Devon Goerlich ’24

Major: Psychology; Minor: Sociology—Criminal Justice and Law 
Project: “Using Reading Circles to Promote Science Self-Identification in First- to Fifth-Grade Girls” 
Advisors: Sarah Johnson, associate professor of psychology; Stacey Zaremba, professor of psychology

You could say Devon Goerlich ’24 changed the way grade-school female students identify with science. She and her advisors, Dr. Sarah Johnson and Dr. Stacey Zaremba, studied the biases young children in grades one through five had about science and gender. More specifically, Goerlich and her mentors studied the attitudes and beliefs of young girls and how they self-identified with science.

In this research project, Goerlich assisted in the development of a four-week reading circle program that included students from William Penn Elementary School. The children were read six picture books about real women in various science fields and were asked related questions. They also completed a craft as part of the research.

Before and after the reading circle program, Goerlich and her advisors tested the children’s gender-science biases, self-identification, and interest to determine whether the program shifted the children’s beliefs.

Goerlich analyzed the children’s verbal comments during the reading discussion to study their rich descriptions and their shared experiences with gender and science. The data consistently showed that the children had strong male-science biases at the start of the program, but by the end of the program there was an increase in both male and female students who associated science with both genders. In addition, more female students expressed self-identification with science.

While the outcome was successful, Goerlich learned the challenges one may face when working with young children.

“We designed the program to fit the needs of young children, but as we went along, we had to adjust as needed because no matter how much we planned, there were still obstacles that emerged,” Goerlich says.

However, this didn’t hinder Goerlich’s desire to continue pursuing her education degree.

“I knew I wanted to work with children in my future career,” she says, “and this experience has definitely solidified that career decision.” 

The project also provided Goerlich with a new interest in gender psychology. She plans to continue working on her research with Dr. Johnson and Dr. Zaremba and has plans to present her project at Moravian’s Scholars Day and various other research conferences.