Research/Study

Study Finds That Woman Instructors Pull in More Women Students in STEM Fields

Coursera is an online learning platform that was founded in 2012 by two computer science professors at Stanford University. The company now partners with 149 partner universities to offer about 2,000 courses online.

Examining its massive database of 25 million course takers, Coursera found that women comprised only 34 percent of all students who completed courses in STEM fields on the Coursera platform. The company conducted an experiment by sending a promotional email to its student database about a new course in machine learning. Identical emails were sent out with one showing a male instructor and one showing a woman instructor.

The results showed that women were 26 more likely to enroll in a course with a woman instructor than the course with a male instructor. Male learners showed no gender preference for instructors. Armed with this information, Coursera is seeking out more women instructors for STEM courses in an effort to increase the enrollments of women in order to close the gender gap in these online offerings.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Articles

Latest News

Darlene Weaver Named the First Woman President of the University of Dayton

0
Dr. Weaver has served as provost of the University of Dayton since July 2023. On July 1, 2027, she will become the first woman to lead the university.

Betty Whitted Holley Assumes the Presidency of Payne Theological Seminary in Ohio

0
In November, Dr. Holley will be installed as the eighteenth president of Payne Theological Seminary in Ohio. She previously served as the seminary's interim president, academic dean, and director of the Alternative Theological Extension Program.

Amy Dittmar Reappointed Provost at Rice University in Houston

0
Dr. Dittmar has served as the Howard R. Hughes Provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Rice University since 2022. Her contract was recently extended, and she will now serve in the role through the 2031 fiscal year.

Anne Carson Wins the Nobel Prize in Literature

0
Dr. Carson is known for her work in poetry, fiction, and translation. She has taught at several educational institutions throughout Canada and the United States.

Kimberly T. Kostelis Selected to Lead Central Connecticut State University

0
Dr. Kostelis, the new interim president of Central Connecticut State University, has been with the university for more than two decades. For the past five years, she has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Latest Job Listings

Assistant Professor, Management Information Systems – Saunders College of Business

0
The Saunders College of Business at Rochester Institute of Technology invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor faculty position in Management Information Systems and Business Analytics.

Faculty Position in Electrical Engineering

0
The Division of Engineering and Applied Science at the California Institute of Technology invites applications for tenure-track/tenured faculty positions. We seek highly qualified candidates committed to a career in teaching, mentoring and research excellence in the department of Electrical Engineering.

Assistant Professor, Jazz

0
The Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto invites applications for a full-time tenure-stream position in the area of Jazz.

Associate Professor, Piano Pedagogy

0
The Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto invites applications for a full-time tenure-stream position in the area of Piano Pedagogy.

Future Faculty in the Physical Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship

0
We seek to attract a diverse cohort of early career scientists who will conduct research in physics, broadly defined, including astrophysics, biophysics, geophysics, and planetary physics, independently or in collaboration with Princeton faculty, postdoctoral researchers and students.