Reducing the gender gap in students’ physics self-efficacy in a team- and project-based introductory physics class

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.

Figure 1

Physics self-efficacy scores obtained using the PSES survey in Appendix at the beginning (pre) and end (post) of the semester. Dark gray: male students; Light gray: female students. $N=65$ for 2016 and $N=39$ for 2017.

Figure 2

Self-efficacy change (overall and in each of the four dimensions) over the course of the semester for male (dark gray) and female (light gray) students. Data from both semesters (2016 and 2017) have been combined. Error bars represent the standard error of the mean; error bars that cross the axis indicate a change that is not statistically different from zero. **$p<0.01$ statistical significance of difference between male and female students. Abbreviations for the sources of self-efficacy are as shown in the text.