A gender analysis of student learning in physics

Assessment of student learning is an important vehicle for understanding the effectiveness of various pedagogical approaches. There are a number of assessment tools currently available within the domain of STEM education. Perhaps most notable are those that are a direct result of Physics Education Research (PER). One assessment tool that is widely used in PER is the Force Concept Inventory (FCI). This paper reports on a research study that involved the assessment of student learning of basic concepts in mechanics within an introductory physics course. Both qualitative and quantitative assessment strategies were employed. To qualitatively assess student learning, a variety of free-writing activities were used at a number of stages throughout the learning process. To quantitatively address the question of whether deeper student understanding was achieved, numerical results from the FCI will be presented. Data analysis will include a presentation of pre- and post-test FCI gains. Results of this study reveal that the FCI gains are significantly lower for the female students as compared to their male counterparts. Other studies in PER have noted similar results when a gender analysis of the data is considered. A discussion of the significance of these results will be presented and issues related to this apparent gender discrepancy as they relate to student learning in physics will be provided.