increasing enrollment of FEMALES in high school Physics electives

1. increasing enrollment of FEMALES in high school Physics electives Branson Lawrence, Diane Hinterlong, Purva J. Rushi Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy®

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. Small Focus Groups • 14 students • Conducted by Dr. Margery Osborne (UIUC) Why students like physics:

8. 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.

9. Initial Steps (continued) SI Physics changes for all sophomore students: • Allowing revisions on assessments • Reordering Topics • Grouping discussion among teachers

10. 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?

11. 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