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increasing enrollment of FEMALES in high school Physics electives . Branson Lawrence, Diane Hinterlong, Purva J. Rushi Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy ® . Decreasing Enrollment. Academy created for gifted STEM students in 10 th – 12 th grade
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increasing enrollment of FEMALES in high school Physics electives Branson Lawrence, Diane Hinterlong, Purva J. Rushi Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy®
Decreasing Enrollment • Academy created for gifted STEM students in 10th – 12th grade • Incoming sophomore class composed of equal numbers of male and female students • Female enrollment in physics electives growing disparity
Research and Action Plans • Quantitative Analysis - Examining Elective Enrollment Trends for 5 electives, 2003 – 2008 • Qualitative Analysis – Small Focus Groups to Examine Students’ Perceptions • Resulting Action Steps
Female Enrollment, 2003-2008 Graph of Female Enrollment in Physics Electives: Average percentage of female enrollment in all 5 physics electives, 2003-2008. Enrollment in 4 of the 5 physics electives was found to be significantly lower than male enrollment: Calc-Based (CB) , Electronics, Engineering = 34% female; Modern=40%. Exception: Advanced Physics = 54% female.
Differences in Enrollment, 2003-2008Table of Enrollment Differences between Females:Percent of females, by ethnicity, enrolled in each physics elective prior to graduation, 2003-2008. Example: From 2003-08, 63% of our African-American female graduates took Advanced Physics, but only 12% of them took Calc-Based Physics.
Grade Differences by Ethnicity, 2003-2008Graph of C’s:Percentage of C’s (or lower) earned by all female and male students, by ethnicity, 2003-2008 * Calc-Based = Only elective where >10% in each ethnic group earned a C * Latinos= Over 20% earned C in every elective (excludes Engineering) Example: From 2003-08, 19% of our African-American students who took Advanced Physics earned a C (or lower). *Engineering was excluded because there was fewer than 5 Cs from the 106 students.
Small Focus Groups • 14 students • Conducted by Dr. Margery Osborne (UIUC) Why students like physics:
Initial Steps Completed • Sound and Light elective moved to Fall semester. • 6 female alumni spoke with students. • Spring Elective Fair: • Current female students speaking/presenting on video. • Video of engineering projects, interviews with female students.
Initial Steps (continued) SI Physics changes for all sophomore students: • Allowing revisions on assessments • Reordering Topics • Grouping discussion among teachers
Next Steps • SI Physics: Self-paced for more personal attention • Alumni videotape for website/potential students • Engineering competition this fall for teams of sophomores (teams of 2 males and 2 females) • Considering workshops for younger students • Physics/engineering “career fair” in January, 2011 • Grant Writer • Your ideas?
Role of Technology • Use of 1-to-1 tablet – every student engaged in data analysis • Data collection using Vernier software & probes – aids in making the abstract more concrete • Moodle course management – access to tutorials, extra practice problems, efficient feedback mechanism • Use of You Tube, other videos,etc. – places learning in context