Gender Differences in Students' Perceived Experiences in

Introductory Physics

Lauren Kost

Steven Pollock, Noah Finkelstein

Department of Physics

University of Colorado at Boulder

July 28, 2009

Acknowledgments• Physics faculty:

Michael DubsonNoah FinkelsteinKathy PerkinsSteven PollockCarl Wieman

• Ph. D. students:Charles BailyLauren KostBenjamin SpikeChandra Turpen

• Postdocs:Stephanie ChasteenSteven GoldhaberLaurel MayhewArchie PaulsonNoah Podolefsky

• School of Ed members:Valerie OteroKara GrayHeidi IversonMay LeeBud Talbott III

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. REC 0448176, CAREER: Physics Education and Contexts of Student Learning. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF

BackgroundGender Gap on FMCE

0

5

10

15

20

25

IE 1 IE 1 IE 1 IE 2 IE 2 IE 2 IE 2 IE 2 IE 2 IE 2 IE 2

Ge

nd

er

Ga

p (

%)

Pretest Posttest

Partial Interactive Engagement Full Interactive Engagement

A persistent gender gap exists at our institution.

BackgroundEnd-of-Term Survey

• Three prior semesters of data

• Questions about components of course– Clicker Questions - Exams– Tutorials - Homework

• NO consistent gender differences– Usefulness for learning– Enjoyable– Comfort discussing with peers, TAs

• How comfortable do you feel discussing the physics content with your peers during clicker questions?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Uncomfortable Neutral Comfortable

% o

f S

tud

en

ts

Females Males

p = 0.3

New Survey

• Questions about student experiences

• Areas identified from literature

– Physics Identity

– Epistemology

– Sources of Self-Efficacy

Courses Studied

• Calc-based Intro Mechanics (N=887)

• Curriculum was identical

• Different professors

• Student populations similar

Fall Spring

FMCE Pre 32% 32%

FMCE Post 72% 69%

FMCE Post M-F 18% 11%

Sense of Physics Identity

“The way a person understands and views himself, and is

viewed by others” 1

“who they think they are …

and who they want to be.” 2

1 J. Lave & E. Wenger, Situated Learning, 1991.2 N.W. Brickhouse, et. al. J. Res. Sci. Teach. 37, 441 (2000).

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Disagree Neutral Agree

% o

f S

tud

en

ts

Females Males

Physics Identity

• I feel like I could be a good physicist.

p < 0.001

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Disagree Neutral Agree

% o

f S

tud

en

ts

Females Males

Physics Identity• Other students in this class were easy to relate to.

p = 0.6

Physics Identity(7 questions)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Average Identity Score

% o

f S

tud

ents

Females

Males

Low Identity High IdentityNeutral

Identity

FMCE Posttest

0.24*

Course Grade

0.32*

Physics Self-EfficacyThe beliefs that people have about their ability

to complete a specific task.3

SE beliefs influence choices and effort.3

Four sources of self-efficacy4:Mastery experience

Vicarious experience

Verbal and social persuasions

Emotional and physiological responses

4 E.L. Usher & F. Pajares, Rev. Ed. Res. 78, 751 (2008).3 A. Bandura, Psych. Rev. 84, 191 (1977). 5 H. Fencl & K. Scheel, J. Col. Sci. Teach. 35, 20 (2005).

Questions from Sources of Self-Efficacy in Science Courses – Physics.5

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Agree Neutral Disagree

% o

f S

tud

en

ts

Females Males

Physics Self-Efficacy• I worried about my ability to solve physics

problems on exams.

p < 0.001

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Agree Neutral Disagree

% o

f S

tud

en

ts

Females Males

Physics Self-Efficacy• Physics makes me feel uneasy.

p < 0.001

Physics Self-Efficacy(4 questions)

0

5

10

15

20

25

Average Self-Efficacy Score

% o

f S

tud

ents

Females

Males

Low SE High SENeutral

Self-Efficacy

FMCE Posttest

0.38*

Course Grade

0.50*

Controlling for Exam Score

Even when controlling for exam score, females have significantly lower self-efficacy than males.

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

1 2 3 4 5Exam Score Quintile

Ave

rag

e S

elf-

Eff

icac

y

Females Males

Conclusions

• We find significant gender differences in student experiences related to identity and self-efficacy

• Identity and self-efficacy are correlated with student grades and conceptual performance

• Both are possible targets of future interventions to alleviate gender disparity

Thank You

• Find more info at:

http://per.colorado.edu

• Come see my poster tonight:

– PST2N-07 – Unpacking the Gender Gap in Introductory Physics

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0 <= S <= 12 12 < S <= 18 18 < S <= 27 27 < S <= 45 45 < S <= 100

FMCE Pretest score (%)

Av

g. F

MC

E P

os

tte

st

sc

ore

(%

)

Females Males

Impact of Pretest on Post Test

rpre,post = 0.56

37% 19%

8% 22%

21% 16%

14% 22%20% 21%

Regression Analysis

• Control for prior physics and math knowledge and incoming attitudes and beliefs

• Multiple Regression– The average posttest gender difference is 3%

(reduced from the observed difference of 10%).

– 70% of the gender gap is accounted for by background differences.

Conclusions (II)• Gender differences exist in several

components of introductory course

• Males and females are differently prepared

• Differences in male and female backgrounds account for about 70% of the gender gap

• How do males and females experience the introductory physics course?

Different Experiences

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

Identity Self-Efficacy

Ave

rag

e V

alu

e

Females Males

(7 questions) (4 questions)

Physics Self-EfficacyThe beliefs that people have about their ability

to complete a specific task.3

SE beliefs influence choices and effort.3

Four sources of self-efficacy4:Mastery experience

Vicarious experience

Verbal and social persuasions

Emotional and physiological responses

3 A. Bandura, Psych. Rev. 84, 191 (1977).4 E.L. Usher & F. Pajares, Rev. Ed. Res. 78, 751 (2008).