Gendered performance differences in introductory physics: A study from a large land-grant university

Dew, Matthew; Perry, Jonathan; Ford, Lewis; Bassichis, W.H.; Erukhimova, Tatiana

doi:10.1103/physrevphyseducres.17.010106

Cited by 21 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…1, with a weak effect size. The results presented on gendered performance on exams, Table I, mirrors results from our prior study [14] with fewer statistically significant differences for female instructors compared to male instructors.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 73%

“…We started with a data set previously gathered from faculty who taught one or both of a two-semester calculus-based introductory physics course sequence at a large, land-grant university between 2007-2018 [14]. The data set comprised more than 8200 engineering, math, and physical science majors from more than 75 lecture sections from both a first semester mechanics course and a second semester electricity and magnetism course during this period.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent years, physics education studies have found a consistent performance gap between male and female students on conceptual assessments [1][2][3][4][5][6], though this difference has been less consistent when it comes to differences in course grades [2,3,[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Female students often find themselves to be a minority in their physics classes, and are likely to be subject to the pressures of societal biases and gender stereotype threats [15,16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This work explores the intersection of instructor gender and student performance specifically for calculus-based introductory physics courses. It follows the footsteps of our recent publication that studied performance differences based on student gender in both calculus-and algebra-based introductory physics courses at a large land-grant university [14]. We expanded on this study with primary focus on instructor gender.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Does Instructor Gender Matter for Student Performance in Introductory Physics?

Ozmetin¹,

Dew²,

Erukhimova³

et al. 2021

2021 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings

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A small number of prior studies have investigated whether instructor gender has a measurable impact on student course grades, though to our best knowledge no study has specifically examined physics courses. We explored the effect of instructor gender on student performance in calculus-based introductory physics courses at a large land-grant university. The data set included the scores on midterm, final exams, and final letter grades for more than 8200 students taught by 11 male and 4 female instructors between 2007-2018. We found no persistent correlation between student gendered performance and their instructor gender. While statistically significant differences in student performance were found for particular exams or in final letter grades, the effect sizes were weak or small. When comparing male and female instructors, we found that the instructor gender had a larger effect on female students than on their male classmates.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 73%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Does Instructor Gender Matter for Student Performance in Introductory Physics?

Ozmetin¹,

Dew²,

Erukhimova³

et al. 2021

2021 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings

Self Cite

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show abstract

“…The difference between males and females is not statistically significant, as it would be expected (Dew et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

¿Pueden los adolescentes tomar mejores decisiones? La respuesta de la Física

Reyes¹,

García-González

Canelo

2021

(EJEP

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Tradicionalmente, aprender Física es una tarea complicada. En el presente estudio queremos conocer si hay relación entre el aprendizaje de la Física de modo mayéutico o socrático y las funciones ejecutivas del cerebro. 69 estudiantes preuniversitarios que aprendieron Física empleando un método fundamentado en el funcionamiento del cerebro fueron comparados con un grupo que aprendió Física empleando la clase magistral, exactamente con el mismo N. Ambos grupos fueron analizados con el test de Stroop para buscar diferencias en las funciones ejecutivas, más concretamente en la inhibición de las respuestas inmediatas e intuitivas. El test-T determina que existe una diferencia significativa entre ambos grupos (p<0.036) en el control de la interferencia o inhibición. Estos resultados podrían indicar que esta metodología fundamentada en el funcionamiento del cerebro mejora el proceso de razonamiento de los estudiantes, puesto que sabemos que la cingulada anterior y el lóbulo frontal funcionan como un tándem en ese proceso. Los resultados del presente estudio sugieren que hay una mejora en la inhibición que está relacionada con la forma de aprender. El método propuesto parece que refuerza las funciones ejecutivas del cerebro y tal vez sería posible emplear dicho método en otras asignaturas.

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Identities in/out of physics and the politics of recognition

Avraamidou

2021

J Res Sci Teach

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Framed within intersectionality, this multiple case study explores women's participation in physics through the construct of physics identity and with a focus on recognition. The study is drawn upon an empirical life‐history exploration of three women: a native to Northwestern Europe, late‐career white woman and two immigrant women to Northwestern Europe, one is an undergraduate student of color, and the other, an early career Muslim woman. The data for this study were collected through multiple, semistructured, interviews in a period of 2 years, which were analyzed using a constant comparative method. Collectively, the three life‐histories tell stories of otherness, persistence, hope, and failure and they elucidate the kinds of identities that are deemed “in‐place” and “out‐of‐place” in physics. They showcase how the three women authored multiple identities that simply co‐existed for them, while for others were seen as conflicting and caused misrecognition. The findings point to four main insights: (a) recognition is neither linear nor binary and it comes in many different forms that range from explicit encouragement to no opposition; (b) it is drawn upon various sources including ones in the early years of life: family, school teachers, university instructor, students, and social community; (c) it is culture‐dependent and as such, it is influenced by factors on multiple levels, including cultural and gender stereotypes, organizational policies, racism, sexism, classicism, and other forms of discrimination. The implications of these findings speak to the need for: (a) systemic programs on how women are recognized by others and which seek to widen and diversify physics environments from the school level to the professional level; (b) research exploration of the politics of recognition and how they perpetuate the underrepresentation of women in physics; and, (c) disrupting monolithic theorizations of recognition and adopting intersectional approaches to exploring physics identity that value women's personal histories, subjectivities, and positionalities.

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Gendered performance differences in introductory physics: A study from a large land-grant university

Cited by 21 publications

References 41 publications

Does Instructor Gender Matter for Student Performance in Introductory Physics?

Does Instructor Gender Matter for Student Performance in Introductory Physics?

¿Pueden los adolescentes tomar mejores decisiones? La respuesta de la Física

Identities in/out of physics and the politics of recognition

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