Mainly to Peter, Caroline and Sally:

I have found this exchange of views, data and speculation fascinating.  It
prompts links with other aspects of physics education.   Caroline, I will
try to discuss with you what you have found and your plans for more
investigation.   One advantage I have is being able to "take the long
view" on some of these issues from a great deal of experience as a tutor.

I offer the following thoughts which tend to broaden the issue but which
may well be relevant:

We all know that the nature of physics exam questions both at university
and at school level has changed over the years in the direction of
providing more "scaffolding" - we tend now to say in exam questions "take
my hand and I will guide you but of course you will have to climb the
styles yourself".    I think this started at A level a long time ago and
propagated to universities.  It provides a legitimate link between
learning and assessment but tends to discount the essential competence of
being able to identify for yourself the key physical principles involved
in a situation.   At IC "synoptic" papers from previous years (we have had
them for generations) are used heavily in 3rd Year tutorials so students
get lots of examples of how to "think like a physicist" but they still
find the exams very challenging.  As a tutor, I sometimes used questions
from many years ago (which provided less scaffolding) to try to get
students to tackle problems without being led.  I think this helped them
to think more deeply.  I didn't detect any gender effects in this although
I made no systematic investigation of it.

One type of scaffolding which tends to worry students and to cause them
difficulties is when the question brings in context which is unfamiliar
(e.g. apparently bringing in properties of a certain nucleus or a type of
star or swing of a cricket ball!) where some students feel "I have not
learned about that so I cannot answer the question".   Gender or national
differences can easily creep in here.

One other aspect which might be involved here is the psychology of
learning.   I am not qualified to expound on this although what I have
read makes me think it is relevant and that we might find gender and
social background effects are involved in ways of thinking.  The ability
to idealize a situation (important in physics) is an example.

There is also the link between exam performance and  gender effects in the
choice of physics as a university subject (which differs
geographically/nationally, not just thinking of the UK).  Not all capable
students are attracted to physics.  Those who are, think in a particular
way about nature and the world around them and in their approach to
problem solving.  Although once a student has made that choice I would not
expect gender to be relevant to exam performance; but it seems it is.

Sorry if this opens things up too much!  I don't have preconceived ideas
about gender effects but certainly support efforts to investigate it.

