Although the number of bachelor's degrees in the U.S. awarded to women has gone up, engagement of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) continues to be low. This paper presents a project-based learning program, informed by education research best practices, designed to provide research experiences to female students…

Since the 1960s, women's centers on college campuses have provided a wide variety of resources. Unfortunately, not all colleges and universities house women's centers, despite the need for such spaces for their students. In this article, Janelle M. Silva describes a senior seminar grounded in feminist pedagogy and community psychology principles…

To attract and retain more academically qualified students to science and mathematics, we developed a merit-based scholarship program for incoming students with STEM interests. Scholarship recipients participate for the first two years in an interdisciplinary learning community and declare a STEM major by the sophomore year. STEM Learning…

This paper summarizes the findings of a five-year study aimed at improving the retention rates of female students pursuing careers in engineering. The study analyzed a series of programs implemented at the University of Toledo. The programs involve hands-on design projects, research experiences, communication tools geared towards females,…

In this paper a novel outreach approach to high school students to familiarize them with engineering functions and methods is explained. In this approach students participated in a seven days research camp and learned many engineering skills and tools such as CAD solid modeling, finite element analysis, rapid prototyping, mechanical tests, team…

Two studies conducted at the University of Maryland during the 1973-74 academic year evaluated the efficacy of programs designed to meet the needs of women and sought to determine whether the provision of a supportive learning environment, rather than individual or group counseling, would influence women's life styles. In the first study 36…