Nine years of online mentoring for secondary school girls in STEM: an empirical comparison of three mentoring formats

Online mentoring can be useful for supporting girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Yet, little is known about the differential effects of various online mentoring formats. We examine the general and relative effectiveness of three online mentoring formats, one‐on‐one mentoring, many‐to‐many group mentoring, and a hybrid form of the two. All three formats were implemented in different years in the Germany‐wide online‐only mentoring program, CyberMentor, whose platform enables communication and networking between up to 800 girls (in grades 5–13) and 800 women (STEM professionals) each year. We combined longitudinal mentee data for all first‐year participants (N = 4017 girls, Mage = 14.15 years) from 9 consecutive mentoring years to evaluate and compare the three mentoring formats. Overall, all formats effected comparable increases in mentees’ STEM activities and certainty about career plans. However, mentees’ communication behavior and networking behavior on the mentoring platform differed between the three formats. Mentees in the hybrid mentoring format showed the most extensive STEM‐related communication and networking on the platform. We also analyzed the explanatory contributions of STEM‐related communication and networking on interindividual differences in the developmental trajectories of mentees’ STEM activities, elective intentions in STEM, and certainty about career plans, for each format separately

Online mentoring for girls in secondary education to increase participation rates of women in STEM: A long‐term follow‐up study on later university major and career choices

An important first step in talent development in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is getting individuals excited about STEM. Females, in particular, are underrepresented in many STEM fields. Since girls’ interest in STEM declines in adolescence, interventions should begin in secondary education at the latest. One appropriate intervention is (online) mentoring. Although its short-term effectiveness has been demonstrated for proximal outcomes during secondary education (e.g., positive changes in elective intentions in STEM), studies of the long-term effectiveness of STEM mentoring provided during secondary education—especially for real-life choices of university STEM majors and professions—are lacking. In our study, we examine females’ real-life decisions about university majors and entering professions made years after they had participated in an online mentoring program (CyberMentor) during secondary education. The program's proximal positive influence on girls’ elective intentions in STEM and certainty about career plans during secondary education had previously been demonstrated in several studies with pre–post-test waitlist control group designs. Specifically, we compared the choices that former mentees (n = 410) made about university majors and entering professions several years after program participation with (1) females of their age cohort and (2) females of a group of girls comparably interested in STEM who had signed up for the program but then not participated (n = 71). Further, we examined the explanatory contribution to these later career-path-relevant, real-life choices based on (1) mentees’ baseline conditions prior to entering the program (e.g., elective intentions in STEM), (2) successful 1-year program participation, and (3) multiyear program participation. Findings indicate positive long-term effects of the program in all areas investigated

Online Mentoring for Talented Girls in STEM: The Role of Relationship Quality and Changes in Learning Environments in Explaining Mentoring Success

Although participation rates of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are continually improving, low rates are still an issue in many countries. While previous studies found positive effects of online mentoring for increasing girls’ interests in STEM, research concerning explanatory mechanisms is lacking. We found evidence that in a 1‐year online mentoring program for girls (age: M = 13.82 years, N = 998) in STEM, suitably implemented mentoring (operationalized via relationship quality in a program that systematically incorporates structural and organizational aspects of successful mentoring) was associated with positive changes in the learning environments of the mentees (as indicated by their increasing educational capital). These positive changes were associated with increases in the program‐related mentoring outcomes STEM activities and elective intentions in STEM. Finally, we found that suitably implemented online mentoring was indirectly related to an increase in these two mentoring outcomes via an increase in educational capital. These results indicate the importance of paying close attention to learning environments when planning interventions

Providing an Elementary School Environment that Encourages Girls to See their Place in the STEM Fields

For many years, women have been underrepresented in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields at the collegiate and professional levels. The two primary reasons for this underrepresentation are the influence of gender stereotypes and biases surrounding STEM and the lack of female role models in the STEM field. Elementary educators must do what they can to address these issues in an effort to allow girls to see their place in STEM. To help counter the influence of gender stereotypes and biases in STEM, elementary educators should integrate STEM into the classroom for all students to participate and have conversations with students about the gender discrepancies in STEM. To address the need for female role models in STEM, elementary educators should utilize classroom speakers, a diverse classroom library, an inclusive classroom environment, and an effective mentoring program to allow girls to see themselves represented in STEM. While this will not fully eliminate the gender gap in STEM, it will help girls to see their place in the STEM fields from a young age

A Comparative Investigation Of Career Readiness And Decidedness In First Year Stem Majoring Students Participating In A Stem Mentoring Program Imbedded In A Living-learning Community With Focused Data On Female Stem Students

