The 2010 President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology indicated that there was a need to provide individuals with strong STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) backgrounds in order to be a competitive country internationally. Additionally, it has been found that there is a gender gap in STEM related fields. Therefore, this article describes theories related to the gender gap in the STEM field and ways to engage girls in STEM related fields in order to close the gender gap. The researchers of this study did extensive research to review the current literature, condense and summarize the findings from various studies, and provide steps for educators to engage in that will create an early atmosphere of positive learning environments for girls to be curious about STEM concepts.
Online courses are growing exponentially within the field of higher education. However, the variability of engagement, planning, and learning is wide between and among faculty members. Therefore, addressing the issue of wide variability and unclear practices when implementing online courses can be met through upfront planning, including intentionality, and the continuous contact needed for engaging students in online courses is important. Through purposeful planning and responses to questions, instructors can create the illusion of continuous contact for learners to feel heard and valued, which again creates an environment of higher student motivation. Included in the continuous contact is the strategy of providing clear structures to the course in a mutually respectful manner through video and emailed communication. Overall, when courses are designed intentionally, learners will feel valued and have more motivation to engage and learn the material.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.