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DD01 (3:40 to 3:50 PM) | Contributed | Where women of color earn physics degrees: Fact and fiction
Presenting Author: Jessica Changstrom, Kansas State University
| Katelynn Hubbenig, Kansas State University
Additional Author | Angela C Johnson, St. Mary's College of Maryland
Additional Author | Apriel Hodari, Eureka Scientific
Additional Author | Eleanor C Sayre, Kansas State University
We elicited common narratives about where women of color earn bachelor’s degrees in physics, and compared those narratives to 12 years of IPEDS data, encompassing XXXXX physics graduates at YYYY institutions nationwide. We looked for shared characteristics among institutions where women of color tend to earn physics degrees, such as geographic location & setting, institutional size & mission, and fraction of people of color at the institution (among other characteristics). Physics departments in minority-serving institutions and women’s colleges tend to graduate proportionally more women of color, even after controlling for institutional racial and gender demographics, than predominantly white co-educational institutions. Other common narratives related to institution size, location, and Carnegie classification are not supported by the data. To help participants understand the landscape, we introduce an online tool for faculty, departments, and prospective students to compare among institutions.
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DD02 (3:50 to 4:00 PM) | Contributed | Exclusionary Fields or Departments?: Undergraduate Degrees for Women of Color
Presenting Author: Katelynn Hubenig, Kansas State University
Additional Author | Jessica R Changstrom, Kansas State University
Additional Author | Angela C Johnson, St. Mary's College of Maryland
Additional Author | Apriel Hodari, Eureka Scientific
Additional Author | Eleanor C Sayre, Kansas State University
Women of Color have been historically excluded from STEM fields, particularly in physics, mathematics, and computer science. How do these fields compare on a departmental level? We looked for correlations among the fraction of degrees earned by women of color in physics, math, and computer science among 1500 US institutions of higher learning using IPEDS data from 2008 to 2020. After normalizing for institutional racial and gender demographics, we sought correlational institutional characteristics (e.g. size, location, Carnegie classification, etc) to determine whether departmental practices or institutional characteristics were more likely to exclude women of color from these degrees. In this talk we discuss both institutional characteristics and intra-institutional inter-field correlations to suggest that all three disciplines are separately and especially bad at graduating women of color, even above and beyond their institutional racial and gender demographics.
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DD03 (4:00 to 4:10 PM) | Contributed | Investigating Experiences of Women in Color in Physics and Astronomy
Presenting Author: Lisabeth Santana, University of Pittsburgh
Additional Author | Chandralekha Singh, University of Pittsburgh
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This research focuses on the experiences of physics and astronomy graduate women of color. We conducted
semi-structured, empathetic interviews to understand their experiences in their graduate program and how they navigate the physics department at large research university, which is a primarily white institution (PWI). The interviews are guided by critical race theory (CRT). We use CRT to examine how racial identities play a role in the obstacles faced by these women, including interactions between peers and faculty members.
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DD04 (4:10 to 4:20 PM) | Contributed | Gender Bias in Peer Recognition Across Course Levels and Contexts
Presenting Author: Meagan Sundstrom, Cornell University
Additional Author | Ashley B. Heim, Cornell University
Additional Author | Barum Park, Cornell University
Additional Author | N. G. Holmes, Cornell University
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Recognition from others, including peers, is a critical component of students’ science identities. Gender stereotypes, however, may influence who gets recognized. Previous research has found a gender bias in students’ nominations of knowledgeable peers in introductory biology and physics courses, but not in a mechanical engineering course serving beyond-first-year students. In this study, we collected and analyzed student nominations of knowledgeable peers in three physics courses, separating recognition in laboratory (lab) and non-lab instructional contexts. Results suggest that whether or not a gender bias is present in non-lab perceptions depends on student population: courses serving first-year students exhibit a gender bias, while those at the beyond-first-year level do not. We also generally find no gender bias in lab recognition, suggesting that perceptions of peers form differently in these two contexts. We will discuss these results and their implications for teaching.
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DD05 (4:20 to 4:30 PM) | Contributed | Women Have Lower Physics Self-efficacy Controlling for Grade
Presenting Author: Sonja Cwik, University of Pittsburgh
Additional Author | Chandralekha Singh, University of Pittsburgh
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Self-efficacy has been shown to affect student engagement, learning, and persistence in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses and majors. Additionally, prior research has shown that women have lower self-efficacy than men in STEM courses in which women are outnumbered by men. This study examines the self-efficacy of men and women with similar performance in two consecutive algebra-based introductory physics courses in which women make up two thirds of the students. These were mandatory courses at a large public university in the US taken primarily by bioscience majors, many of whom are interested in health professions. Our findings show a gender gap in self-efficacy disadvantaging women when controlling for course grades in both physics 1 and physics 2 both at the beginning and end of the course. Additionally, we find that most of the gender gap in self-efficacy is due to biased perceptions rather than performance in the courses.
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DD06 (4:30 to 4:40 PM) | Contributed | Analysis of Free Supplemental Resources Impact on Diverse Student Body
Presenting Author: Dawson Nodurft, Texas A&M University
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Students enter introductory physics courses with a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences. Some are college ready, others are well ahead, and some need more help. To help all students succeed, we have created free supplemental materials aimed at helping different types of learners that include videos and practice exam bank. We will present the analysis of the impact of these supplemental materials on student outcomes in the introductory calculus-based electricity & magnetism class. In addition, we will compare these materials’ impact on different demographics of students. We will discuss how we tracked student usage of these materials directly through the website. In addition, we will share student feedback on the utility and impact of the supplemental materials.