only 1.6% are Black women.The research study will examine how educators’ use of role models addresses a critical barrier for Black girls, seeing women in STEM who look like them. The research study questions are: How and in what ways do Black STEM women role models influence Black girls’ interest in STEM? How and to what extent do role models report changes in their confidence and ability to engage girls in STEM as a result of training in best practices in role modelling? and, How and to what extent are parents engaged in supporting girls’ involvement in STEM, as a result of the participation of role models? The research team will visit participating local SciGirls programs to collect qualitative data, including observations of program activities, interviews, and focus groups. To ensure reliable outcomes and utilize robust theoretical underpinnings, the research will combine pre/post survey data and an in-depth cross-case studies employing qualitative and quantitative data collection. This mixed-methods approach will enable gathering data that comprehensively offers insight into Black girls’ STEM experiences and those of the Black STEM professional women role models and parents who support them. Qualitative data that centers girls’, role models’, and parents’ perspectives will contribute to this identity-centered study. A culturally responsive evaluation will determine the extent to which the project builds educators’ ability to integrate equitable and anti-racist practices to build Black girls’ interest and confidence in STEM studies.This Research in Service to Practice project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to (a) advance new approaches to and evidence-based understanding of the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments; (b) provide multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences; (c) advance innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments; and (d) engage the public of all ages in learning STEM in informal environments.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.