Providing an Elementary School Environment that Encourages Girls to See their Place in the STEM Fields

Hannah Borchardt, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Abstract

For many years, women have been underrepresented in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields at the collegiate and professional levels. The two primary reasons for this underrepresentation are the influence of gender stereotypes and biases surrounding STEM and the lack of female role models in the STEM field. Elementary educators must do what they can to address these issues in an effort to allow girls to see their place in STEM. To help counter the influence of gender stereotypes and biases in STEM, elementary educators should integrate STEM into the classroom for all students to participate and have conversations with students about the gender discrepancies in STEM. To address the need for female role models in STEM, elementary educators should utilize classroom speakers, a diverse classroom library, an inclusive classroom environment, and an effective mentoring program to allow girls to see themselves represented in STEM. While this will not fully eliminate the gender gap in STEM, it will help girls to see their place in the STEM fields from a young age.

College

Education

Department

Elementary and Literacy Education Department

Recommended Citation

Borchardt, H. (2021). Providing an elementary school environment that encourages girls to see their place in STEM fields. Innovations and Critical Issues in Teaching and Learning 2(1), 1-30. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/icitl/vol2/iss1/1

Biography

Hannah Borchardt grew up in Duluth, Minnesota and received her undergraduate degree in Elementary and Special Education from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2016. Hannah started teaching at Cromwell-Wright Elementary right out of college and has been there ever since. She recently received her MS in Elementary Education with a Graduate Certificate in Elementary Math from Mankato State University, and she is looking forward to applying what she learned into her classroom. When she is not teaching, Hannah enjoys spending time with her husband and her two Golden Retrievers.