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Abstract:In this article we present our results on a study of performance gap among our male and female college students. Our choice for the study tool for this work was the force concept inventory (FCI). We gave the test to our students twice; before and after our instructions on force and motion. The overall performance of male and female students in both tests along with details about individual questions is reported. The mean percentage scores showed a gender gap in favor of male students. Male students outperformed female students in almost every one of the thirty questions of the inventory in both the pre and the post test.

Abstract:Our main purpose of the current research project is to improve the whole physics educational process at our university, not only the learning side from our students but also the teaching side from us instructors. In this report we discuss the part of the big project dedicated to the study of common dominant misconceptions among male and female students about force and motion. We used the force concept inventory (FCI) as a study tool for this work and was given to our students as a pre and post test. Although our previous study showed an outperformance of our male students over females in almost all items from the inventory, this study shows that both groups are still holding the same kind of misconceptions. We were able to find a full list of common misconceptions between the two groups using the method of dominant incorrect answers.