The Confidence Gap: Part II
If women are more easily discouraged from
pursuing studies in physics due to the "confidence gap," identifying and
correcting practices which tend to demoralize students of both sexes should be
of particular help to women students.
B. Preparation gaps
If women are more easily discouraged from pursuing studies in physics due to the "confidence gap," identifying and correcting practices which tend to demoralize students of both sexes should be of particular help to women students.
One factor which plays a significant role in demoralizing students is the presence of unacknowledged preparation gaps. Not every student starts their first college physics class knowing the same amount of physics, and any subject is easier to understand if you?ve seen the material before. Unfortunately, students aren't necessarily aware of these differences in preparation, and will blame themselves for not catching on as quickly as someone who may have had a year or more of additional experience with the subject. Most of the time professors fail to make any attempt to sort students by preparation levels, or to at least mention that such differences exist.
This is a pet peeve of mine as I have witnessed this both personally and as a tutor for introductory math and science classes. Introductory math classes were, in my experience, some of the worst offenders. I recognize that a college cannot help it if some students had fewer opportunities in high school than others, and cannot teach to the level of the most poorly prepared student. But it seems not too much to ask that a course advertised as "Introductory Calculus" should proceed on the assumption that the students enrolled have no prior knowledge of calculus. This was, it is true, often not the case, as many students who had taken calculus in high school decided to repeat the class in college, either because they doubted that they were fully up to the standard for the next level course, or in order to ensure an easy A. The instructors knew this and took it into account when teaching. This resulted in my tutoring several students who turned out to be quite good at math, but had gotten lost when the instructor zipped past a point they'd assumed everyone was already familiar with.
In my own case, I had taken physics in high school, but the class was taught by a one-year substitute unaffectionately named "The Leprechaun," who was, to put it mildly, somewhat lacking in his teaching abilities. The first couple weeks of my freshman mechanics class were vaguely familiar, and after that it was uncharted territory for me. It seems like it should have been obvious (I was under no illusions about the Leprechaun's teaching ability) but it wasn't until after the class was long over that it dawned upon me that the reason some of my classmates found it much easier than me to understand these new concepts was that these concepts weren't new to them.
Ideally, students would take placement tests at the beginning of the semester to help assign them to the course level, or even a particular section, that is appropriate for their level of preparation. There may be a limited number of different sections that a college can offer for any course, and it impossible to monitor every student?s course choice, but there should at least be questions when a student with a passing Advance Placement score chooses to take an introductory course they could place out of. Instructors should be reminded to teach introductory classes at a truly introductory level. If more advanced students are bored, that's the price they pay for choosing not to challenge themselves with a more difficult course. And in cases where students are qualified and want to take a higher level course, the department should not insist that everyone must endure the same introductory sequence regardless of prior experience.
Perhaps the simplest corrective step is for professors to remind students, early and often, that there are almost certainly differences in preparation among the class members, and that this is likely to affect how readily they will comprehend the course material. A brief summary of topics students are expected to know coming in would at least give less prepared students a warning that they will have more catching up to do, and indicate which areas they might want to get extra help on. Students should be assured that it is hardly their fault if their high school did not offer the same opportunities as others, and reminded of procedures to arrange for additional tutoring if required.
If women are more easily discouraged from pursuing studies in physics due to the "confidence gap," identifying and correcting practices which tend to demoralize students of both sexes should be of particular help to women students.
One factor which plays a significant role in demoralizing students is the presence of unacknowledged preparation gaps. Not every student starts their first college physics class knowing the same amount of physics, and any subject is easier to understand if you?ve seen the material before. Unfortunately, students aren't necessarily aware of these differences in preparation, and will blame themselves for not catching on as quickly as someone who may have had a year or more of additional experience with the subject. Most of the time professors fail to make any attempt to sort students by preparation levels, or to at least mention that such differences exist.
This is a pet peeve of mine as I have witnessed this both personally and as a tutor for introductory math and science classes. Introductory math classes were, in my experience, some of the worst offenders. I recognize that a college cannot help it if some students had fewer opportunities in high school than others, and cannot teach to the level of the most poorly prepared student. But it seems not too much to ask that a course advertised as "Introductory Calculus" should proceed on the assumption that the students enrolled have no prior knowledge of calculus. This was, it is true, often not the case, as many students who had taken calculus in high school decided to repeat the class in college, either because they doubted that they were fully up to the standard for the next level course, or in order to ensure an easy A. The instructors knew this and took it into account when teaching. This resulted in my tutoring several students who turned out to be quite good at math, but had gotten lost when the instructor zipped past a point they'd assumed everyone was already familiar with.
In my own case, I had taken physics in high school, but the class was taught by a one-year substitute unaffectionately named "The Leprechaun," who was, to put it mildly, somewhat lacking in his teaching abilities. The first couple weeks of my freshman mechanics class were vaguely familiar, and after that it was uncharted territory for me. It seems like it should have been obvious (I was under no illusions about the Leprechaun's teaching ability) but it wasn't until after the class was long over that it dawned upon me that the reason some of my classmates found it much easier than me to understand these new concepts was that these concepts weren't new to them.
Ideally, students would take placement tests at the beginning of the semester to help assign them to the course level, or even a particular section, that is appropriate for their level of preparation. There may be a limited number of different sections that a college can offer for any course, and it impossible to monitor every student?s course choice, but there should at least be questions when a student with a passing Advance Placement score chooses to take an introductory course they could place out of. Instructors should be reminded to teach introductory classes at a truly introductory level. If more advanced students are bored, that's the price they pay for choosing not to challenge themselves with a more difficult course. And in cases where students are qualified and want to take a higher level course, the department should not insist that everyone must endure the same introductory sequence regardless of prior experience.
Perhaps the simplest corrective step is for professors to remind students, early and often, that there are almost certainly differences in preparation among the class members, and that this is likely to affect how readily they will comprehend the course material. A brief summary of topics students are expected to know coming in would at least give less prepared students a warning that they will have more catching up to do, and indicate which areas they might want to get extra help on. Students should be assured that it is hardly their fault if their high school did not offer the same opportunities as others, and reminded of procedures to arrange for additional tutoring if required.
Posted: Wed - April 16, 2003 at 06:20 PM
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Published On: Nov 16, 2003 06:43 PM
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Published On: Nov 16, 2003 06:43 PM