Course reviews reveal gender differences and other scientific insight about the students who submit them

Abstract

Student course reviews are rarely considered as research instruments, yet their ubiquity makes them potentially powerful tools for education data science. To illustrate this potential we utilize a corpus of 11,255 reviews of computer science courses submitted by students at a private research university to observe how students appraise their own learning and give advice to future students. We recover evidence of gendered self-perceptions and care-giving strategies in Computer Science courses. Among submitters: females understate their achievement of learning goals relative to males earning the same grades; females offer lengthier written advice to future students than males; advice written by females exhibits more positive tone. Findings affirm the potential of leveraging course reviews for archival, survey, and quasi-experimental research investigations going forward