Welcome to the Science Education Seminar Series! This event is part of the master course NATDID4002 Naturfagene, forskning og samfunn. The seminar is open for all. To register, please fill out the registration form (nettskjema.uio.no).
About the seminar
Speaker: Dr. Jeanna R. Wieselmann (Southern Methodist University, Dallas, USA).
Abstract
Gender equity issues remain a challenge in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, where women are highly underrepresented. As integrated STEM instruction becomes increasingly popular in elementary and middle school classrooms, it is important to consider whether the small group activities that are commonplace in STEM instruction support the equitable participation of young girls.
This study builds on the existing body of literature to better understand how gender is related to student participation in small group STEM activities and whether students participate differently in science and engineering activities. A single embedded case study was used to explore the experiences of four students aged 10–11 years as they participated in small group work within an integrated STEM unit in their fifth-grade classroom. Two girls and two boys worked together throughout the unit to explore science content related to electromagnetism and apply their content knowledge to an engineering design challenge. Video and audio of students' small group interactions were analyzed using an observation protocol to code their participation in each 3-min segment of STEM activity. Student- and case-level analyses were used to identify patterns of interaction based on gender and type of activity (science vs. engineering).
Findings suggest that boys and girls participate in small group STEM activities in different ways, adopting distinct roles within their group. In addition, students displayed divergent patterns of interaction in science- and engineering-focused lessons, suggesting that students need additional practice and support in navigating between science and engineering in integrated STEM units.
About the speaker
Dr. Jeanna R. Wieselmann (smu.edu) is an Assistant Professor of STEM Education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Southern Methodist University. She holds a B.S. in Elementary Education Foundations, B.A. in Child Psychology, M.Ed. in Elementary Education, and Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, all from the University of Minnesota. She was a recipient of the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program.
Dr. Wieselmann's research focuses on integrated STEM education at the PreK-12 levels, including curriculum development, instructional strategies, and support for teachers implementing integrated STEM curricula. Prior to pursuing her graduate degrees, Dr. Wieselmann taught elementary STEM in both formal and informal contexts, and her research continues to maintain a focus on both in-school and out-of-school STEM learning opportunities. She is particularly interested in equity in relation to STEM and maintaining diverse students' STEM interest and engagement as they progress through elementary and middle school.
Dr. Wieselmann is currently conducting research on students' small group interactions during integrated STEM activities, exploring patterns of participation and how these patterns may vary based on students' gender, race, ethnicity, first language, and special education needs.
Dr. Wieselmann also conducts research on the development of STEM-focused schools and is involved in the design of the West Dallas STEM School, a collaborative project between SMU, Dallas ISD, Toyota, and the West Dallas community. She is a co-lead of the Curriculum and Instruction team and is researching curriculum implementation and curriculum-based coaching with teachers. Dr. Wieselmann teaches courses for pre-service and in-service science and STEM teachers and is active in the science education research community through service on committees of international organizations and on numerous editorial review boards for scholarly journals.
Contact
Nani Teig, postdoctoral researcher and course coordinator of NATDID4002 Naturfagene, forskning og samfunn.