We investigate if the gender gap in conceptual understanding in an introductory university physics course can be reduced by using interactive engagement methods that promote in-class interaction, reduce competition, foster collaboration, and emphasize conceptual understanding. To this end we analyzed data from the introductory calculus-based physics course for non-majors at Harvard University taught traditionally or using different degrees of interactive engagement. Our results show that teaching with certain interactive strategies not only yields significantly increased understanding for both males and females, but also reduces the gender gap. In the most interactively taught courses, the pre-instruction gender gap was gone by the end of the semester.
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February 2006
PAPERS|
February 01 2006
Reducing the gender gap in the physics classroom
Mercedes Lorenzo;
Mercedes Lorenzo
Department of Physics and Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences,
Harvard University
, 9 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 and IES Universidad Laboral
, Avenida de La Mancha, s∕n, 02080 Albacete, Spain
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Catherine H. Crouch;
Catherine H. Crouch
a)
Department of Physics and Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences,
Harvard University
, 9 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 and Department of Physics, Swarthmore College
, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081
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Eric Mazur
Eric Mazur
Department of Physics and Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences,
Harvard University
, 9 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
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a)
Electronic mail: ccrouch1@swarthmore.edu
Am. J. Phys. 74, 118–122 (2006)
Article history
Received:
July 26 2005
Accepted:
December 02 2005
Connected Content
A correction has been published:
Erratum: “Reducing the gender gap in the physics classroom” [Am. J. Phys. 74 (2), 118–122 (2006)]
Citation
Mercedes Lorenzo, Catherine H. Crouch, Eric Mazur; Reducing the gender gap in the physics classroom. Am. J. Phys. 1 February 2006; 74 (2): 118–122. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2162549
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