The Girls into Physics project

The Girls into Physics project Bob Ponchaud The continuing under-representation of female students in physics is still of concern; this Institute of Physics project investigated the causes and strategies for improving take-up What are the facts about the take-up of physics in the UK? Well the good news is that more students than ever study physics up to the age of 16 and the decline in physics A-level numbers has halted, or at least stalled. In 2007 there were more than 27 000 candidates, making physics the thirteenth most popular subject. Those that take it attain well. A higher proportion of candidates attain A* or A grades in GCSE physics than any other single subject, including the other sciences. At A-level, physics is amongst the subjects with the highest performing students. At GCSE level, male candidates attain slightly better results than female, but at A- level female students do better than male, with 35 per cent of female students gaining an A grade in 2007 compared with 29 per cent of male students. Although still well below their peak, numbers of physics undergraduates have begun to rise slowly, so perhaps things are beginning to improve. However, it is not all good news and the improved trends are not established. Of the 27 466 UK physics candidates in 2007, 21 537 were male and only 6109 female. To put it another way, physics is the sixth most popular subject with male students, with 5.8 ABSTRACT The issue of there being only a small proportion of female post-16 physics students in the UK has been with us a long time, perhaps so long that we have come to take this state of affairs for granted. The Girls into Physics project, funded by the Institute of Physics, set out to revisit this subject in the light of continuing and growing concern about the shortage of students taking physics at 16 and beyond. As part of the project, research was reviewed, schools where take-up was good were visited and teachers were trained and supported so that they could carry out their own school-based action research. per cent taking the subject at A-level. However, only 1.4 per cent of female students opt for physics, ranking it at a lowly nineteenth in popularity. Other worrying statistics are to do with the supply of physics teachers. Only about 15 per cent of trainee science teachers are physicists, less than the 19 per cent currently teaching science. The Government s ambitions are high in both these areas: the aims are to have 35 000 A-level physics candidates by 2014 and 25 per cent of science teachers with a physics qualification. Well, maybe these are high targets but we certainly need to review what is known about girls and physics and what we can do to improve the situation. Concern about the continuing underrepresentation of female students in physics led the Institute of Physics (IOP) to commission, as part of its Girls into Physics project, two pieces of work in 2004. These were: Girls in the physics classroom a review of the relevant research literature by Patricia Murphy and Elizabeth Whitelegg at the Open University. Yes she can an investigation by myself (an ex- HMI for Science) into schools that are successful in attracting girls to study A-level physics and how this might inform other schools. A booklet giving the findings from these two pieces of work was published in June 2006 along with A teachers guide for action. Two videos were produced to accompany these booklets and help stimulate discussion as part of teachers professional development, one of which was nominated for a Royal Film Society Award for educational films. Saving Nellie and Key stage 3/4: Girls into physics both include practical suggestions on how teaching might take more account of the likes and dislikes of girls in the physics classroom, without of course making the subject less attractive to boys. School Science Review, March 2008, 89(328) 61

Ponchaud Copies of these materials are available from: www.iop.org/activity/education Girls in the physics classroom Girls in the physics classroom: review of research on girls participation in physics drew on a large number of research sources (177), mostly covering ages 11 16. Although there was much research, relatively little was recent. The report found evidence that key determinants of students attitudes to physics are: how students see themselves in relation to the subject, both now and in the future: their physics self-concept ; their experience of school physics; a personally supportive physics teacher. The research suggests that there are gender differences in what students consider personally relevant. Girls are, for example, more likely to value the social context in which tasks are set. However, much school physics is not concerned with the social context at all. Self-concept is an also an important factor in student choice. Even though girls generally achieve as highly as boys they are less likely to rate themselves as successful learners in physics. Young women, as they progress through education, increasingly see no future in a career in sciences, particularly physics. In the past, attempts to remedy the imbalance between girls and boys tried to compensate for the difficulties experienced by girls, rather than change the curriculum or approaches to teaching. Overall, the long-term impact of such initiatives appears alas to have been limited. A range of studies, such as Beyond 2000 (Millar and Osborne, 1998) and What should