Reducing the gender gap in the physics classroom: How sufficient is interactive engagement?

By S. Pollock, Noah Finkelstein, Lauren E. Kost. 2007

143 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Previous research Lorenzo et al., Am. J. Phys. 74, 118 2006 demonstrated that the difference in performance between male and female students can be reduced and even eliminated, in consistent fashion, by using interactive engagement techniques in the introductory physics classroom. The present paper describes similar studies in a different, large research university and finds that the use of interactive engagement techniques does not necessarily reduce the gender gap. Furthermore, in the environments studied, there is a gap in learning gains between male and female students p 0.01 whether partially or fully interactive classroom techniques are used. Our findings suggest that engaging students in interactive educational environments is not sufficient to reduce the gender gap, and we find instances where despite significant learning gains by all students, the gender gap is increased. There is indication that there are both student and instructor effects that impact the gender gap, which are the subjects of ongoing studies.

Subfields: Education

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/553c2de6a5566f903e817c40d59899f3f4bc5342

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In Education

1. Jennifer Docktor
2. Eleanor C. Sayre
3. Jose P. Mestre
4. Adrian M. Madsen
5. Sarah B. McKagan

Citations in the corpus

• Synthesis of Discipline-Based Education Research in Physics. (2014, background): “There were some differences in course performance, where females outscored males on homework and participation, whereas males scored higher on exams, resulting in overall similar course grades [390,392].”
• Gender gap on concept inventories in physics: what is consistent, what is inconsistent,and what factors influence the gap? (2013, methodology): “[25] at the University of Colorado compared the FMCE pre- and posttest gender gaps for three semesters of partially interactive and three semesters of fully interactive courses.”