Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Acta Astronautica journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/actaastro Research paper She Space: A multi-disciplinary, project-based learning program for high school girls Sivan Isaacson a,*,1 , Lonia Friedlander a,1 , Chen Meged a , Shiran Havivi a , Aviv Lee Cohen-Zada a , Inbal Ronay a , D.G. Blumberg a,b , Shimrit Maman b a Earth and Planetary Image Facility, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel b Homeland Security Institute, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Women in STEM Remote sensing Space education ABSTRACT Previous research investigating the under-representation of women in science and technology fields has iden- tified various causes. These include, a lack of inspiring female role-models, limited exposure of girls to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects, gender-biased stereotypes, and preferences for different learning styles between genders. Dedicated to the ideas of women and space, the “She Space” research project for high school girls was a joint effort of the Earth and Planetary Image Facility (EPIF) at Ben-Gurion University in the Negev and Beit Yatziv. The participants included 20 high-school aged female students and a predominantly female staff of up to eight university researchers and advanced degree students. The goal of this project was to advance and support female students engaging with various scientific fields and, in particular, the field of space science. The project emphasized the quality and development of the research process and used project-based learning to help participants learn to use a research-based approach when encountering chal- lenging scientific concepts or subjects. This, together with active learning and teamwork was set as the edu- cational framework to meet the different learning styles and motivational needs of girls. Furthermore, special attention was given to the suppression of gender stereotypes by 1) introducing women role models 2) over- coming self-induced prejudices related to STEM abilities by introducing new and unknown subjects (remote sensing), about which participants lack preconceptions. Using participant surveys, we found that self-reported confidence with and interest in STEM subjects increased after the project. We also found that participants’ feelings about participating in an all-female program did not noticeably change after the program. However, the vast majority (87%) of participants did report that having a majority female staff was very important to them. 1. Introduction 1.1. Women in STEM Women are underrepresented in most science, technology, en- gineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and careers [1,2]. Stu- dies point out various social and cultural reasons for this gap, including gender-biased stereotypes of innate differences in aptitude, institutional barriers, absence of role models and mentors, sense of belonging, classroom experience, learning style preferences, and more [3]. Female students' perceptions of STEM and their self-efficacy differ from those of males, though their actual academic achievements in STEM fields show no significant difference [4]. Studies show that females do not consider STEM fields particularly difficult or unfit for women, but women do self-report that they find these subjects less interesting or pertinent to their goals in life [5]. Moreover, when females choose to pursue a scientific discipline, they usually do it for different self-reported reasons than males. While males aim for a career in applied sciences (en- gineering, computer science and medicine), females more often report being interested in science in order to help other individuals, rather than pursue science solely for its own sake [5]. Similarly, an OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) report shows that young men and women have different approaches to tech- nology [6]. While boys are more often interested directly in the tech- nical aspects of computers (e.g. programming), girls mainly focus on the end-uses of technological applications. Perceptions of gender roles and of scientific practices in adults may also be unconsciously enforced among young adults during adolescence https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2019.12.005 Received 28 July 2019; Received in revised form 4 November 2019; Accepted 4 December 2019 * Corresponding author. E-mail address: sivanisa@adssc.org (S. Isaacson). 1 These authors contributed equally to this article. Acta Astronautica 168 (2020) 155–163 Available online 09 December 2019 0094-5765/ © 2019 IAA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T