Do female physics students benefit from informal physics programs they facilitate?

Abstract

Gender bias, reduced sense of belonging, and lower physics self-efficacy are among the challenges faced by female students who choose to study physics. Prior studies focusing on this underrepresented group have examined the experiences and impacts of formal educational settings, leaving the impact of informal physics programs as a relatively overlooked area. Existing research on the impact of informal physics programs indicates that student facilitators, who help run the programs, can experience positive impacts on their learning and sense of community beyond the formal setting of a classroom or laboratory. In this study we took a first step, narrowing our focus to explore the relation between facilitation of informal physics programs and female students' physics identity, persistence, mindset, and worldview. We analyzed survey responses (32) and interviews (11) collected from undergraduate and graduate female students at a large, land-grant university. Our results, based on self-reported data, showed a statistically significant shift in confidence of choice of major after facilitating informal physics programs. Analysis of interviews indicated a positive effect of facilitation of informal programs on female student interest and motivation with regards to the field of physics, improved performance and competence beliefs, and the development of characteristics indicative of a growth mindset. A semantic network analysis showed statistically significant interdependencies between positive persistence and constructs including growth mindset, important early undergraduate experiences, gender stereotype threat, external recognition, and confidence.