Review Of Gender Differences In Learning Styles: Suggestions For STEM Education

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 9-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sadan Kulturel-Konak ◽  
Mary Lou D’Allegro ◽  
Sarah Dickinson

Women have made great strides in baccalaureate degree obtainment, out numbering men by over 230,000 conferred baccalaureate degrees in 2008. However, the proportion of earned degrees for women in some of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses continues to lag behind male baccalaureate completions (National Science Foundation, 2010). In addition, according to the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT), only 21% of information and computer science degrees were awarded to women in 2006 (NCWIT, 2007). In the past decade, higher education has experienced a rapid decline in the number of women involved in the information sciences, particularly computer science (Bank, 2007). A number of social and educational factors have been considered barriers to women entering STEM fields and this area has been well studied in the literature. However, research examining the relationship between gender differences and learning styles in the context of these technical fields is limited. According to Kolb (1976), people decide on a major based on how well the norms of the major fit with their individual learning styles. This paper presents gender differences in learning styles and recommends teaching methodologies most preferred for female learners in STEM courses. Further, a survey was administered to ascertain the extent the results of this study support previous findings.

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lonneke Dubbelt ◽  
Sonja Rispens ◽  
Evangelia Demerouti

Abstract. Women have a minority position within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and, consequently, are likely to face more adversities at work. This diary study takes a look at a facilitating factor for women’s research performance within academia: daily work engagement. We examined the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between two behaviors (i.e., daily networking and time control) and daily work engagement, as well as its effect on the relationship between daily work engagement and performance measures (i.e., number of publications). Results suggest that daily networking and time control cultivate men’s work engagement, but daily work engagement is beneficial for the number of publications of women. The findings highlight the importance of work engagement in facilitating the performance of women in minority positions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 073112142110286
Author(s):  
Jennifer Ashlock ◽  
Miodrag Stojnic ◽  
Zeynep Tufekci

Cultural processes can reduce self-selection into math and science fields, but it remains unclear how confidence in computer science develops, where women are currently the least represented in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Few studies evaluate both computer skills and self-assessments of skill. In this paper, we evaluate gender differences in efficacy across three STEM fields using a data set of middle schoolers, a particularly consequential period for academic pathways. Even though girls and boys do not significantly differ in terms of math grades and have similar levels of computer skill, the gender gap in computer efficacy is twice as large as the gap for math. We offer support for disaggregation of STEM fields, so the unique meaning making around computing can be addressed.


Genus ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Priulla ◽  
Nicoletta D’Angelo ◽  
Massimo Attanasio

AbstractThis paper investigates gender differences in university performances in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses in Italy, proposing a novel application through the segmented regression models. The analysis concerns freshmen students enrolled at a 3-year STEM degree in Italian universities in the last decade, with a focus on the relationship between the number of university credits earned during the first year (a good predictor of the regularity of the career) and the probability of getting the bachelor degree within 4 years. Data is provided by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR). Our analysis confirms that first-year performance is strongly correlated to obtaining a degree within 4 years. Furthermore, our findings show that gender differences vary among STEM courses, in accordance with the care-oriented and technical-oriented dichotomy. Males outperform females in mathematics, physics, chemistry and computer science, while females are slightly better than males in biology. In engineering, female performance seems to follow the male stream. Finally, accounting for other important covariates regarding students, we point out the importance of high school background and students’ demographic characteristics.


Author(s):  
Mariam Adepeju Abdulraheem-Mustapha

Laws and policies have important roles to play in advancing the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) research in Nigeria. STEM education and knowledge brings about development by converging scholars across the world with recent research discoveries. In order for Nigeria to reap the maximum benefits from the 4IR, its legal system must come in line with the principles advanced by the 4IR. It is important to state that the laws which have been enacted before the contemporary era are inadequate and obsolete. Education (STEM education inclusive) which will benefit the most from thenewrevolution would demand new legal instrumentsthat are adequate and effective to cater for the legal and policy demands of the 4IR by bringing forth a more current and inclusive legal protection for all the relevant beneficiaries. Using doctrinal methodology, thispaperexamines4IR and right to education in Nigeria with a view to establishing the relationship between the legal instruments and STEM education with the objective of advancing the agenda of the relevance of all fields of education for the next generation.The paper is divided into six sections and the findings show that, education (STEM education inclusive) is bedeviled with many challenges andthe extant laws are inadequate to solve them.Thus, making the goal of 4IR unachievable in Nigeria. To reach the greatest dexterities in all works of life, the paper concludes by bringing the significance of laws and policies that wouldaccommodate free STEM education in secondary and tertiary school levels in order to answer the call for 4IR. It recommends research collaboration across STEM fields for integrated curriculum and an amendment of the Constitution. It also advocates for gender equality and investing more in STEM education for having a transformative shift in Nigeria for the purpose of achieving 4IR.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-21
Author(s):  
A. I. Chuchalin