Female mentoring success was investigated as an undergraduate intervention utilizing career development practices to reduce dysfunctional career thinking and STEM major retention in first year freshmen females within a living-learning community. Repeated measures MANOVAs and canonical correlations in the causal comparative research design evaluated mentoring’s influence on first year females. Male voluntary participants (n = 126) formulated the comparison group, and female voluntary participants (n = 75) filled the treatment group. Repeated measure multivariate analyses of variances compared differences between the interaction of mentoring and gender over time on dysfunctional career thinking using two assessments: Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI) and Career Decision Scale (CDS) and their five subscales (decision-making confusion, commitment anxiety, external conflict, certainty and indecision). Canonical correlations analyzed the effect participation rates had on student change scores on the CTI and CDS, indicating mentoring intervention effects on reducing dysfunctional career thinking and decidedness. Conclusions included: (a) females had higher levels of dysfunctional career thinking than males; (b) overtime both groups decreased dysfunctional thoughts, and solidifying their STEM career choices; (c) females had reduced levels of career decidedness compared to males; (d) both groups increased certainty overtime, solidifying their STEM career choice, and (e) when the STEM career choice was made, female certainty was more solidified than males. The study adds to the career development research within STEM at the undergraduate level providing colleges and universities with a structured first year female mentoring program in STEM. The iv GEMS model may be ideal for colleges and universities utilizing living-learning communities to increase underrepresented female retention and those without STEM career planning courses

Afterschool in Action: Innovative Afterschool Programs Supporting Middle School Youth

This report, released by Afterschool Alliance in partnership with MetLife Foundation, highlights the work of quality afterschool programs that support children, families and communities across the nation.This compendium is a compilation of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This series explores afterschool and: arts enrichment, parent engagement, school improvement and digital learning. The compendium also includes in-depth profiles of the 2012 Afterschool Innovator Award winners, as well as highlights from 2008-2011 award winners.The 2012 MetLife Foundation Afterschool Award winners are:The Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, CALatino Arts Strings & Mariachi Juvenil, Milwaukee, WIKid Power Inc., The VeggieTime Project, Washington, D.C.Parma Learning Center, Parma, IDGreen Energy Technologies in the City, Lansing, M

Youth Development Approaches in Adolescent Family Life Demonstration Projects

Youth development (YD) strategies in conjunction with appropriate age-graded sexuality and family life education programs/curricula may have an important role to play in formulating convincing answers to these questions. Youth development approaches help youth enhance their assets rather than concentrating on their difficulties. They focus on where youth are going, helping them develop a belief in a viable future and in their ability to take actions that will bring that future about. The commitment to a future that would be disrupted by a pregnancy during adolescence is about the only thing that Zabin and her colleagues (1986) found to differentiate among Baltimore adolescents using teen clinics who did and did not get pregnant. Teens without a strong reason to avoid pregnancy got pregnant at the same rate as those who wanted to get pregnant; the only teens who were successful at avoiding pregnancy were those who had a future goal that a pregnancy would disrupt. Thus, incorporating youth development principles along with some specific techniques into the work of the Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs' (OAPP) abstinence-oriented programs would seem to be an important program enhancement with potentially valuable impacts

Engineers for the future; accounting for diversity

tailoring engineering and STEM education to meet the needs of all stakeholders. (External Industry requirement) a. Educational institutions must consider an increasingly diverse group of stakeholders, including students, staff, industry, and the wider community. How can educational activities expand our horizons beyond classroom and industry experience

STEMming the Flow: Supporting Females in STEM

An e-mentoring program was established to support females who were studying or intending to study or work in Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths related disciplines (STEM) and were located in regional, rural or remote areas. Mentors and mentees were matched based on their shared interests, fields of study and area of employment. The mentoring program aimed to support mentees’ career development and smoother transitions from study into the workforce by providing an opportunity to develop knowledge and networks necessary to achieve their career goals. Data were collected through pre and post online surveys and semi-structured interviews. This paper describes the experiences of e-mentoring for participants located in rural and remote locations, and shares implications for implementation of e-mentoring, and suggestions for improvement for future e-mentoring projects

Educational Camps and Their Effects on Female Perceptions of Technology Programs

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of Cheering in the Classroom, a four-day program designed purposefully to increase female awareness and perceptions of technology fields. The camp included discipline-based activities from the 13 different programs of study based in technology. The camp targeted high school cheerleaders and dancers, allowing them the opportunity to engage in hands-on-activities and competitions using new technology that was directly related to the cheerleading or dance. Each activity allowed the participants to see how technology can be used to understand and improve cheerleading/dance activities. The study compared participant’s perceptions of the Cheering in the Classroom camp to the perceptions of the TEAM (Technology Expanding All Minds) camp. Data were collected with the use of a Lyket-type scale through pre and post surveys. Responses from the survey calculated participants’ awareness and perceptions of technology to determine the effectiveness of the Cheering in the Classroom camp. Results of the study indicated that the cheering in the classroom camp had a more positive influence on participants perceptions of technology, leading the researcher to believe that building recruitment initiatives based upon participant personal interests can aid in positive perceptions of technology and technological careers