Current Status of Women and Minorities in Stem When you ask someone to name an influential female scientist, they might have trouble coming up with a list. The same goes for scientists that fall under different ethnic backgrounds. You might ask yourself why? It is because of history. Women weren't given the opportunities that men were given in getting a strong scientific education. If they did, they weren't given the credit they deserved (example: Rosalind Franklin). Rosalind Franklin was one out of two women that got her doctoral degree at her university. While she was there she was constantly being seen as less of value than the men were. When she made a scientific discovery, men stole her discovery and published it so they got the credit and she didn't! What should we do about it? We need to WEAVE women into science curriculum. As a future educator it is so important to show my female students they can be successful scientists as well! In a study done in 2000, 66% of girls reported they had a strong interest in science. By 8th grade that percentage dropped to 47%. That is a 19% drop and at an age where they are especially influenced by the things around them. If students grow up without being able to visualize themselves in a particular setting how should they ever be able to have that as a dream or goal? The same goes for minorities. We don't equally represent them in the classroom. How do we do it? In an article from Science Scope called "Weaving Women into the Science Curriculum" it gives a plethora of ideas that teachers should use. These ideas included:
The bigger font is what I have seen done in my methods course. With my experience, it was very helpful to see how women were represented in the early to mid 1900s. I was Rosalind Franklin for my assignment. It was incredible how she got her studies stripped away from her. If that happened to a male, I could imagine the situation would've been a lot different. Reference for article Campbell, A. (2007, October 1). Weaving Women into the Science Curriculum. Science Scope, 54-58.
4 Comments
Nick Robinson
11/1/2015 08:59:51 pm
That figure you wrote about is extremely interesting, it raises powerful questions about the point at which some girls lose their interest in science. Seems like a great area to further research Do you recall any second thoughts about your interest or your peers interest in science when you or they were in this age range?
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Devon Smith
11/2/2015 06:16:47 am
Your opening statement really resonated with me because, it is true, I cannot list off to you a bunch of female or minority scientists, and that definitely should be changed. However, our country has made significant strides towards equality, and I feel like a lot of the old views are no longer present. For example, Rosalind Franklin was only one of two women to get her doctorates, but that was over 50 years ago. If we focus on how far we have come, I don't think there is much of a difference as we keep saying there is.
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Mary Beth
11/2/2015 10:36:24 am
I really appreciated how you gave specific examples for ways in which teachers can encourage women and minorities to pursue the sciences. In what ways can we encourage women and minorities who may have already given up on the sciences due to not having teachers or influential people in their lives to encourage them?
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drann
11/5/2015 06:26:26 am
Thank you for citing the "Science Scope" article.... Bravo! Yes, middle school is the time that girls and minorities "drop out " of the science and math pipeline. Middle school teachers serve such an important role in keeping these kids intrigued by science and math.....
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AuthorAnna Kirkpatrick www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/kirkpatrickscience
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