User:AllisonBailund/sandbox

Source Evaluation
Written primarily for those in the realm of education, this UNESCO document offers a variety of best practices for making textbook content inclusive. With a focus on religion, gender, and culture, the document offers a variety of tips for promoting diversity and recommends that publishers pay attention to language and use inclusive terms when describing different cultures and systems of beliefs.

Bullet notes:

 * Audience
 * Teachers
 * Textbook publishers
 * Textbook creators/writers
 * Curriculum creators
 * Broadly: those within the realm of education
 * Main themes:
 * Religion, gender, culture (3 key areas)
 * Use inclusive language i.e. when describing jobs use both masculine and feminine pronouns
 * Do not use generalizations, qualifiers are important when describing different religions and cultures.
 * Do not promote stereotypes or discrimination.
 * Be representative and diversify your sources when presenting information
 * Broadly: Be inclusive in your discussion and promote diversity. Be mindful of the words used to describe cultures, religions, and gender and place them within the larger context of the society you are discussing.

Key takeaways
STEM Education


 * Primary school: boys and girls show equal interest in STEM subjects; Secondary school (high school level in the United States): girls show less interest in STEM related fields
 * There were significant regional differences across different countries
 * Trend: Girls performed better in assessments measuring their knowledge acquisition while boys performed better in assessments that focused on application

Cracking the code


 * Key factors: social norms, notion that STEM is a "masculine field", stereotypes, socialization, and self-selection bias
 * Importance of teachers and curriculum that depicts women in STEM fields/careers.

Interventions


 * Help build girls' confidence in STEM, provide more opportunities for hands on experience
 * Strengthen teaching practices and improve curriculum to remove gender biases
 * Provide more mentoring opportunities along with more scholarships and fellowships

Documenting the current status of women in STEM, this document seeks to "crack the code" behind the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and math. It identifies a number of factors inhibiting girls' and women's participation in STEM fields and identifies ways to mitigate these factors and encourage greater participation. The main audience includes STEM employers along with those in the realm of Education, at both a local and government level.

Article Evaluation

 * Links work except citation 119 (Advancing the Status of Women and Girls Around the World).
 * Change citation above to UNESCO article with information on specific projects; look to see if the link has changed and update it if possible (Organized Efforts section)
 * Current-rating: C-Class
 * Add information about women in STEM from countries beside the United States
 * Focus on two sections: "Explanations for low representation of women" and "Strategies for increasing representation of women"
 * Talk page: a large portion of the page discusses the issue of the title: "Women in Stem fields" and the U.S. centric nature of the article
 * Article is part of the Women in Society series.
 * Related WikiProjects: Women scientist, Women, Sociology, and Education.
 * Female Education in STEM (needs work, primary source is this UNESCO article)

Article Edits
Recent advances in technology

(to add at end of first paragraph): Change the last sentence to: which declines from grades 10 to 12. For higher education programs in information and communications technology, women make up only 3% of graduates globally.

Under Lack of Confidence

(after first sentence). One of the factors behind girls' lack of confidence might be unqualified or ineffective teachers. Teachers' gendered perceptions on their students' capabilities can create an unbalanced learning environment and deter girls from pursuing further STEM education. They can also pass these stereotyped beliefs unto their students. Studies have also shown that student-teacher interactions have an impact on girls' engagement with STEM.

Under Role Models

(add to the end of last paragraph): Female teachers can also act as role models for young girls. Reports have shown that the presence of female teachers positively influences girls' perceptions of STEM and increases their interest in STEM careers.

Organized efforts

(to add to the list): Girls Can Code in Afghanistan, @IndianGirlsCode in India

The TeachHer Initiative, spearheaded by UNESCO, Costa Rican First Lady, Mercedes Peñas Domingo, and Dr. Jill Biden aims to close the gender gap in STEAM curricula and careers. The Initiative also emphasizes the importance of after school activities and clubs for girls.