The POPS Pilot Study - Can We Encourage More Girls to Study the Physical Sciences?
Abstract
The POPS team is investigating ways to encourage middle school girls to study physics and geology to address the problem of under representation of women in these disciplines. The POPS team has developed a pilot study for a hands-on enrichment curriculum focusing on energy. The societal benefits of the physical sciences are emphasized, because the science education research literature indicates that "helping others" is an important consideration for girls in choosing a career. Pre- and post-testing of students in intervention and control groups will be used to determine the impact of this intervention on students' mastery of science content as well as changes in their science interest, science efficacy, and attitudes about the societal benefits of science.View All Paper Session Presentations from the 2011 MSP LNC Conference