📋 Tender Overview
Objectives
Despite advances in gender equality, the gender gap in STEM related careers persists. This project aims at promoting engagement, motivation, and success in STEM, with an emphasis on inclusivity and equity for underrepresented groups, especially girls. The project encourages exploration and imagination in STEM through virtual reality (VR) and provides evidence-based practices and tailored teaching materials to support students' vocations and interests in STEM education.
Activities
Activities: (1) design and development of a VR app and educational framework for gender-inclusive STEM education, with accompanying user guides, (2) pilot and final tests to evaluate usability and acceptance, using mixed-methods (valid and reliable quantitative questionnaires and focus groups), (3) a webinar on the VR app development, (4) a training activity on the pedagogical framework and didactic use of the VR app, and (5) hosting 4 national multiplier and 1 final event for dissemination.
Impact
Results are: a VR app (R1) and a pedagogical framework for gender-inclusive STEM teaching (R2).
The app will provide students aged 13-18 with immersive experiences to explore and imagine a future in STEM. The framework compiles resources and develops gender-inclusive teaching methodologies for secondary school teachers. Outcomes benefit secondary schools, universities, teachers, and students by providing research-based resources and methodologies for reducing the gender-gap in STEM education.
