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

女性在地球科学领域的代表性仍然不足。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、专业和同伴指导相结合，为STEM本科女性进入地球科学领域提供了一条途径。这项研究还深入了解了为什么指导对STEM女性有益。该项目招募了来自两个地理区域：科罗拉多州和卡罗来纳州的研究机构的对地球科学感兴趣的一年级大学女生（来自任何STEM专业）。在第一年，这些女性被邀请参加一个区域指导研讨会，以i)更多地了解地球科学职业，ii)结识具有相似学术兴趣的同龄人，iii)更好地了解自己在地球科学职业中的价值观、优势和能力，以及iv)为从事地球科学职业扩展她们的心理、社会和制度资源。工作坊结束后，项目参与者可以通过网络平台获得同伴指导和资源。通过这个平台，他们可以通过论坛进行互动。此外，他们还可以通过在每个机构安排的聚会获得女性榜样的亲自指导。研究的重点是量化i)研讨会和指导对参与者与地球科学职业选择相关的意图和行为的影响，ii)研讨会和指导对参与者用于克服职业相关障碍的技能和资源的影响，以及iii)研讨会和指导策略的关键特征，预测参与者对地球科学的看法和信念的积极变化。关于师徒关系有效性的实验研究在师徒关系的研究文献中很少有。该项目将通过进行随机实验来填补文献的空白，在该实验中，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将根据她们对地球科学的最初兴趣、学业成绩和人口特征进行匹配。配对组将被随机分配到干预组（工作坊和指导组）或对照组。此后，两组女性将参加一年两次的网络调查，问题涉及她们对数学的认同，她们在一般科学（特别是地球科学）职业生涯中的潜在成就感，她们对地球科学的性别刻板印象，以及她们与导师的经历。此外，将对干预组的妇女进行访谈，以检查支持和挑战，以及干预对她们对地球科学教育和职业的兴趣和/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发表来完成。

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.