It is proposed to adapt the new version of the internationally recognized standards for engineering education the Core CDIO Standards 3.0 to the programs of basic higher education in the field of technology, natural and applied sciences, as well as mathematics and computer science in the context of the evolution of STEM. The adaptation of the CDIO standards to STEM higher education creates incentives and contributes to the systematic training of specialists of different professions for coordinated teamwork in the development of high-tech products, as well as in the provision of comprehensive STEM services. Optional CDIO Standards are analyzed, which can be used selectively in STEM higher education. Adaptation of the CDIO-FCDI-FFCD triad to undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate studies in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics is considered as a mean for improving the system of three-cycle STEM higher education.


Author(s):  
Daniel Roy Pearce ◽  
Mayo Oyama ◽  
Danièle Moore ◽  
Kana Irisawa

This contribution attempts to clarify the relationship between the practice of plurilingual education and STEAM (interdisciplinary pedagogy that incorporates science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) through the lens of peace learning at an elementary school in Japan. Japan has a rich history of peace education, although it has received limited focus in the international literature, whereas plurilingual education remains relatively unknown in the country. Within this context, the article examines a teacher-initiated plurilingual and intercultural project focused on a multidisciplinary approach to peace learning. Analyses of multimodal data, including video recordings, photographs, researchers' field notes, learners' journals, and semi-structured reflective interviews, will demonstrate how even within a highly homogenous context, practitioners can promote transferable skills and nurture a deeper awareness of language and openness to diversity, foster reflexivity, and encourage multidisciplinary engagement through plurilingual education, dialogue, and storying.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 437-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blanca E. Rincón

Using student-level data, this study explores the relationship between Latinx student representation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and student retention. Results revealed that a 1% increase in cohort-level Latinx student representation in STEM subfields is associated with a decrease in student departures from the university, but not STEM. Furthermore, Latinx STEM students may be more responsive to changes in the representation of their cohorts compared with increases in diversity for upper-division undergraduate or graduate students.


Author(s):  
Peter Avitabile ◽  
Stephen Pennell ◽  
John White

Students generally do not understand how basic STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) material fits into all of their engineering courses. Basic material is presented in introductory courses but the relationship of the material to subsequent courses is unclear to the student since the practical relevance of the material is not necessarily presented. Students generally hit the “reset button” after each course not realizing the importance of basic STEM material. The capstone experience is supposed to “tie all the pieces together” but this occurs too late in the student’s educational career. A new multisemester interwoven dynamic systems project has been initiated to better integrate the material from differential equations, mathematical methods, laboratory measurements and dynamic systems across several semesters/courses so that the students can better understand the relationship of basic STEM material to an ongoing problem. This paper highlights the overall concept to be addressed by the new approach. The description of the project and modules under development are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 446-461
Author(s):  
Nadya A. Fouad ◽  
Michael B. Kozlowski ◽  
Romila Singh ◽  
Nina G. Linneman ◽  
Samantha S. Schams ◽  
...  

Women’s departure or nonentrance into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics professions, particularly engineering, has been a lively source of scholarly inquiry for the past three decades. Much of the literature in this area has been with solely female samples of participants, begging the question as to whether or not men and women either choose to leave the profession or not enter for the same or similar reasons. This present study collected a large sample of men ( n = 1,273) who had either left or never entered the engineering profession and compared their responses to a large sample of women ( n = 1,235) on a set of categorical response variables. Using the perspective of the Theory of Work Adjustment, our results suggest that there are gender differences in reasons for departure, raising the possibility that engineering climates differentially reinforce needs for men and women. Implications of this research are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 322-344
Author(s):  
Ezgi Pelin Yıldız ◽  
Ayşe Alkan ◽  
Metin Cengel

The developments in science and technology have led to changes in the expectations of countries from the future and the individuals. In the 21st century, focusing on innovative approaches in the education system has become compulsory to raise individuals who question, find rapid and effective solutions to problems and who could think scientifically. One of these approaches is Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) training. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between STEM and STEM sub-dimensions. The study group consists of 204 teacher candidates from different departments of the Faculty of Education of Sakarya University during the academic year 2018/2019. To collect data, the attitude scale for STEM and the sub-dimensions of STEM were used in the study. One-way ANOVA was used in this correlation for parametric tests. According to the results of the study, there is a positive and significant relationship between STEM and all STEM sub-dimensions based on the data collected from teacher candidates. Keywords: STEM, sub-dimensions, teacher candidates.  


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