EXPLORING STEM ENGAGEMENT IN GIRLS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES - Results from GEMS Clubs - Wheeler & Hall

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by McQueen

Creating enriching STEM programs for girls is critical because girls and women bring distinctive experiences and perspectives to scientific work. This investigation examines girls’ experiences at GEMS clubs in rural Pennsylvania from September 2019 to February 2020. Observational data indicate GEMS activities foster cognitive, behavioral, and emotional engagement in STEM, grounded in a learning activation framework linking success with sustained science interest.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Results from GEMS Clubs

Creating STEM Programs for Girls

Learning Activation in STEM: A Theoretical Framework

Research Questions

NEW FROM NIOST Exploring STEM Engagement in Girls in Rural Communities Results from GEMS Clubs Kathryn A. Wheeler and Georgia Hall Creating enriching and encouraging programs to engage girls in STEM is critical because girls and women bring unique experiences, perspectives, and ideas to scientiﬁc work. Besides beneﬁting the women themselves, having more women in STEM occupations will enable society to beneﬁt from women’s expertise by maximizing innovation, creativity, and competitiveness (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2016) . More and more jobs involve STEM, yet women are still underrepresented in many STEM ﬁelds, particularly engineering and computer science (National Science Foundation, 2019). Rural students in particular have historically faced numerous obstacles to entering STEM ﬁelds, including low educational aspirations, lack of STEM role models, and lack of access to advanced STEM curriculum (Versypt & Ford Versypt, 2013) . GEMS (Girls Excelling in Math and Science), founded in 1994, strives to ensure that each participant sees herself “as a change agent or a problemsolver, a possible technology entrepreneur, engineer or a scientist, and a person who makes a difference”(GEMS, 2019) . GEMS aims to reach girls who might otherwise not have broad exposure to formal STEM opportunities and role models, such as girls from rural areas and other underserved communities. Through KATHRYN A. WHEELER, EdD, is a research associate at the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) . Her area of expertise is assessing the quality of outof-school-time programs designed speciﬁcally for girls. GEORGIA HALL, PhD, is director and senior research scientist at NIOST. She specializes in research and evaluation on youth development programs. its website, GEMS offers online support, including activity ideas, teaching tips, and other resources, to anyone interested in starting a GEMS club or in doing STEM activities at home. GEMS currently operates in more than 150 locations around the world. As a research partner to GEMS, the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) conducted an investigation of girls’ experiences at GEMS clubs in rural Pennsylvania between September 2019 and February 2020, with funding from the McElhattan Foundation. Our observation data suggest that GEMS activities successfully fostered cognitive, behavioral, and emotional engagement with STEM in participating girls. Learning Activation in STEM: A Theoretical Framework To observe girls’ engagement in STEM in GEM clubs, NIOST staff used the observation instrument designed by Activation Lab (2018), a national research project that aims to determine how best to spark children’s interest and abilities in ways that lead to persistent engagement in STEM learning. Learning activation in science is deﬁned as “a set of dispositions, practices, and knowledge that commonly enable success in proximal science learning experiences and are in turn inﬂuenced by these suc- cesses”(Dorph et al. , 2016, p. 1) . Proximal experiences are those that occur next in time. According to Dorph, Schunn, and Crowley (2017), science learning activation is conceptualized as a “developmental feedback loop”(Figure 1) in which “activated science learners have the resources to be successful when they engage with science”(p. 19) . Success leads to more activation, which leads to more engagement with science, which leads to more success, and so on. When young people experience success in STEM, they are more likely to engage in extracurricular STEM activities, study STEM subjects in school, and consider STEM careers. By contrast, negative science experiences, especially at a young age, can reduce activation and discourage young people from pursuing STEM literacy or career pathways (Dorph et al. , 2017) . This theoretical framework identiﬁes four dimensions of science activation for individual learners (Dorph et al. , 2016): 1. Fascination w

FAQs

Why are STEM engagement programs for girls considered critical?

Because girls and women contribute unique experiences and perspectives to scientific work, and broader participation can enhance innovation, creativity, and competitiveness.

What setting and timeframe did NIOST study for GEMS clubs?

NIOST investigated girls’ experiences at GEMS clubs in rural Pennsylvania between September 2019 and February 2020, with McElhattan Foundation funding.

How does the theoretical framework explain success and engagement in STEM?

Learning activation describes dispositions, practices, and knowledge that enable success in proximal science experiences and forms a feedback loop where success increases activation and engagement.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by McQueen