Introducing Girls of Diverse Backgrounds to STEM at An Early Age

Only a few girls and children from diverse backgrounds see themselves having careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Some children, primarily from minority groups, do not feel like they belong in the STEM world when they finish school. Early involvement in STEM is essential because when young children participate in STEM activities, this involvement can give them a stronger STEM career identity, more interest in science, and confidence about working in STEM [1]. The STEM-It-Yourself (SIY) program, developed by The Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence and Equity Research (LAIER), aims to help change how Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) girls see themselves and behave in STEM. Specifically, SIY seeks to help these girls become more self-assured so that they can picture themselves with a job in STEM.

What is a STEM Identity?

A STEM identity is when a person can feel a sense of attachment or belonging to a STEM environment. To help children develop a STEM identity, educators and researchers should focus on early STEM education in children’s day-to-day lives. Research shows that the early stages of a child’s life are when identity development happens, helping kids learn how to live in the present and develop potential future STEM identities [2]. The SIY initiative provided mentors to encourage, inspire, and guide these young women. It was an excellent way for young kids to explore their interests and cultivate their STEM identities.

According to the Pew Research Center, only 14% of women workers are in physical science and engineering, only 20% are health-related workers, and 15% are computer science BIPOC workers [3]. In the USA, women and people of color are often missing from STEM jobs—less than one-quarter of STEM employees are women, as you can see! More women and people of color in STEM could boost creativity and innovation [4]. Financial barriers and the lack of role models can make it challenging for girls of color to see themselves in STEM careers. However, having mentors who look like them can make a big difference in helping girls believe they can succeed. The more they learn about STEM fields, the more likely they are to pursue STEM careers.

How Can Exposure Help?

Less than 10% of STEM content is taught in kindergarten through second-grade classes—that is a tiny amount [2]! But guess what? We can change that by developing ways to expose young people to STEM. Early exposure might help increase the percentage of females entering STEM fields. Research shows that grades 6–8 (ages 9–13) are when most career aspirations are developed [5]. Hands-on activities like building robots, playing coding games, or conducting science experiments can make STEM subjects more engaging. Programs and clubs like those from the Society of Women Engineers or Black Girls Code connect students with mentors and real-world projects that inspire and guide them. With these thoughts in mind, The LAIER created SIY to help link children to their actual likes and interests in a STEM field so they could find their passion and eventually increase the number of people from underrepresented groups in STEM jobs for the future (Figure 1)!

How the SIY Initiative Works

SIY was an extracurricular movement for middle school students (grades 6–8; ages 9–13) that explored adolescent girls’ perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors by having them participate in STEM activities [6]. These girls may not have had a chance to form a STEM identity, see women who look like them in STEM or may not have the resources available to learn more about STEM. The SIY initiative had two main parts: sessions and activities.

SIY activities were hands-on projects geared toward creating something related to the various STEM topics, while the SIY sessions were focused on themes and provided speakers from STEM professions. Figure 2 provides a snapshot of the diverse topics and activities covered. These educational, interactive sessions exposed girls to real-life STEM activities, fostering a deeper understanding of the world around them. They were encouraged to apply the principles they learned from the speakers through the sessions by participating in hands-on, topic-related activities. All sessions were recorded and shared online to be revisited at any time on our SIY initiative YouTube page.

SIY is not just about fun activities. We also used surveys to ensure the girls got the most out of each session. Surveys measured how much girls remembered from previous sessions and served as a “preview” for the next section. Girls also took short, interactive quizzes on Kahoot to test their knowledge and memory of the topics taught in the lesson. To close each session, the SIY team gave post-survey questions to collect information to help us modify teaching methods to ensure the young women were not overwhelmed or discouraged. While SIY helped us discover multiple ways to bridge the gap for young BIPOC learning about STEM, the work does not stop here.

Impact and Conclusion

The SIY initiative can be used in other settings, age groups, grade levels, organizations, or universities to target BIPOC and support or grow the STEM workforce. To assess how well the program worked, we track participants’ progress to see if SIY made a long-term impact and helped girls foster their STEM identities. We hope that, through reading this article, you can see the power of representation, enrichment activities, and outreach. Maybe you can think of other organizations that may need to implement STEM activities or improve their STEM programming. We plan to expand the program to reach other young women from underrepresented and underserved communities.

Glossary

Minority: ↑ A part of a population considered differing from the rest in some characteristics and often subjected to differential treatment.

STEM Identity: ↑ The recognition of self and others as a person in STEM or STEM-related fields.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.