Mary B Isaac | Old Dominion University (original) (raw)

Papers by Mary B Isaac

interstices.auckland.ac.nz

ASEE Conference Proceedings, 2019

Since 2010, in collaboration with Exxon Mobil, Design Squad, and the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., t... more Since 2010, in collaboration with Exxon Mobil, Design Squad, and the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) designed and has conducted a large (> 500 attendees, > 100 volunteers) annual outreach event called Invent it. Build it. (IIBI) for girls at the tail end of its annual conference, leveraging the presence of the largest community of every demographic of female engineer in the world to serve as role models in whatever city the conference happens to be in that year.

This study examines the efficacy of those volunteer role models as a contributor to female student engagement in the budding community of female engineers and technologists, in particular, examining personal attributes and attitudes that role models self-report and student perceptions of a) how well the role models satisfied certain traits and b) how inspired they were by them at Invent it. Build it.

Role models complete a pre-assessment and some training focused on unconscious bias, engaging with girls, and the specific activity. The pre-assessment consists of three scales: Spence and Helmreich’s (1978) Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ) to measure agency and communality, Benson and Vincent’s (1980) Sexist Attitudes Towards Women (SATW) scale to measure explicit sexism, and self-reported scores from completing the Implicit Association Tests (IATs) for Gender and Science and Gender and Career (Nosek and Greenwald, 2015), a measure of implicit sexism.

Following the event, both role models and girls complete surveys on a 5-pt response level that ask how well the role models met four attributes determined to be most important to engaging middle school females in engineering and technology: active listening (LISTEN), providing support and encouragement (SUPPORT), being approachable (APPROACH), and providing guidance (GUIDE). The girls are also asked how inspired they were by the role models they came in contact with.

Results indicate that the sample was above average in both agency and communality and below average in terms of reported explicit sexism, but with a slight automatic association of males to careers and females to home. For the Gender-Science IAT, there was a slight automatic association of females with science. In examining the correlations between role models and girls’ assessment of the four attributes (LISTEN, SUPPORT, APPROACH, GUIDE), results indicate a strong correlation between role model approachability and student inspiration, with a significant difference between each group’s rating of the role models’ approachability (lower mean from role models).

The purpose of this study was to validate data collected between 2009-2013 via an instrument used... more The purpose of this study was to validate data collected between 2009-2013 via an instrument used to assess middle school girls’ identification with and interest in engineering and technology following the Society of Women Engineers’ WOW events.

Recognizing the importance of measuring the impact of such mentored E & T activities on young females’ attitudes about and interest in STEM, and more specifically, engineering and technology, SWE outreach experts developed a participant survey based on event objectives and domain knowledge, but never rigorously examined whether it produced statistically valid data that could be used to draw inferences about girls’
propensity to enter the field, essentially a priming factor for future engagement.

Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the survey data evaluated in this study (N = 332) successfully validated a four factor latent construct, albeit not precisely as proposed with respect to item loading. Longitudinal use of such a validated tool could provide reliable data to better predict female engagement. It also establishes a jumping-off point for additional discourse and research on the effects of mentored E & T activities on female engagement in male-dominated career fields such as engineering and technology.

Early exposure to, and training in, spatial activities may lead to heightened interest in STEM su... more Early exposure to, and training in, spatial activities may lead to heightened interest in STEM subjects, particularly in females who believe they must always excel, and like it when they do.Females continue to be underrepresented in many STEM fields, particularly engineering and technology. This study examines the efficacy of utilizing hands-on activities to enhance spatial abilities and heighten female interest (engagement) in STEM careers. Prior hands-on experience was directly linked to both spatial visualization abilities and career interests of the subjects. More hands-on activities are better; younger may not be better when it comes to encouraging careers.Weak correlations between interest in a career in engineering or technology and spatial visualization skills can be strengthened via practice and encouragement.

interstices.auckland.ac.nz

ASEE Conference Proceedings, 2019

Since 2010, in collaboration with Exxon Mobil, Design Squad, and the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., t... more Since 2010, in collaboration with Exxon Mobil, Design Squad, and the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) designed and has conducted a large (> 500 attendees, > 100 volunteers) annual outreach event called Invent it. Build it. (IIBI) for girls at the tail end of its annual conference, leveraging the presence of the largest community of every demographic of female engineer in the world to serve as role models in whatever city the conference happens to be in that year.

This study examines the efficacy of those volunteer role models as a contributor to female student engagement in the budding community of female engineers and technologists, in particular, examining personal attributes and attitudes that role models self-report and student perceptions of a) how well the role models satisfied certain traits and b) how inspired they were by them at Invent it. Build it.

Role models complete a pre-assessment and some training focused on unconscious bias, engaging with girls, and the specific activity. The pre-assessment consists of three scales: Spence and Helmreich’s (1978) Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ) to measure agency and communality, Benson and Vincent’s (1980) Sexist Attitudes Towards Women (SATW) scale to measure explicit sexism, and self-reported scores from completing the Implicit Association Tests (IATs) for Gender and Science and Gender and Career (Nosek and Greenwald, 2015), a measure of implicit sexism.

Following the event, both role models and girls complete surveys on a 5-pt response level that ask how well the role models met four attributes determined to be most important to engaging middle school females in engineering and technology: active listening (LISTEN), providing support and encouragement (SUPPORT), being approachable (APPROACH), and providing guidance (GUIDE). The girls are also asked how inspired they were by the role models they came in contact with.

Results indicate that the sample was above average in both agency and communality and below average in terms of reported explicit sexism, but with a slight automatic association of males to careers and females to home. For the Gender-Science IAT, there was a slight automatic association of females with science. In examining the correlations between role models and girls’ assessment of the four attributes (LISTEN, SUPPORT, APPROACH, GUIDE), results indicate a strong correlation between role model approachability and student inspiration, with a significant difference between each group’s rating of the role models’ approachability (lower mean from role models).

The purpose of this study was to validate data collected between 2009-2013 via an instrument used... more The purpose of this study was to validate data collected between 2009-2013 via an instrument used to assess middle school girls’ identification with and interest in engineering and technology following the Society of Women Engineers’ WOW events.

Recognizing the importance of measuring the impact of such mentored E & T activities on young females’ attitudes about and interest in STEM, and more specifically, engineering and technology, SWE outreach experts developed a participant survey based on event objectives and domain knowledge, but never rigorously examined whether it produced statistically valid data that could be used to draw inferences about girls’
propensity to enter the field, essentially a priming factor for future engagement.

Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the survey data evaluated in this study (N = 332) successfully validated a four factor latent construct, albeit not precisely as proposed with respect to item loading. Longitudinal use of such a validated tool could provide reliable data to better predict female engagement. It also establishes a jumping-off point for additional discourse and research on the effects of mentored E & T activities on female engagement in male-dominated career fields such as engineering and technology.

Early exposure to, and training in, spatial activities may lead to heightened interest in STEM su... more Early exposure to, and training in, spatial activities may lead to heightened interest in STEM subjects, particularly in females who believe they must always excel, and like it when they do.Females continue to be underrepresented in many STEM fields, particularly engineering and technology. This study examines the efficacy of utilizing hands-on activities to enhance spatial abilities and heighten female interest (engagement) in STEM careers. Prior hands-on experience was directly linked to both spatial visualization abilities and career interests of the subjects. More hands-on activities are better; younger may not be better when it comes to encouraging careers.Weak correlations between interest in a career in engineering or technology and spatial visualization skills can be strengthened via practice and encouragement.