Instructional Videos

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Purpose & Goals of the Conference:

As an innovative way to increase diversity in STEM, the challenge of #WhyNotMe is to encourage every person in society to consider pursuing a STEM career. In so doing, #WhyNotMe advocates for the systematic identification of key features that compel people to enter and persist (or desist) in STEM. The long-term goal of the conference is for STEM fields to be more inclusive, innovative, productive, and able to keep pace with the growing numbers of STEM jobs in the U.S. The conference will serve as an energizing space to identify research agendas and actionable steps aimed at increasing the hiring and retention of women and other minoritized individuals in STEM by improving our understanding of factors promoting persistence, as opposed to desistence, in these fields.

Inspiration for instructional videos:

Before holding the conference, we surveyed ~130 individuals about their experiences in STEM. We asked about their personal drivers and deterrents throughout their STEM journeys. We also did intensive interviews with 5 individuals. The information from the surveys and videos were analyzed for themes and recurrent patterns – those patterns were used to develop 4 scripts. The scripts were created and by Dr. Sarah E Johnson, produced by Andrew Ina, and dramatized by individuals from TTU (Tony Scarborough, Melanie Frasca, Sarah Mayhew, and Kerstin Vaughn).

Action item:

As you watch these four short videos, think about the following questions:

1. What stood out to you in each video? Was any of the information presented new to you?

2. What is your relationship to STEM and how is your identity linked to STEM?

3. What have been your personal drivers/supports or deterrents along your  STEM journey?

4. How does what you learned or watched relate to your positionality in STEM?

 

         

         

 

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