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ERIC Number: EJ1218206
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2469-9896
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Reducing the Gender Gap in Students' Physics Self-Efficacy in a Team- and Project-Based Introductory Physics Class
Espinosa, Tobias; Miller, Kelly; Araujo, Ives; Mazur, Eric
Physical Review Physics Education Research, v15 n1 Article 010132 Jan-Jun 2019
Self-efficacy represents an individual's belief that he or she can perform a particular task in a given domain. It is a strong predictor for performance and persistence in STEM education. Research shows that there is a large and persistent gender gap in student self-efficacy in STEM academic disciplines. In some cases, active teaching strategies have been shown to positively affect physics self-efficacy but it is unclear how this impact differs between men and women. In this study, we investigate the impact of a physics class taught with active teaching strategies on students' self-reported physics self-efficacy and how this impact varies across gender lines. We measured the change in physics self-efficacy over four different dimensions; conceptual understanding, problem-solving, lab and hands-on activities, and collaborative work. We report three main findings. First, the initial physics self-efficacy gender gap disappeared by the end of the semester. Second, female students' self-efficacy improved significantly, whereas there was no significant change in the self-efficacy of the male students. Third, the gender gaps in the conceptual understanding and problem-solving dimensions in particular, were significantly reduced. This study represents an initial step towards understanding the influence of active teaching strategies can have on reducing the self-efficacy gender gap.
American Physical Society. One Physics Ellipse 4th Floor, College Park, MD 20740-3844. Tel: 301-209-3200; Fax: 301-209-0865; e-mail: assocpub@aps.org; Web site: http://prst-per.aps.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Massachusetts
Grant or Contract Numbers: DUE1504664
Author Affiliations: N/A