we teach about science? (Osborne et al., 2001), have suggested the need to change the curriculum so that it is more context based or humanistic and encourages learning about science as well as including a core of ideas and information. In fact, some of the changes that have already taken place at key stage 4 (14 16 year-olds), such as the inclusion of topics on How science works, have moved things in this direction. It remains to be seen whether these will have an impact on girls attitudes and hence options. All students require support from teachers, but in physics, where some girls have a less positive self-concept, it is much more important for girls to receive support. Expectations are also critical: teachers expectations of boys tend to be higher than their expectations of girls in mixed contexts. Boys also receive more attention in class although most of us are not aware of this. Expectations of girls are higher in single-sex schools and subject preferences are less polarised, which might go some way to explaining why girls appear more inclined to choose physics in the single-sex school context. The report suggests that there are some myths that have grown around the issue of girls and physics and points out that: enjoyment of physics won t increase participation on its own; girls can achieve high grades and still not feel satisfied with their understanding; teachers effects on girls and boys differ; single-sex organisation alone will not increase participation; girls access and achievement in physics at GCSE is limited by teachers entry decisions; girls do less well in the physics component of double award and in separate physics GCSE compared to boys (in England and Wales); girls are not afraid of physics any more than boys are. However, girls find it less interesting and less relevant to their career choices. The report also expresses considerable concern that, despite the identification of the problem, we still do not have research-based understanding of why gender has such a profound impact on the choice of physics post-16. It makes several recommendations concerning actions that should be taken to monitor each stage of education and curriculum choice, and research carried out to inform action. For example, it suggests that more research is needed to find out teachers views about the characteristics of students they consider as capable of studying physics post- 16 and how these views influence their award and tier entry practices at GCSE. It also highlights the need for qualitative studies that provide evidence and tools for teachers to use in dealing with gender differences in the classroom. Yes she can! The Yes she can publication was based on classroom observation in schools at which physics take-up post- 16 was particularly high. The essential question asked was What is going on in the physics lessons at these schools which might help create the conditions in which girls are more likely to be engaged, motivated and want to pursue physics? I was surprised to find how male physics teaching often was, regardless of the gender of the teacher. Things like the abbreviated use of language, illustrations based on machines, 62 School Science Review, March 2008, 89(328)

lack of social contexts and emphasis on individual response rather than group discussion appeared to be features of the way the subject has traditionally been taught. The report suggested practical ways in which physics teaching might engage female students, including the top tips shown in Box 1. BOX 1 Top tips to engage female students in physics Encourage collaboration in learning through more group discussion and activities. Present the big picture whenever possible rather than just concentrating on individual ideas. Give students the privacy and confidence to take risks in their thinking and responses by careful use of formative questions and the use of individual whiteboards for example. Vary the grouping in class for practical and other activities to avoid some students dominating and others (often girls) becoming passive. Don t talk equations ; develop ideas before using technical language and then use it in context. Use a variety of illustrations based on male and female students interests. Use a variety of analogies that help the student and accept, for discussion, any they suggest. Have an explicit rationale for teaching, which includes social relevance. Set tasks and ideas in a social context whenever possible. The report also deals with other influential areas such as the school ethos, curriculum organisation and management. It suggests, for example, that schools may not have got the balance right between giving students a broad view of what careers can be pursued with a physics qualification and the intrinsic interest in the subject. Most students who choose to pursue English or history, for example, do not end up in professional pursuits directly related to these subjects so why should studying physics rely on a commitment to research science or engineering? Action research projects The third and current phases of the Girls into Physics project involve action research by teachers. This was partly a response to the fact that there appeared to be relatively little recent research into the effectiveness of different classroom strategies on improving the response to and take-up of physics by girls. Professional development sessions based on the publications and films were held at Science Learning Centres during