What I did for my summer vacation

1. What I did for my summer vacation sabbatical Keith Clay Room 323

2. What I had planned:

3. What really happened:

4. Calculus Physics Algebra Physics Statistics with AIP K12 Schools What I am talking about today:

5. What “Statistical Research Center” of “American Institute of Physics” does: • They are statisticians (not physicists) • They collect data about physicists… • …and other scientists… and science education. • Physicists make up their Advisory Council • They study: jobs in industry… education… high school teachers… grad schools… community awareness… and…

6. Ethnicity, Gender, and the Physics Community Results from the Statistical Research Center of AIP (Humbly reported by Keith Clay of GRCC)

7. Why should we care about women and minorities in physics? Race and gender equity in physics is awful. • Could this teach us about other equity problems? • Could physicists be an “indicator species”? • What should we tell our young girls? Our black and Latino children? • Can we figure out how we’re failing? • Is the situation hopeless? Success or failure in physics influences success in many other fields.

8. DISCLAIMERS • I am a white male. • I am not a statistician. • I did not collect the data. • Statistics can only hint at causes. • As an advisor to SRC@AIP I would gladly relay suggestions to AIP staff.

9. GENDER: Part OneAre women “less able”? Earlier this year…Harvard President Laurence Summers: Perhaps we should investigate whether women are innately less able than men in math and science. (paraphrased: the exact quote is not available)

10. Jan. 2005:Summers makes asinine statement! The next day:Time, Newsweek, NYT, Washington Post, and NPR descend on AIP! GENDER: Part OneAre women “less able”? Consider the case of Rachel Ivie • Becomes Experimental Psychologist. • Emphasizes statistical research. • Takes a job with SRC at AIP. • Dec. 2004:Authors study on women in physics. • Prepares for long winter’s nap.

11. GENDER: Part OneAre women “less able”? • The best conclusion of the SRC@AIP... • … based on all available data… • … after months of investigation… “no”

12. GENDER: Part TwoAre women less successful? • Do women fail or drop-out more than men? • Is discrimination statistically visible? • None of this data comes from pre-high school • Most of the data is in physics • All of the data is in academia

13. GENDER: Part TwoAre women less successful?

14. GENDER: Part TwoAre women less successful?

15. Percent of Bachelor’s Degrees Earned by Women in Selected Fields, 1966-2001. 2001 Source: National Center for Education Statistics. Data for Academic Year 1999 were not available. Compiled by AIP Statistical Research Center.

18. GENDER: Part TwoAre women less successful? They have fewer numbers, but… • On average they succeed (about) as often • All trends are positive (except comp. sci.) • “Upper levels” mirror earlier “lower levels” • The “Leaky Pipeline” doesn’t leak much • We’re now at 46% in high school

19. ETHNICITY: Do “equal skills” lead to “equal success”? Preamble: • Using self-identified ethnic classifications… Observations on math and science: • Average performance of Caucasian and Asian Americans is at one level. • Average performance of African and Latino Americans is at another. When (maybe why?) do differences appear?

20. ETHNICITY:How can we judge equal skills? Likelihood of Earning a Bachelor’s Degree vs. Mathematics Scores in Senior Year of H.S. Standardized Math % Earning a Bachelor’s Scores Test, (decile) within the next 8 years =============== =============== Highest 79 9th 63 8th 47 7th 40 6th 32 Lower 8 Average 32

21. Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded by Field and Race, Class of 2001 (NSF & AIP)

24. Obvious question: why are Latinos less successful than African-Americans? • Easier question to answer: What helps African-Americans to succeed?

25. African American Bachelor’s in Physics Universities that awarded the largest number of bachelor’s over last five years African American 5-Year Totals 57 Xavier University (LA) 40 Lincoln University (PA) 39 Southern University A&M (LA) 25 Alabama Agricultural & Mechanical University (AL) 22 Dillard University (LA) 22 Grambling State University (LA) 22 Hampton University (VA) 20 Benedict College (SC) 19 Jackson State University (MS) 19 Tuskegee University (AL) 18 Norfolk State University (VA) 17 Morehouse University (GA) 788 Total Number of African American physics bachelor’s from all degree granting departments: 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 & 2001 Source: AIP Statistical Research Center compiled from data collected by NCES

27. What inspires African-Americans who succeed in physics? When asked for top 3 sources of inspiration… • 40% refer to an African-American teacher of a subject other than physics • 20% cite inspiration from a white teacher • Very few cite a white physics teacher. Even at HBCU’s, most never seean African American physics teacher.

28. Pseudo-Conclusion • There are no definite conclusions. • These studies are ongoing. • AIP has accepted a huge research grant from NAS so expansion into new research areas is unlikely in the immediate future.

29. And what about Green River? • According to the American Association of Physics Teachers 2005 report, SPIN-UP TYC: Best Practices of Physics Programs “GRCC has strong minority and female student enrollments in all of its physics courses… GRCC has very high retention rates… students have performed extremely well on national assessment.” • We have no idea why, except… “The use of inquiry methods in all physics classes has led to greater student retention and understanding.”