Collaborative Research: Improving the recruitment and persistence of women in the geosciences: Exploring deliberate mentoring approaches aimed at undergraduate students

妇女在地球科学领域的代表性仍然很低。女性榜样和导师可以在女学生的生活中发挥重要作用，特别是在选择和致力于职业道路时。该项目通过正式和非正式、专业和同行指导相结合的方式，为STEM本科生提供了一条进入地球科学的途径。这项研究还为为什么辅导对STEM女性有益提供了洞察。该项目从科罗拉多州前线和卡罗莱纳州两个地理区域的机构招募对地球科学感兴趣的大学一年级女性(从任何STEM专业)。在第一年，这些妇女被邀请参加一个区域指导讲习班，以i)了解更多关于地球科学职业的知识，ii)结识有相似学术兴趣的同龄人，iii)更好地自我认识她们在地球科学事业中的价值观、优势和能力，以及iv)扩大她们在地球科学事业中的心理、社会和机构资源。研讨会结束后，项目参与者可以通过网络平台获得同行指导和资源。通过这个平台，他们能够通过论坛进行互动。此外，他们还可以通过在每个机构安排的聚会，与女性榜样进行面对面的指导。这项研究的重点是量化：1)研讨会和辅导对参与者与地学职业选择相关的意图和行为的影响，2)研讨会和辅导对参与者克服与职业有关的障碍所使用的技能和资源的影响，以及3)研讨会和辅导策略的主要特征，这些特征预测了参与者对地球科学的看法和信念的积极变化。这个项目将通过进行随机实验来填补文献中的空白，在实验中，科罗拉多州立大学和北卡罗来纳大学夏洛特分校的本科生女性将根据她们最初对地球科学的兴趣、学术记录和人口统计特征进行匹配。配对将被随机分配到干预(研讨会和指导)或对照条件下。此后，两组妇女将参加一年两次的网上调查，问题涉及她们对数学的认同感、她们在一般科学和地球科学职业中的潜在成就感、她们对地球科学的性别陈规定型观念以及她们与导师的经验。此外，将与干预组中的妇女进行访谈，以审查支持和挑战，以及干预对她们在地球科学教育和职业生涯中的兴趣和/或坚持的作用。成果的传播将通过在同行评议的期刊上发表和在专业会议上作介绍来实现。

Women continue to be largely under-represented in the geosciences. Female role models and mentors can play an important role in the lives of female students, especially when choosing and committing to a career path. This project is providing a pathway for STEM undergraduate women into the geosciences through a combination of formal and informal, professional and peer mentoring. The research is also providing insight into why mentoring is beneficial to STEM women. This project recruits first-year college women interested in the geosciences (from any STEM major) from institutions in two geographic regions: the Front Range of Colorado and the Carolinas. During their first year, these women are invited to a regional mentoring workshop to i) learn more about geoscience careers, ii) meet peers with similar academic interests, iii) gain better self-awareness of their values, strengths, and abilities for a career in the geosciences, and iv) expand their psychological, social and institutional resources for a career in the geosciences. After the workshop, the program participants have access to peer mentoring and resources through a web platform. Through this platform, they are able to interact with each other via discussion forums. In addition, they have access to in-person mentoring with female role models via scheduled get-togethers at each institution. The research is focused on quantifying i) the impact of the workshops and mentoring on participants' intentions and behaviors related to geoscience career choices, ii) the impact of the workshops and mentoring on the skills and resources participants use to overcome career-related barriers, and iii) the key features of the workshops and mentoring strategies that predict positive changes in participants' perceptions of and beliefs about the geosciences.Experimental research on the effectiveness of mentoring has been largely absent from the mentoring literature. This project will fill the gap in the literature by conducting a randomized experiment wherein undergraduate women at Colorado State University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte will be matched based on their initial interest in geosciences, academic record, and demographic characteristics. Matched pairs will be randomly assigned to intervention (workshop and mentoring) or control conditions. Thereafter, women in both groups will participate in a biannual web-based survey with questions concerning their identification with math, their sense of potential fulfillment in careers in the sciences in general and geosciences specifically, their gender stereotypes of the geosciences, and their experiences with mentors. In addition, interviews will be conducted with the women in the intervention group to examine supports and challenges, and the role of the intervention in their interest and/or persistence in geoscience educations and careers. Dissemination of results will be accomplished through publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at professional meetings.