Latina SciGirls: Promoting Middle School-Age Hispanic Girls' Postitive STEM Identity Development

作为加强非正式环境学习总体战略的一部分，推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）项目为各种环境中使用的创新资源提供资金。在这个项目中，双子城公共电视台（TPT）将制作拉丁SciGirls，这是艾美奖获奖电视和跨媒体项目SciGirls的第四季。《拉丁科学女孩》包括用西班牙语拍摄的6集半小时电视连续剧《科学女孩》，展示了一群西班牙裔女孩和她们的拉丁裔STEM（科学、技术、工程、数学）导师调查美国各地西班牙裔社区感兴趣的与文化相关的科学和工程问题。电视导师和女孩将在美国西南部和东南部的西班牙裔社区拍摄，代表不同的文化背景和种族。TPT还将为拉丁裔STEM专业人员制作一系列适合家庭和女孩的西班牙语和英语在线榜样视频简介。除了媒体内容外，该项目还将通过在全国不同的西班牙裔社区开展社区外展活动，为女孩及其家人提供与拉丁裔榜样和STEM项目建立联系的机会。该项目的目标是促进中学年龄的西班牙裔女孩积极的STEM身份发展。西班牙裔女性是少数族裔女性中最大的群体，占美国人口的8%，然而，西班牙裔女性在科学和工程领域的参与度非常低：2010年，美国劳动力中只有2%的科学家和工程师是西班牙裔女性。针对拉丁裔女孩的方法既植根于已被证明能让女孩参与STEM的基于研究的策略，也植根于需要解决阻碍许多西班牙裔女孩充分参与STEM活动的具体障碍。这些障碍包括缺乏STEM身份（女孩认为自己是科学家或工程师），接触STEM榜样的机会有限，父母参与度低，英语水平低。研究表明，西班牙裔女孩对STEM有很高的兴趣和信心，有很强的职业道德，但缺乏STEM专业人士的支持和接触。TPT将独特地利用国家媒体和外联的力量，使拉丁裔STEM专业人员能够在屏幕上和面对面地与女孩及其家人互动。《拉丁女孩》剧集将由美国公共广播公司和美国最大的西班牙语网络Univisión在全国播出，并在PBSKids.org上在线播放。通过美国国家科学基金会资助的外展项目SciGirls CONNECT，以及通过与国家女孩合作项目的合作，将资源提供给全国其他讲西班牙语的社区。TPT将委托科罗拉多大学博尔德分校（University of Colorado-Boulder）进行一项外部研究，该研究将验证这一假设：当SciGirls模型被扩展到解决8至13岁西班牙裔女孩及其父母参与STEM的具体障碍时，将促进西班牙裔女孩积极STEM相关身份的发展。在这种情况下，该研究将调查西班牙裔女孩参与项目可交付成果的个人经历，以及这些经历如何有助于她们与stem相关的身份发展，以对抗文化和基于性别的刻板印象。Knight-Williams公司的外部评估将包括前端、形成和总结阶段。前端评估将涉及开发西班牙语课程的利益相关者，该课程以符合文化的故事情节为特色，并展示拉丁裔STEM专业人士。形成性评估将包括女孩和家庭的焦点小组，提供他们对该计划的吸引力和感知价值的反应。总结性评估将捕获广播，在线组件和社区活动的范围。TPT将通过在包括美国教育研究协会、国家科学教师协会和www.InformalScience.org在内的全国性会议上发表报告，传播研究和评估结果。该项目的评估和研究影响西班牙裔女孩STEM身份发展的认知和经验因素的复杂性，将有助于该领域对这一主题的理解，并为扩大少数族裔女性参与STEM做出更大的努力。

As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds innovative resources for use in a variety of settings. In this project, Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) will produce Latina SciGirls, a fourth season of the Emmy Award-winning television and transmedia project SciGirls. Latina SciGirls includes six half-hour television episodes of SciGirls filmed in Spanish, showing groups of Hispanic girls and their Latina STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) mentors investigating culturally relevant science and engineering problems of interest to Hispanic communities across the U.S. Television mentors and girls will be filmed in Hispanic communities in the southwest and southeastern U.S. and represent various cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. TPT will also create a series of family and girl-friendly online role model video profiles in Spanish and English of Latina STEM professionals. In addition to the media components, the project will provide opportunities to connect girls and their families with in-person Latina role models and STEM programming via community outreach in diverse Hispanic communities across the country. The goal of the project is to promote positive STEM identity development in middle school-age Hispanic girls. Hispanic women are the largest group of minority females, constituting 8% of the U.S. population, however, the participation of Hispanic women in science and engineering is significantly low: in 2010, just 2% of all of the scientists and engineers in the U.S. workforce were Hispanic women. The approach to Latina SciGirls is rooted both in research-based strategies proven to engage girls in STEM, and the need to address specific barriers that prevent many Hispanic girls from participating fully in STEM activities. These barriers include lack of STEM identity (girls' perception of themselves as scientists or engineers), limited exposure to STEM role models, and low parental engagement and English proficiency. Research shows that Hispanic girls have high interest and confidence in STEM, and a strong work ethic, but lack support and exposure to STEM professionals. TPT will uniquely leverage the power of national media and outreach to enable Latina STEM professionals to interact with girls and their families both onscreen and in person. Latina SciGirls episodes will be broadcast nationally by PBS and the nation's largest Hispanic network, Univisión, and streamed online at PBSKids.org. Resources will be made available to additional Spanish-speaking communities nationwide through the NSF-funded outreach program, SciGirls CONNECT, and through partnership with the National Girls Collaborative Project. TPT will commission an external research study with the University of Colorado-Boulder, which will test the hypothesis: The SciGirls model, when augmented to address specific barriers to STEM engagement of Hispanic girls ages 8 to 13 and their parents, will promote the development of positive STEM-related identities in Hispanic girls. In this capacity, the study will investigate Hispanic girls' personal experiences engaging with the project deliverables and how those experiences contribute to their STEM-related identity development against cultural and gender-based stereotypes. An external evaluation by Knight-Williams, Inc. will include front-end, formative and summative phases. The front-end evaluation will involve stakeholders in the development of a Spanish language program that features culturally appropriate storylines and showcases Latina STEM professionals. Formative evaluation will include focus groups of girls and families offering their reactions to the appeal and perceived value of the program. Summative evaluation will capture the reach of the broadcast, online components and community events. TPT will disseminate the research and evaluation findings through presentations at national conferences, including the American Education Research Association, National Science Teachers Association, and at www.InformalScience.org. The project's evaluation and research about the complexities of the cognitive and experiential factors that influence Hispanic girls' STEM identity development will contribute to the field's understanding of this subject and the larger efforts of broadening minority women's participation in STEM.