The purpose of this study is to determine if the experience of designing and sewing LilyPad Arduino circuits in crafts projects can increase middle school girls’ STEM self-efficacy. Boys STEM self-efficacy will also be assessed to determine if LilyPad Arduino circuits can also increase boys’ STEM self-efficacy. Researchers have been wondering why there is a male dominance in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields and why some women do not have a particular interest in these subjects. There are several reasons this could happen; stereotypes conveyed to them by parents and/or teachers, they genuinely are not interested in STEM or their self-efficacy is low in STEM. This study investigated an intervention designed to increase the STEM self-efficacy of middle school girls. A four week workshop was conducted to evaluate whether designing and sewing circuits using the LilyPad Arduino system could in fact help raise middle school girls’ STEM self-efficacy. A total of 16 students in 6th-8th grade completed the workshop; 6 girls and 10 boys. After the workshop, data revealed that girls who completed the workshop were more likely to show STEM self-efficacy increases than girls who did not participate in the workshop. However, boys did not see a significant increase or decrease in STEM self-efficacy after completion of the workshop. Self-efficacy is one determinant of how much effort a student will put into an assignment or action, so increased self-efficacy could lead to increased effort in future STEM subjects.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study is to determine if the experience of designing and sewing LilyPad Arduino circuits in crafts projects can increase middle school girls’ STEM self-efficacy. Boys STEM self-efficacy will also be assessed to determine if LilyPad Arduino circuits can also increase boys’ STEM self-efficacy. Researchers have been wondering why there is a male dominance in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields and why some women do not have a particular interest in these subjects. There are several reasons this could happen; stereotypes conveyed to them by parents and/or teachers, they genuinely are not interested in STEM or their self-efficacy is low in STEM. This study investigated an intervention designed to increase the STEM self-efficacy of middle school girls. A four week workshop was conducted to evaluate whether designing and sewing circuits using the LilyPad Arduino system could in fact help raise middle school girls’ STEM self-efficacy. A total of 16 students in 6th-8th grade completed the workshop; 6 girls and 10 boys. After the workshop, data revealed that girls who completed the workshop were more likely to show STEM self-efficacy increases than girls who did not participate in the workshop. However, boys did not see a significant increase or decrease in STEM self-efficacy after completion of the workshop. Self-efficacy is one determinant of how much effort a student will put into an assignment or action, so increased self-efficacy could lead to increased effort in future STEM subjects.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kaiser, Kara"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Human Environmental Science (MS)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Smith, Kathleen R.","Moon, Zola K."],"advisors":["Revelle, Glenda L."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:59:40Z","subjects":["Education","Circuits","Girls","Middle-school","STEM","Self-efficacy","Engineering Education","Science and Mathematics Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1515","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Smith, Kathleen R.","Moon, Zola K."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Revelle, Glenda L."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kaiser, Kara"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2016"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-03-09T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Human Environmental Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Education","Circuits","Girls","Middle-school","STEM","Self-efficacy","Engineering Education","Science and Mathematics Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1515"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study is to determine if the experience of designing and sewing LilyPad Arduino circuits in crafts projects can increase middle school girls’ STEM self-efficacy. Boys STEM self-efficacy will also be assessed to determine if LilyPad Arduino circuits can also increase boys’ STEM self-efficacy. Researchers have been wondering why there is a male dominance in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields and why some women do not have a particular interest in these subjects. There are several reasons this could happen; stereotypes conveyed to them by parents and/or teachers, they genuinely are not interested in STEM or their self-efficacy is low in STEM. This study investigated an intervention designed to increase the STEM self-efficacy of middle school girls. A four week workshop was conducted to evaluate whether designing and sewing circuits using the LilyPad Arduino system could in fact help raise middle school girls’ STEM self-efficacy. A total of 16 students in 6th-8th grade completed the workshop; 6 girls and 10 boys. After the workshop, data revealed that girls who completed the workshop were more likely to show STEM self-efficacy increases than girls who did not participate in the workshop. However, boys did not see a significant increase or decrease in STEM self-efficacy after completion of the workshop. Self-efficacy is one determinant of how much effort a student will put into an assignment or action, so increased self-efficacy could lead to increased effort in future STEM subjects.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Designing Sewn Circuits and STEM Self-Efficacy in Middle School Girls"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Smith, Kathleen R.","Moon, Zola K."],"dc:contributor.advisor":["Revelle, Glenda L."],"dc:creator":["Kaiser, Kara"],"dc:date":["2016"],"dc:date.available":["2017-03-09T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study is to determine if the experience of designing and sewing LilyPad Arduino circuits in crafts projects can increase middle school girls’ STEM self-efficacy. Boys STEM self-efficacy will also be assessed to determine if LilyPad Arduino circuits can also increase boys’ STEM self-efficacy. Researchers have been wondering why there is a male dominance in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields and why some women do not have a particular interest in these subjects. There are several reasons this could happen; stereotypes conveyed to them by parents and/or teachers, they genuinely are not interested in STEM or their self-efficacy is low in STEM. This study investigated an intervention designed to increase the STEM self-efficacy of middle school girls. A four week workshop was conducted to evaluate whether designing and sewing circuits using the LilyPad Arduino system could in fact help raise middle school girls’ STEM self-efficacy. A total of 16 students in 6th-8th grade completed the workshop; 6 girls and 10 boys. After the workshop, data revealed that girls who completed the workshop were more likely to show STEM self-efficacy increases than girls who did not participate in the workshop. However, boys did not see a significant increase or decrease in STEM self-efficacy after completion of the workshop. Self-efficacy is one determinant of how much effort a student will put into an assignment or action, so increased self-efficacy could lead to increased effort in future STEM subjects.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1515"],"dc:subject":["Education","Circuits","Girls","Middle-school","STEM","Self-efficacy","Engineering Education","Science and Mathematics Education"],"dc:title":["Designing Sewn Circuits and STEM Self-Efficacy in Middle School Girls"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Human Environmental Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:59:40Z"}