STEM Research

A Summary of Effective Gender Equitable Teaching Practices in Informal STEM Education Spaces
Women and girls, particularly women and girls of color, remain underrepresented in STEM disciplines. This underrepresentation begins as early as late elementary school age. Educators, particularly those in informal STEM education, can help address gender inequity in STEM by understanding how research can be translated into actionable strategies. This article summarizes research on gender equitable practices for middle school girls in the last decade and addresses the disconnect between research and practice by presenting the findings in a way that educators can immediately act on.

Access and Equity for Underrepresented Girls in STEM: The National Girls Collaborative Project
It is critical to provide every girl high-quality STEM opportunities, regardless of race, ethnicity, geography, income level, and disability status. The following resources include research and projects that share exemplary practices for engaging and serving girls who are often most underrepresented in STEM. 

Policy Papers from the Education Commission of the States
The Arts Education Partnership and Education Commission of the States recently convened leaders from across the arts and education fields for a Thinkers Meeting, where participants examined how STEAM education can help students succeed in and out of school. This new Policy Brief shares insights that look beyond existing state policies and explore new pathways to guide future practice, research and policy work to support access to STEAM education for all students. Related: Explore state policies and practices in this Policy Brief that can help states to advance STEAM education and increase student participation. 

Keeping Girls Engaged
Girls are considered a marginalized population in STEM because of their under-representation in STEM-related professions. In order to help diminish this gender gap, Click2Science has compiled some ways to keep girls engaged in STEM. Read more

National Association of Research in Science Teaching:Supporting the Implementation of NGSS through Research: Informal Science Education
The ISE community is exceptionally well positioned to support efforts to help children learn science both inside and outside of the classroom in the following ways...  Link to Report

STEM Ready America is a compendium from 40 authors presenting bold and persuasive evidence—as well as real-world examples of effective practices, programs, and partnerships—on how science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) knowledge and skills are preparing young people to be successful in school today and the workforce tomorrow.

ESSA STEM One-pager
Learning in science, technology, engineering and math (the subjects collectively known as STEM) helps students succeed in school and prepares them for careers that are driving global economic growth. Nationwide, states and schools are engaging diverse partners like afterschool programs, libraries, museums, universities, and businesses to ensure that students have access to high-quality STEM education. Download PDF

Unconscios Bias in the Classroom: Evidence and Opportunities
In partnership with Stanford University and the American University, Google conducted this literature review to explore the theories and evidence of unconscious bias, as relevant to education, as well as interventions to mitigate its effects, particularly for underrepresented students. We found:

• People consciously and unconsciously store experiences, and this process cannot be turned off and later influences automatic decision-making.
• Exposure to unconscious bias can influence stereotyped groups to conform to stereotypes, even when the stereotype was initially untrue.
• “Suppressing biases” is likely counterproductive; instead, interventions should encourage teachers to see students as individuals and build empathy and high expectations.
• Teachers and classroom climate moderate the impact of unconscious bias, suggesting that teacher-facing interventions have potential to improve student outcomes.

Read Report

Diversity Gaps in Computer Science: Exploring the Underrepresentation of Girls, Blacks, and Hispanics
This special report from Year 2 of our Google-Gallup study explores the structural and social barriers underrepresented groups face at home, in schools, and in society that could influence their likelihood to enter the computer science field. We found:

• Girls are less likely than boys to be aware of CS learning outside school, encouraged by teachers or parents, and interested in learning CS.
• Black and Hispanic students are more interested and their parents are more likely to want them to learn CS compared to their White counterparts.
• Black and Hispanic students face discrepancies in access and exposure to CS classes and to computer use at home and school.
• Students rarely see computer scientists like themselves in the media, particularly girls and Hispanics.

Read Report

Trends in the State of Computer Science in U.S. K-12 Schools
Year 2 of our Google-Gallup study explores changes on key measures from Year 1 and uncovers new insights, surveying over 1,600 students, 1,600 parents, 1,000 teachers, 9,800 principals, and 2,300 superintendents. We found:

• 40% of principals report having CS classes with programming/coding , increasing from 25% in Year 1.
• Positive perceptions of CS learning and careers persist among all groups.
• Few parents and teachers have specifically expressed support for CS education to school officials, despite their high value of CS learning.
• Opportunities exist to incorporate CS into other subjects and train enthusiastic teachers.

Read Report

Full STEM Ahead: Afterschool Programs Step Up as Key Partners in STEM Education (2015)
The Afterschool Alliance is proud to present this report as part of the third edition of America After 3PM, which spans a decade of household survey data chronicling how children spend the hours between 3 and 6 p.m. This report provides the first national look at access to afterschool STEM programs and parental attitudes towards such programs by outlining survey findings, identifying current challenges, and providing recommendations to improve afterschool STEM programming in the future. Read More