Presentations

    Factors affecting gender disparity in introductory physics, at APS Centennial Meeting 1999 (Atlanta, GA), Tuesday, March 23, 1999:
    In America, the disparity between the performance of women and men in physics is a matter of common concern; however, it is poorly understood. Is this disparity observed among physics majors at elite institutions as well as non-majors in one-year introductory courses? Does this disparity depend on the pedagogical approach used to teach the class? The high school physics or mathematics background of the students? The gender of the instructor?
    Gender, interactive teaching, and barriers to change, at Women in Science and Engineering Workshop, Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Newport News, VA), Monday, November 16, 2009:
    Can pedagogy alleviate the well-known "gender gap" in performance and representation in the physical sciences? I will show that women can succeed on par with male students in introductory classes that are taught cooperatively, rather than competitively. At the same time we found that the level of perceived confusion increases in classes that challenge every student to think about and respond to questions asked during class. This increase is a potential barrier to reform even though we have shown it to anti-correlate with performance.