Making Dioramas of Women Scientists Help Elementary Students Recognize Their Contributions

Authors

Jolene K. Teske, University of Northern IowaFollow
Phyllis Gray, University of Northern IowaFollow
Julie L. Klein, University of Northern IowaFollow
Audrey C. Rule, University of Northern IowaFollow

Document Type

Article

Keywords

Student Attitudes toward Science, Women in Science, Dioramas, Spatial Skills, Science Careers

Journal/Book/Conference Title Title

Creative Education

Volume

5

Issue

23

Abstract

The STEM movement encourages girls to consider careers in science; however, for success, common misconceptions and biases need to be dispelled, while females’ spatial thinking skills are developed. All students, both girls and boys, need exposure to the accomplishments of women scientists to appreciate their contributions and to envision females as successful scientists. This one-week study conducted during a summer day camp examined upper elementary student (n = 15; 7 females, 8 males) attitudes toward science, women in science, and the possibility of a science career before and after participation in learning about diverse accomplished women scientists and making a diorama showcasing the professional work and caring actions of one of the scientists. The efficacy of this project for upper elementary students, conducted during a summer day camp, is supported by pretest-posttest data and attitude surveys. The five-day class showed positive changes in student plans for a career in science and improved attitudes toward the importance of females becoming scientists. Directions for constructing dioramas, examples of student-made work, and creative scenes made with given craft items are provided.

Department

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Comments

First published in Creative Education, v. 5 n. 23 (2014), pp. 1984-2002, 10.4236/ce.2014.523223, published by Scientific Research.

Original Publication Date

12-2014

DOI of published version

10.4236/ce.2014.523223

Repository

UNI ScholarWorks, University of Northern Iowa, Rod Library

Copyright

© 2014 Jolene K. Teske, Phyllis Gray, Julie L. Klein, and Audrey C. Rule. The copyright holder has granted permission for posting.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Date Digital

2014

Language

EN

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Teske, Jolene K.; Gray, Phyllis; Klein, Julie L.; and Rule, Audrey C., "Making Dioramas of Women Scientists Help Elementary Students Recognize Their Contributions" (2014). Curriculum & Instruction Faculty Publications. 7.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ci_facpub/7