Milmi - An International Collaborative Program On Teaching And Research In Photonics

This paper is based on a survey of 172 middle school girls and 38 parents who attended a one-day, Expanding Your Horizons (EYH conference) at a large, metropolitan, public university. The purpose of the EYH conference is to encourage girls to consider science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. Pre-/post questions on the girls\u27 survey showed positive gains after the conference in knowledge of the different STEM fields (57.3% gain), interest in studying STEM (29.5% gain), and confidence in their math skills (14.4% gain). Parents had a positive gain of 34.2% in knowledge of the different STEM fields after the conference, and 65% of parents thought that their daughter was likely to choose a STEM major. In a longitudinal study of EYH participants, Virnoche and Eschenbach1 found that interest in STEM wanes over time, and one participant reported a diminished sense of self-confidence in her math and science skills. To sustain interest in STEM, multiple interventions that involve parents need to be offered over the high school years. There is also a need for follow up outreach activities that are structured to prepare girls for and retain girls in STEM pathways. © 2012 American Society for Engineering Education