Design, implementation and evaluation of an online community to foster girls' interest and participation in STEM

Abstract

Due to low participation rates of girls and women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), getting more girls involved in STEM is an important issue. For my dissertation, I am designing, implementing and evaluating an online community for high school girls to foster their interest and participation rate in STEM. My work has three stages: (1) Study the reasons for the girls' lack of interest in STEM; (2) Use the results of this study to design and implement an online community for girls; and (3) Evaluate the effectiveness of the online community and its acceptance among girls.