Breaking Barriers: Empowering Girls in STEM with Hands-On Learning

Abstract Women currently represent only 34% of the workforce in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. This gender gap is particularly significant in some of the fastest-growing and highest-paid jobs, such as computer science and engineering. Multiple factors contribute to the underrepresentation of women in STEM such as lack of influential role models, gender stereotypes, and lack of self-confidence. To address this issue, various strategies have been implemented to increase female success in STEM education. At our university, we have offered STEM outreach initiatives aimed at fostering female students' interest, confidence, and active involvement in STEM fields, adopting the hands-on approach embraced in our curriculum. In 2021, our institution hosted an on-line STEM workshop for the first time, welcoming female students from grade 6-11 enrolled in the Ron Burton Training Village (RBTV) program. Encouraged by the success from the inaugural experience, we extended this program to have an in-person event in March 2023 with a remote option. A total of 63 female students participated in the in-person workshop. The workshop consisted of five STEM modules, with each module dedicated to a specific field: Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Math, and Engineering Design Thinking. This paper details the implementation of the three Engineering Modules: "Building an ECG Circuit" for Electrical Engineering, "Building a Digital Water Temperature Thermometer" for Computer Engineering, and "Material Property Testing" for Mechanical Engineering. At the conclusion of the event, attendees were invited to participate in a survey to assess their STEM experience and to offer suggestions for program enhancement. The overall rating of the STEM experience averaged 4.4 out of 5, indicating a highly successful event. In summary, this paper presents the findings from the survey and discusses the challenges encountered as well as the potential improvements for future STEM outreach events, taking into account the valuable insights gathered from the students' feedback.