Student diversity and the persistence of gender effects on conceptual physics learning

Abstract

At Ryerson University every year, hundreds of science and engineering students enroll into required introductory physics courses. The diverse educational histories and demographic characteristics of these students reflect the diversity of Toronto as an urban metropolis and Canada more generally. In this study, we investigate how students’ demographic and educational diversity affects their conceptual learning in introductory university physics. As expected, we found that the completion of a senior high school physics course is positively related to students’ initial conceptual understanding of physics. The unexpected result was that gender remained a predictor of the students’ initial conceptual understanding, even when the completion of high school physics was accounted for. Other demographic characteristics, such as students’ mother tongue and country of birth, seem not to matter. Students’ initial conceptual understanding was the strongest predictor of students’ course learning outcomes, which makes understanding students’ initial differences particularly important. Since learning outcomes in introductory science courses often impact students’ later success in undergraduate science degree programs, these results suggest that the impact of completing high school physics may extend far beyond the first year. The persistence of initial gender differences in students’ learning outcomes remains an ongoing concern.

Undergraduate Engineering Students’ Understanding of Heat, Temperature, and Energy: An Examination by Gender and Major

“…A pattern of females having lower pre-test scores on conceptual assessments than males has been revealed in physics education research (e.g., Docktor & Heller, 2008;Kost, Pollock, & Finkelstein, 2007;Noack, AN EXAMINATION BY GENDER AND MAJOR 128 Antimirova, & Milner-Bolotin, 2009). For example, Kost, Pollock, and Finkelstein (2007) found that a greater percentage of females were in the low pre-test score group than males when given the Force and Motion Concept Evaluation (FMCE) (Thornton & Sokoloff, 1998).…”

“…First, they have been used as pre-tests to determine students' prior knowledge. Differences in pre-test scores among students in the same physics class have been found (Kost, Pollack, & Finkelstein, 2007;Noack, Antimirova, & Milner-Bolotin, 2009). Even more, disturbing is that some research has found that discrepancies between those who scored higher and those who scored lower on pre-tests were maintained throughout an entire course (Noack, Antimirova, & Milner-Bolotin, 2009).…”

“…Differences in pre-test scores among students in the same physics class have been found (Kost, Pollack, & Finkelstein, 2007;Noack, Antimirova, & Milner-Bolotin, 2009). Even more, disturbing is that some research has found that discrepancies between those who scored higher and those who scored lower on pre-tests were maintained throughout an entire course (Noack, Antimirova, & Milner-Bolotin, 2009). Shallcross (2010) had suggested that by comparing pre-test with post-test results, concept inventories can be used to quantify students' improvement in understanding and the "… level to which the misconceptions have been corrected" (p. e. 2).…”

“…Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, and Tarule (1986) examined the impact of gender on the development of cognitive reasoning. Other researchers have compared males' and females' performance in physics (e.g., Docktor & Heller, 2008;Kost, Pollock, & Finkelstein, 2007;Noack, Antimirova, & Milner-Bolotin). Still others have considered the impact of multiple variables on gender differences in understanding science content (e.g., Chambers & Andre, 1997;Noack, Antimirova, & Milner-Bolotin, 2009).…”

“…When interest in the course was controlled, there was a significant and positive association between females actively participating in the current science course and their motivation to succeed, presumably leading to better achievement. Noack, Antimirova, and Milner-Bolotin (2009) examined the effect of gender, minority status, language, country of origin, parents' university background, and the completion of a high-level physics course on students' performance on the FCI (Hestenes, Wells, & Swackhamer, 1992). The researchers found that those who had previously taken a high-level physics course at the end of high school did better on the pre-test than those that did not, illustrating the importance of prior knowledge.…”