“She Is What I Want to Become”: STEM Expectations of Young Women After Virtual Mentoring

• In Event: Understanding How to Support Women in Academia

Abstract

Although mentoring is an important practice in promoting the persistence of young women and genderqueer students in STEM, both availability of and access to effective mentoring relationships can be limited. To help mitigate this gap, this exploratory study examined the potential application of conversational virtual agent-mentors, video-recorded by real-life STEM professionals and presented in a career fair style web portal, in a sample (N = 39) of high school to college-aged non-male students interested in pursuing STEM careers. Results suggest potential for such technology to promote learning regarding career paths in STEM and increase expectations for success in STEM careers.

Authors

• Yuko Okado, California State University - Fullerton

• Benjamin D. Nye, University of Southern California

• Daniel H. Saravia, University of California - Los Angeles

• Bill Swartout, University of Southern California