Impact of Instructor Gender on Student Performance and Attitudes in a Chemistry Course for Freshman Engineers

This study analyzes correlations between the gender of engineering students and their instructors and student perceptions, interactions, and successes in a general chemistry course for freshman engineers. Previous studies have shown that female engineering students are, in general, more comfortable seeking help than their male counterparts. Female students are also more likely to seek supplemental instruction (SI), including attending lecturer and TA office hours and lecturerled reviews. As retention of female students is a critical initiative for undergraduate engineering programs, understanding the motivation of students to utilize, or not utilize, SI resources is important to improving student and program success. The data for this study are based on students enrolled in a required fall-semester general chemistry course for freshman engineers at Northeastern University. Thirteen instructors, consisting of three male and one female lecturers and seven male and two female TAs, served as providers of SI. More than 400 students (~25% female) were surveyed after completing this course in Fall 2015 about their attitudes toward their lecturers and TAs, including approachability, competence, intimidation, and trust. This study seeks to understand the basis for these findings and the impact that lecturer and TA gender has on use of SI and subsequent student success. This study shows that the instructor gender had a statistically significant impact on the reported comfort of a student with and perceived competence of an instructor. Female students reported less comfort with male instructors, while male students reported that they perceived female instructors to have a lower level of competency. Despite these findings, less than 1% of students reported that the gender of an instructor affected their use of SI. It was found, however, that students, especially female students, more often reported that they found their male instructors to be more intimidating than female instructors. It was also found that students who had reported having an intimidating male instructor were less likely to seek SI. As shown in previous studies, use of SI has had a positive impact on student performance in a course. Therefore it is possible that the gender of a student and their instructor could impact overall student performance. Introduction and Background The study discussed in this paper sought to determine the impacts that the gender of lecturers and teaching assistants (TAs) has on students’ use of supplemental instruction (SI) within a required general chemistry course for freshman engineers. Previous studies have shown that students who participate in SI tend to perform better in class, as they have additional clarification and exposure to course material. Based on this finding, this study analyzed whether student and instructor gender have an impact on use of SI, and therefore student performance, in a general chemistry for engineers course. The chemistry course evaluated in this study was offered in different sections, taught by either a male or female lecturer and a male or female graduate TA. This division of students allowed for analysis of statistics for use of SI in correlation with gender data. In STEM fields the gender of lecturers and TAs has a significant effect on student performance in the classroom. Previous studies have reported that students tend to perform better in courses taught by lecturers and TAs of their own gender, particularly when the student is female. [1] Additionally, male students tend to rate male lecturers with higher competency levels than female lecturers, even if the objective quality of instruction is the same. One study, in which an online TA assumed either a male or female identity for two separate classes, confirmed that male students rate the competency of the “male” instructor significantly higher than the “female” instructor for the same level and quality of instruction. [2] Particularly in science and engineering disciplines, same-gender lecturers make students more comfortable in class, which can affect the way students perform in that class. [3] As a result of increased comfort levels, students have a tendency to view same-gender lecturers as role models. [1] [4] Conversely, it has been shown that female students are deterred from continuing their studies when they do not have a female lecturer in their introductory college years to act as a role model. Because there are many more male than female lecturers in the STEM fields, male students often have an easier time viewing their male lecturers as positive role models, reinforcing their confidence towards completing their STEM based degree. The gender of a student also plays a role in how comfortable the student feels when seeking additional help with coursework and assignments. Asking for help is essential in learning subject material in challenging classes in STEM fields. Use of SI has been correlated with improved student course grades.[5] SI allows students the opportunity to meet individually and in groups with lecturers and TAs, possibly improving their relationship with these instructors and benefitting their overall experience in a course. Even though extra help is offered to all students, the gender of a student can affect their willingness to participate in such SI. It has been shown that asking for help has a negative effect on the perceived competence of males but not of females. [6] Additionally, there exists a stereotype that males are more able to understand concepts in math and science than females. Females are expected to not understand these concepts after an initial introduction, which makes seeking extra help less stigmatized for female students. Conversely, males are expected to express a better understanding of this subject matter upon initial introduction, which may deter them from using SI when they could benefit from it. [6] As with student comfort, the gender of a student also can impact the overall course experience and performance of that student in STEM-related introductory courses. Before beginning college, male and female students are often at the same competency level in math and science. However, once beginning college, female students are 37% less likely to obtain a STEM degree when compared to their male counterparts. [1] This outcome may be attributed to the fact that STEM fields are populated largely by male faculty and students; unintentionally suggesting that female students are both not expected to and should not be majoring in a STEM degree. [7] This environment allows for male students to feel more comfortable and confident in pursuing a STEM-related major compared to their female counterparts. Furthermore, students tend to work with same-gender peers on group assignments out of class. Because there are significantly fewer female students than male students in STEM majors, female students have less opportunity to work with a variety of their peers and improve their overall course performance. [3] For STEM students, particularly female students, self-efficacy – defined as a student’s belief in his or her own ability to achieve academic success – is one of the greatest predictors of success in academic coursework. Female students, in general, rate themselves with lower self-efficacy in engineering coursework, even when they are, in actuality, achieving the same or better grades than their male counterparts. [7] According to previous research, there are a variety of factors that influence student self-efficacy and academic self-confidence, including perceived lecturer distance and intimidation. [8] Greater perceived faculty distance reflects a colder, detached, and more impersonal teaching style, which affects the overall classroom atmosphere and contributes to perceived lecturer intimidation. Gender stereotypes also play a part in self-efficacy, as according to traditional gender roles male students are better at math and science while female students excel in the humanities. Thus, female STEM students rate themselves with a lower selfefficacy than their male counterparts. [9] In a study done with STEM students in an introductory chemistry course, women had lower self-efficacies and a lower interest in obtaining a STEM degree after completing the course than their male counterparts. In this study male students, over the course of the semester, also reported feeling an increase in the support they received in pursuit of their STEM degree, in contrast to female students who did not feel an increase in support. [9] This lack of support may be attributed to the classroom environment created by the lecturer. As self-efficacy and interpersonal connection are key motivators of female student achievement and comfort in the classroom, decreased faculty distance and lessened perceived intimidation are critical to student success. [8] [10] The population for this study consisted of 431 students enrolled during the Fall 2015 semester in a required first semester general chemistry course for engineers targeted for freshmen. This course was offered in six lecture sections, each taught by a university professor: five sections taught by male lecturers and one by a female lecturer. Lecture sections had between 50-100 students and met three times a week in 65-minute blocks. Each lecture section was divided into subsections with approximately 30 students for recitation taught by a TA. Recitation met once a week for 100 minutes and was a required class during which students could review information taught in lecture, ask questions on the week’s on-line homework assignment, and take quizzes. Recitations were taught by seven male and two female TAs during the Fall 2015 semester. Students’ course grades were determined by a weighted combination of recitation attendance, weekly recitation quizzes, homework assignments, midterm exams, a final exam, and a group project in which students worked together in teams of three t