2. DESIRE
• Math and education major
looking for research
opportunities
• Wanted to learn more
about…
• Computer Science
• Educational resources
2
3. INTRODUCTION
• Computer programming
• Underlying skills in STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering,
Mathematics)
• Spatial reasoning
• Creativity
• Memory
• Critical thinking
• Looked at lack of women and
minorities in STEM and was to
mitigate it
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4. LEARNING PROGRAMMING
• Created Graphics
• Learned how to program
using python
• Computer programming
language
• Great for beginners
• Used Calico as an IDE
• Makes programing easier
4
270 Lines of code
5. GAMES
• Played games
• Scribbler’s Adventure
• Program a simulated robot
to get through dungeons
and mazes
• Choose Your Own Adventure
• Create your own videogame
• Create actions that your
character can act out
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6. ONLINE RESOURCES
• Activities online that teach computer
programming skills
• Scratch MIT
• Khan Academy Computer Drawing
Tutorial
• Code Combat
• The Foos
• Code Studio
• Analyzed skills that those activities
teach
• Spatial Reasoning
• Memory
• Creativity
• Critical Thinking
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7. SPATIAL REASONING
• Spatial reasoning
• Movement or location of objects mentally or physically[1]
• Skill that all STEM careers need
• Females tend to do worse than males in spatial reasoning
tests[2],[3]
• Could be the reason women aren’t interested in STEM[1]
[1] Downs, Roger & DeSouza, Anthony (2006). Learning to think spatially: GIS as a support system
in the K-12 curriculum. Committee on the Support for the Thinking Spatially, National Research
Council, Publisher: The National Academies Press
[2]Lawton, Carol A (1994). Gender differences in way-finding strategies: Relationship to spatial
ability and spatial anxiety. Sex roles, 30, 765-779.
[3]Hsi, Sherry, Linn, Marcia C & Bell, John E (1997). The role of spatial reasoning in engineering and
the design of spatial instruction. Journal of Engineering Education, 86, 151-158.
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8. GENDER GAP
• Gender Gap
• Underrepresentation of women in STEM
• There is a lack of females in STEM fields
• 29% of STEM careers are taken by women[4]
• There is also a gap in minorities
• Minorities only earn 12.5% of STEM
degrees[5]
• Less than that get STEM jobs
[4]National Science Board (US) (2016). Science & engineering indicators.
[5]"Underrepresented Minorities in STEM." STEM Education. NACME, n.d.
Web. 21 July 2016.
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Men vs Women STEM
Women Men
STEM Degrees Obtained
Minorities Others
71%
Men
29%
Women
87.5%
Others
12.5%
Minorities
9. WHY IS THERE A GAP
• Toys for girls[6],[7],[8]
• Negative stereo types for
women in STEM[9],[10]
• Negative attitudes from
parents[9],[10]
[6]Henn, Steve (2014). When women stopped coding. NPR Planet
Money, 21, .
[7]Cardella, Monica E (). Gender Bias in the Purchase of STEM-
Related Toys (Fundamental). age, 26, 1.
[8]Briana Bettin (2013). Engaging Girls in STEM and Beyond: What
Girls' Toys Are Really Lacking.
[9]Yee, Doris K & Eccles, Jacquelynne S (1988). Parent perceptions
and attributions for children's math achievement. Sex Roles, 19, 317-
333.
[10]Lindberg, Sara M, Hyde, Janet Shibley & Hirsch, Liza M (2008).
Gender and mother-child interactions during mathematics
homework: The importance of individual differences. Merrill-Palmer
Quarterly (1982-), , 232-255.
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10. HOW RESEARCHERS ARE CLOSING
THE GAP
• Female teachers for female students in
math and science classes
• Can increase grades by 5%[11]
• Can keep female students interested in
STEM[12]
[11]Hoffmann, Florian & Oreopoulos, Philip (2009). A professor like me the
influence of instructor gender on college achievement. Journal of Human
Resources, 44, 479-494.
[12]Carrell, Scott E., Marianne E. Page, and James E. West. Sex and science:
How professor gender perpetuates the gender gap. No. w14959. National
Bureau of Economic Research, 2009.
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11. NEW WAYS WE CAN CLOSE GAP
• Computer Graphics
• Includes creation of movies, animations,
or pictures through programming
• Fun and engaging
• Related to the idea of drawing
• Advances skills in science fields[13]
• Promote positive effects especially spatial
temporal reasoning[14]
[13]Nelson, P Laverne, Martin, Sue S & Baldwin,
Vernoice G (1998). Drawing skills and science concepts
in young children: A study of relationships. Studies in
Art Education, 39, 262-269.
[14]Hall, Diane. The Arts and Elementary Education:
Effects on Student Learning, Motivation, and Self-
efficacy. Diss. The Evergreen State College, 2013.
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12. NEW WAYS WE CAN CLOSE GAP
• Gamification
• Conveying of important skills through
playing computer games
• More likely to understand concepts,
and could show competency of what
they learned after playing a game[16]
• Increases enjoyment, motivation
towards studying[15]
[15]Muntean, Cristina Ioana. "Raising engagement in e-
learning through gamification." Proc. 6th International
Conference on Virtual Learning ICVL. 2011.
[16]Huang, Wendy Hsin-Yuan, and Dilip
Soman. Gamification Of Education. Research Report
Series: Behavioural Economics in Action, 2013.
12
13. FRACTIONS
• After seeing the benefits of gamification
and graphics something new needed to be
made
• Wanted to use computer programming
• Needed to be fun and help with underlying
skills
• Wanted to help teach everyone’s favorite
subject
• FRACTIONS
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14. WHAT I CREATED
• Computer program
• Teaches spatial reasoning
• Teaches fractions
• Students are given a prompt
• These chemicals are yeast, warm
water, dish soap, and hydrogen
peroxide
• They are told that they need to
measure out certain amounts of
each chemical
14
15. HOW IT WORKS
• Students “measure” by
clicking different molecules
inside each beaker
• You know its measured out
once the molecules change
color
15
16. WINNER
• Once students know
they have the correct
fractions they click the
GO button and the
molecules begin to
bubble over the round
bottom flask
16
17. WHY’S THIS IMPORTANT
• This is fun and interactive
• Teaches more than fractions
• Gets people thinking about
other aspects of STEM
• Gets more people interested
in STEM
17
18. • Helps my mentor with the Laramie Robotics Club
• Program for students in middle school through graduate school
interested in learning about robots and programming
• My program can be a new program that students work with
18
19. CONCLUSION
• Looked into creative new ways
for students to learn
• Gamification
• Computer Graphics
• Looked into reasons why there
could be less females in STEM
• Created activity to help close
the gap
19
26. LEARNING LATEX
• Latex
• Document preparation system
• Used for scientific documents
• Not a word processor, but to the
general population it is like a word
processor, but you use coding
• Texmaker
• IDE for Latex
• Use it to write documents in Latex
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