Volumes/untitled/talks/gender gaps in performance in undergraduate physics

Physics Education ResearchThe University of Edinburgh

Physics Higher Education Conference, Lancaster, September 2011

Gender gaps in performance in undergraduate physics

Robyn Donnelly, Simon Bates, Cait MacPhee

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Overview

• Evidence for a performance gender gap in introductory physics courses - Force Concept Inventory

• Comparisons with results from North American Institutions

• Differences in Examination / Coursework Assessment Performance

• Conclusions and Future Work



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Force Concept Inventory (FCI)

•Examines students’ understanding of Newtonian mechanics and highlights common misconceptions

•Used as measure of how a course affects students’ understanding of the tested concepts by being issued as a Pre- and Post-test at the beginning and end of a period of instruction

•Currently we are using a revised and extended version of the FCI containing 33 questions

•Pre-test and Post-test results collected for introductory Physics 1A course between 2006-2010



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Gender Gap

Gi= <SM> - <SF>

Pre-test gap: G= 12%

Post-test gap: G= 4%

Gender gap narrows but remains statistically significant with males on average scoring higher than females

Normalised Gain:

M=0.49 F=0.53N(Male)= 620 N(Female)= 236



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Gender Performance on Individual FCI pre-test questions (2006-2010 pre-test)

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Male Students n=692

Female Students n=247



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Gender Performance on Individual FCI post-test questions (2006-2010 post-test)

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Male Students n=692Female Students n=247



Study by Lorenzo, Crouch and Mazur at Harvard University

• Introductory calculus-based physics course exhibited increase in both male and female learning gains through the use of interactive engagement techniques

• Pre-semester gender gap fully closed after Post-test

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Lorenzo, Crouch, Mazur Am J Phys 74(2) (2006) 118-122



Gender Gap in Coursework/Examinations

Research by University of Colorado1 analysed gender gaps in students’ coursework and exam grades over seven semesters.

Key Features of Study:

•Males consistently outperformed Females on Exams

•Females consistently outperformed Males on Coursework

1. Lauren E. Kost, Steven J. Pollock, and Noah D. Finkelstein. Characterizing the gender gap in introductory physics. Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res., 5(1), Jan 2009.

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Results from our Students in Physics 1A:

Females on average scoring 7% higher than males in coursework

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Results from our Students in Physics 1A:

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Results from our Students in Physics 1B:

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Results from our Students in Physics 1B:

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Conclusions and Future Work

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•A gender gap exists in introductory physics courses as measured by various assessments instruments

•This performance gap narrows after a semester of instruction but remains significant

•Difference in gender performance depending on assessment type:

• Females outperforming males on coursework

• Examination results less conclusive

•Longitudinal Study of Coursework/Examination results



Thank youReferences:

D. Hestenes, M. Wells, and G. Swackhamer. Force concept inventory. Phys. Teach., 30:141{158, March 1992.

Lorenzo, Crouch, Mazur. Reducing the gender gap in the physics classroom. Am J Phys 74(2) (2006) 118-122

Lauren E. Kost, Steven J. Pollock, and Noah D. Finkelstein. Characterizing the gender gap in introductory physics. Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res., 5(1), Jan 2009.

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Volumes/untitled/talks/gender gaps in performance in undergraduate physics

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