This Is Who I Want to Be! Exploring Possible Selves by Interviewing Women in Science

Abstract

This article shares a study of an interview/writing project for adolescent girls, which was a component of the Girls Writing Science Project at a diverse urban high school in the Southwestern United States. The group of high school girls planned, initiated, conducted, and wrote interview profiles of women scientists from their local community. This study of adolescent writers represents a model for teachers across disciplines to use the teaching of writing as a pathway for students to access, explore, and articulate possibilities for their future selves in connection to science. More specifically, this project offers a means of narrowing the gender divide in the sciences by supporting students in studying high-achieving women working in science-related careers and by practicing writing as a real-world, transferable skill with meaningful purpose.