In a recent study , researchers Khushboo Patel, Judith Danovitch, and Nick Noles showed 257 preschool and elementary school-aged kids pictures of different adults and asked them who would know more about science and from whom they would want to learn.

While other factors, such as the adults’ race, didn’t seem to play any significant role in the kids’ opinions, gender did — they overwhelmingly chose the adult who had the same gender as them. That is, boys thought the men would know more about science, and girls thought women would.

“This marks a significant shift in children’s thinking, where girls are starting to see women as knowledgeable about science and want to learn science from them,” said Patel, a fourth year Ph.D. student in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, part of UofL’s College of Arts and Sciences. “This may eventually help girls envision themselves as doing science, too.”

Understanding the cause of that shift could help address the gender gap in STEM — or, science, technology, engineering and math. Although that gap has narrowed significantly over the past decade, as of 2021, . For reference, Patel said, past studies done around a decade ago found most kids saw men as more capable of doing science than women, regardless of their own gender.��

Representation is likely a critical factor in driving that shift, Danovitch said. Young girls and boys alike are seeing more examples of female scientists in their lives and in popular culture — think Doc McStuffins and Ada Twist Scientist.

“It used to be that STEM was seen as being just for boys,“ said Danovitch, a professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences. “You could see that in media or walking down the toy aisle. But today, girls are starting to see women as knowledgeable about science.”��

For parents and educators, Patel said, this shift presents an opportunity to help girls engage in STEM if they wish to. That might mean providing examples of different kinds of people who are scientists, introducing girls to women in science careers, and avoiding even well-intentioned gendered language when talking about science.��

“For example, saying ‘girls are just as good as boys at science’ just affirms that boys set the standard,” she said. “Overall, we hope this research serves as a reminder of the importance of representation in science education. Anyone can be a scientist if they want to be.”��

Every year, students nominate faculty members they would like to recognize for making a significant impact on their learning and intellectual development. Students described��Danovitch as “interesting and engaging.”��

“Judith is a phenomenal instructor who truly takes learning to the next level. She is able to take a graduate course that is not necessarily the desired topic of interest for all students, yet find a way to make the course applicable to each individual student. She demonstrates proficient knowledge of the topics, and it is clearly evident that she is well-organized and prepares for each class in order to facilitate maximal learning during each course meeting. She values each student’s ideas and knowledge and welcomes student discussion. Her course assignments allow students to expand their knowledge in their own particular area of interest, and her assignments are designed to be direct applications to a successful career in psychology,” one student wrote.

Danovitch received her AB in Psychology and Biology from Harvard in 2000 and her PhD in Psychology from Yale in 2005. Her research interest is “how children seek out and evaluate knowledge throughout their development.”

“I care very deeply about children and their development and their well-being, so I feel that it’s really��important to make sure that I’m sharing the knowledge that we have as psychologists in a way that people can use it and that it will be relevant to��them in the future,” she said.��

Watch more about Dr. Danovitch below.��

This year, students submitted 624 nominations for 334 faculty members to the Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning, which solicits the nominations. The top four professors to receive the most nominations are recognized as “Faculty Favorites.”

The favorites will be recognized publicly at a reception in February 2017 at the Celebration of Teaching and Learning.