Views of female students who played the role of group leaders in introductory physics labs

Abstract

Understanding student views about learning physics in the lab context can be invaluable for efforts to improve student learning. In an ethnographic study in which two researchers observed introductory physics labs, we found that many women in mixed gender groups adopted the role of group leader or project manager and ensured that the group stayed on task and completed the lab work as expected throughout the semester. Here we report on an investigation of the views about the physics lab of four such female pre-medical students with high agency who came across as group leaders in a traditionally-taught introductory physics lab course for bio-science majors, and who strived to ensure that their group did well in the lab. Our findings are based on semi-structured interviews with these students. The interviews focused on diverse issues including the role of their male lab partners, other peers and the teaching assistant in their learning in the physics lab, their views about learning physics in lecture and lab courses, the role of physics labs in promoting conceptual understanding, learning in physics lab compared with other science labs, and the role of bio-inspired labs in their learning. We find that these female student group leaders had surprisingly similar views about these issues pertaining to the physics lab. We recommend that departments trying to revamp their physics lab courses reflect upon these findings in order to make the labs more effective.

Resistance to Critiques in the Academic Literature: An Example from Physics Education Research

“…Under repeated observations, there would likely be a range of outcomes and even opposite outcomes, and the results should be discussed in the light of possible competing interpretations. For example, a student interaction scenario in Doucette and Singh (2021) that is very similar to the interactions considered by Robertson and Hairston led to a very different interpretation in terms of female students assuming leadership roles. It would be valuable to identify methodologies that could distinguish between the interpretations of Robertson and Hairston and those of Doucette and Singh (2021).…”

“…For example, a student interaction scenario in Doucette and Singh (2021) that is very similar to the interactions considered by Robertson and Hairston led to a very different interpretation in terms of female students assuming leadership roles. It would be valuable to identify methodologies that could distinguish between the interpretations of Robertson and Hairston and those of Doucette and Singh (2021). Alternatively, some modification of the theory might need to be made.…”

How often does unguided peer interaction lead to correct response consensus? An example from conceptual survey of electricity and magnetism

“…While working with peers, they are less likely to be worried about being judged and are likely to explain their reasoning without being anxious which might take up cognitive resources that could otherwise be used to solve the problem [21][22][23]. It can also have a positive impact on motivational beliefs like self-efficacy [24][25][26], which is positively correlated with the performance of the students in courses related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) [27][28][29][30].…”