| Summary: | The fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) lay the groundwork for much of the innovation driving society forward. Despite the contributions of these fields to society, women are chronically underrepresented in STEM careers. Could one cause for this underrepresentation lie in how these subjects are taught in school? The purpose of our study was to explore how methods of presenting educational material may affect retention and motivation of students, especially women. We predict that by increasing the presented communal value of a scientific topic (that is, how the topic can be applied to help others), participants’ retention and scientific motivation will increase. University-enrolled participants completed online pre-tests of content knowledge and motivation, then were randomly assigned to read one of three versions of a brief scientific article: Control (basic information presented), Increased Communal Value, or Increased Communal Value with Related Images. Participants then completed a knowledge and motivation post-test. The results of this study are under analysis. Expected outcomes include a main effect for communal value on outcomes of science motivation and retention, as well as interaction effects for gender (such that communal value impacts females’, more than males’, motivation and retention).
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