Imbalance of Power: A case study of a middle school mixed-gender engineering team Jean Griffin, Carol Brandt, Elliot Bickel, Christine Schnittka, and Jessica Schnittka jean.griffin@temple.edu, carol.brandt@temple.edu, elliot.bickel@temple.edu, cgs0013@auburn.edu, jessica.schnittka@ucdenver.edu Abstract - This paper presents a mixed methods case study of a middle school mixed-gender team participating in an after-school environmental engineering workshop. The curriculum was part of a STEM program in which youth were engaged in a studio approach to design-based engineering. Data includes video of a girl-boy team working together (both 6th graders) tasked with creating a working model of a solar car. Additional data was provided through interview transcripts of the girl and boy, along with pre- and post- test results of their learning of key scientific concepts. Discourse and observational analyses based on videotape documentation reveal power imbalances in the working relationship of the pair favoring the boy. These imbalances are most apparent in the amount of time that each spends handling the engineering equipment and in the nature of the dialogue, which is characterized in large part by directives rather than by constructive collaboration. These imbalances appear to reflect longstanding societal gender norms and may provide clues as to how females may feel excluded from engineering activities and why so few females enter the field of engineering. Recommendations for facilitation, instructional designs, and assessments are made with the goal of fostering equitable and harmonious mixed-gender collaborations in engineering activities. Index Terms – Engineering education, girls, gender, discourse. INTRODUCTION Despite recent advances, participation by females in engineering careers and higher education engineering degree programs continues to be low in the United States [1]. Longstanding professional and academic traditions augmented by corporate campaigns that market engineering kits as “boy toys” partially explain the dearth of female participation in engineering. While the limited impressions formed by young children about engineers may contribute significantly to this trend [2], little is known about the experiences of females who choose to participate in engineering activities at a young age. This study contributes to this body of knowledge by providing an intensive case study analysis of a middle school girl-boy team from a rural Appalachian region who participated in an after-school STEM (science technology engineering and math) program focused on energy sustainability. BACKGROUND This after-school STEM club, Studio STEM, uses a curriculum with a Save the Animals theme given results from research studies [3] which indicate that many middle school students are interested in topics related to animals and environmental issues affecting animals and humans. The fundamental concepts related to alternative energy, energy transfer, and energy sustainability are woven into the Save the Animals theme in a manner that informally teaches scientific inquiry and engineering design skills. The curriculum used in this study was Save the Seabirds [4], [5] in which youth learn basic science concepts related to energy, force, and motion as well as the basics of engineering design. In Save the Seabirds the students were challenged with creating a model of solar-powered transportation. The design-based curriculum engaged students in guided inquiry. Students worked in small groups of 2-3. They were guided to explore basic concepts with clear and concise worksheets, and then encouraged to make design decisions based on their knowledge and understanding of the materials and key scientific concepts. The role of the instructor was to guide students through their decision-making, to model the new skills, and to help test and facilitate a critique of their designs. Using small magnetic motors, Lego pieces and gears, and solar cells, the students were tasked with creating a small solar vehicle that could pull a cart of plastic eggs filled with Plaster of Paris. The Save the Seabirds curriculum was taught as an 8- week, after-school course in which middle school students (grades 6, 7, and 8) met for 1.50 hours per week as part of a National Science Foundation funded program named Studio STEM (http://studiostem.org). Students met in the school library and were led by a 5 th grade science teacher with 33 years of experience in teaching. The “studio” in Studio STEM was a physical space in which youth had the opportunity to justify their designs, incorporate input from peers and facilitators, and work collaboratively toward developing a successful solution to the design challenge. Thirteen students (4 girls, 9 boys) from 6 th and 7 th grades participated in the Fall 2012 Save the Seabirds in a rural Appalachian community. In addition, one graduate student, a program manager, and two undergraduate facilitators were