Best Wishes,

Gareth

Physics Dept, Imperial College London

> And one where, perhaps, the OU students might come to the table
> differently from those who start their degree studies straight from
> school. Most of the latter, if not familiar with spherical cows, will be
> used to treating objects as point masses etc.
>
> Regards
>
> Peter
>
>
> From: Physics Education Research [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
> Philip Bradfield
> Sent: 14 February 2017 01:24
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Demographic gaps
>
> yes
> contextual/cultural "hidden variables" are a real danger
> Philip
>
> On Mon, Feb 13, 2017 at 6:05 PM, Sally.Jordan
> <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
> I agree that “In one sense, to be a physicist is to be able to answer
> open-ended questions”, but I’m not absolutely sure that in order to be
> a physicist you need to be able to answer the open ended questions we ask.
> They are, dare I say it, sometimes somewhat artificial, and there are at
> least two potential aspects of this which might lead to demographic
> differences:
>
> 1.       people in different demographic groups may, on average, just
> respond differently to particular types of questions.
>
> 2.       People from different backgrounds may have had different exposure
> to the “other things” (not physics) that they need to know e.g. the
> assumptions being made. So the teaching (or lack of it) may indeed be part
> of the issue. We have a particularly interesting situation at the Open
> University, with our lack of entry qualifications. For our level 2 physics
> module, we prepare students by teaching them the maths and science that
> they need – so we level the playing field in part. But we may not  teach
> them the “hidden” things e.g. that you’re expected to ignore air
> resistence, that objects should (sometimes) be modelled as points etc etc.
> There is some evidence that there may be a gendered difference here.
>
> I’m sure that we are all far too experienced as teachers to fall into
> the third potential trap i.e. to have problems with a context which
> discriminates against particular groups e.g. describing something
> happening in a game of cricket, which not everyone would understand. Mind
> you, don’t ask me about my O level physics paper, a few eons ago…all
> about car engines, about which at the time I had no knowledge or interest.
> These matters are discussed in a delightful, if rather old, little book:
> Gipps, C. V. & Murphy, P. (1994). A fair test? Assessment, achievement and
> equity. Buckingham: Open University Press.
>
> Sally
>
> From: Physics Education Research
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>] On Behalf Of Main,
> Peter
> Sent: 13 February 2017 14:02
>
> To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Demographic gaps
>
> I prefer the cylindrical giraffe.
>
> Forgive me coming late to this discussion – Outlook decided this
> discussion was Clutter.
>
> I have a comment and two questions. My comment is that I am slightly
> troubled by this scaffolding point. In one sense, to be a physicist is to
> be able to answer open-ended questions. However, I have noticed that, in
> some places, the teaching does not itself offer guidance on how to
> approach such problems and students are somehow just expected to do it. So
> the teaching could be part of the issue (if there is an issue.)
>
> My first question is related to that point: all examinations are
> artificial exercises – does one see the same effects when open-ended
> problems are solved as course-work or in group-work?
>
> The second question recognises that some departments still have synoptic
> papers: does one see gender differences in the results from those papers?
>
> Regards
> Peter
>
> Professor Peter Main CPhys FInstP
> Head of Department
> Department of Physics
> Faculty of Natural and Mathematical Sciences
> King’s College London
>
> Strand Building S7.04 | Strand | London | WC2R 2LS
> +44 (0)20 7848 2580<tel:020%207848%202580>
> +44 (0)7538363520<tel:07538%20363520>
> [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> :
> www.kcl.ac.uk<https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kcl.ac.uk&data=01%7C01%7Cpeter.main%40KCL.AC.UK%7Cb4df04114511490a29f308d454783c2e%7C8370cf1416f34c16b83c724071654356%7C0&sdata=vJIRwBCZ%2FYUnxZhYYMoqo3Br3aI797jqoJ%2FIJritg8k%3D&reserved=0>
>
>
>
> From: Physics Education Research [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
> Sally.Jordan
> Sent: 06 February 2017 18:00
> To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Demographic gaps
>
> By “scaffolding” I was referring to the point that our female students
> as a cohort seem to prefer questions which are less open ended than those
> that our male students prefer i.e. the women prefer questions which have
> several parts rather than just saying “here’s the problem, solve
> it”. I think others have found similar things, though of course we have
> to be careful not to generalise. Some women, including me, love open-ended
> questions.
>
> With regard to why this might be. We don’t know, but the suggestions
> that Philip makes are certainly plausible. Women seem to be less
> comfortable with questions which require you to model something in a way
> which doesn’t seem plausible in a real-world setting e.g. the spherical
> cow…
>
> Sally
>
> From: Physics Education Research [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
> Philip Bradfield
> Sent: 06 February 2017 12:46
> To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Demographic gaps
>
> re scaffolding ( ie clear contextual info within the question ? )
>
> (perhaps you would clarify this use)
>
> perhaps women are less confident (less experienced)  re making those
> appropriate assumptions sometimes necessary in order to focus the
> question.
>
> A matter of "world experience" ? ie they are more cautious about imposing
> their own interpretation even where this might be necessary in order to
> determine/refine  the context/crux of the question.
>
> ( of course, we must avoid ill-formed questions)
>
> sincerely
> Philip Bradfield MInstP CPhys
> STEM Ambassador
>
> On Sun, Feb 5, 2017 at 6:35 PM, Sally Jordan
> <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
> As some of your know, I promised to set up this discussion list ages ago,
> and I can only apologies for the delay.
>
> One of the things that has spurred me to activity now has been a renewed
> wish to collectively explore the reasons for demographic gaps in
> attainment on physics modules.
>
> The demographic gap that is clearest to us at the Open University is a
> significant difference in completion and attainment by gender on our
> Gateway Stage 2 physics module, with women doing less well. The effect is
> real and persistent, though it is not present on other modules. We have
> investigated various possible hypotheses and ruled out some of them. There
> don't appear to be other hidden demographic differences, though there is
> some indication that women who are less well prepared are more likely to
> drop out than similarly qualified men. This may be related to different
> motivation and confidence levels.
>
> There does not seem to be a particular correlation with assessment type
> (e.g. multiple-choice or long-answer questions) though particular
> questions (in particular those with less scaffolding) appear to be less
> popular and less well answered by women.
>
> Our work in this area is ongoing and we are keen to collaborate. How are
> others getting on?
>
> Sally
>
>
>
> --
> Philip Bradfield   MA MSc MInstP CPhys FHEA
> 1, Bannoch Brae,
> Transy Law,
> Dunfermline,
> Fife  KY12 7YF
>
> Retired University Senior Lecturer
> Private Tutor:
>       Maths, Physics & Chemistry
>
>
> 01383 740695<tel:01383%20740695>
> 07944 555460<tel:07944%20555460>
> -- The Open University is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC 000391), an
> exempt charity in England & Wales and a charity registered in Scotland (SC
> 038302). The Open University is authorised and regulated by the Financial
> Conduct Authority.
>
>
>
> --
> Philip Bradfield   MA MSc MInstP CPhys FHEA
> 1, Bannoch Brae,
> Transy Law,
> Dunfermline,
> Fife  KY12 7YF
>
> Retired University Senior Lecturer
> Private Tutor:
>       Maths, Physics & Chemistry
>
>
> 01383 740695
> 07944 555460
>