the autumn term 2006, after which participants designed an intervention to try in their own schools. The opportunity to take part is now being extended, following a successful bid for funding from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and continued support from the IOP and Science Learning Centres. Projects in the first phase included: the effect of classroom management on attitudes to physics including single gender groups for practical work, display work and discussion; making physics more relevant to girls this included topics such as dancing, ice skating, medical topics, music, the human body and movies; male and female response to different teaching approaches and activities; the influence of teaching resources on male and female perceptions of physics and its career relevance; classroom assessment and its possible effects on attitudes towards physics; the use of external speakers and guests to teach physics and the impact on attitudes to physics. The first group of teachers reported back on their project findings in the summer of 2007 at the Institute of Physics and in a seminar held at the British Association Festival of Science in autumn 2007. The following examples are typical of those which reported back. Project 1: Specialist teaching Following the initial project session at the Science Learning Centre East, Caitriona McKnight, a teacher at Saffron Walden County High School, chose to investigate the effect of having a specialist teaching physics. Aware that there was an overall shortage of physics teachers, as in many schools, it was decided to make occasional use of a guest physics teacher. An initial survey of students attitudes to physics was carried out before the intervention. (A sample questionnaire is available in the IOP booklet A School Science Review, March 2008, 89(328) 63

Ponchaud teachers guide for action and is available online as a Word document). This showed that many more girls than boys regarded physics as difficult (+47 per cent) and fewer were interested in the subject ( 38 per cent). A review of the timetable revealed that physics topics were taught by non-specialists for 60 per cent of the time. (Specialists were defined as those who felt confident teaching physics and extending student knowledge beyond the specifications if necessary.) Guest speakers, from the school staff, were invited in to year 10 and 11 lessons to answer students questions and introduce or review topics that the usual teacher found challenging. Clearly this had to be done in a way that did not undermine the class teacher. This was done by having reciprocal arrangements that demonstrated that all teachers were specialists in their own areas. The question forum was also intended to deal with questions that went beyond the GCSE specification. A post-intervention survey was carried out. Twothirds of students, boys and girls, thought that the use of specialists in this way improved their enjoyment and understanding of physics. The differences in perception of the difficulty of physics and interest in the subject by boys and girls reduced substantially. As a result of these favourable outcomes the department has decided to ensure that the timetable permits some specialist teaching of physics for all. Numbers of girls opting to take physics at AS level have increased, although it is, of course, early days in the life of the project. Typical student comments about this project included: Having a specialist makes a difference because: they have a deeper knowledge of the subject and can explain it in a more interesting way and help you more easily when necessary; they can teach in more depth, adding interest to the lesson; if they know more about the subject they can go into more depth and use alternative examples to represent what is happening; this is a better visual way of learning. Project 2: Making physics relevant to female students Antonia Rowlinson from St Anthony s RC girls school was keen to investigate ways of motivating high-ability students who had previously shown little interest in physics. An initial survey showed just how negative their views were, with 80 per cent of the project class regarding physics as boring! An additional brief survey of their interests gave some helpful clues as to the contexts for teaching that might help change these persistently negative attitudes to the subject. It showed that they were interested in leisure pursuits such as dancing, music, movies and fitness and aspired to careers in fields such as medicine, journalism and law. Without distorting the curriculum, lessons were taught in which the physics was contextualised or illustrated in the areas of interest revealed by the survey. The topic being taught at the time was on forces. For example, questions on friction were set in the context of the then current Strictly Come Dancing television programme. Ideas of pressure and hydraulics were developed through discussion of giving a patient an injection, and levers by reference to the human skeleton. Interest in movies was tapped by showing an extract from Pirates of the Caribbean in which two characters fight balanced on a plank. Creative writing and argument about an accident on a building site were developed particularly with the would-be journalists and lawyers in mind, but were enjoyed by the whole class. The follow-up survey showed that whilst the activities had not substantially shifted the students perceptions about physics there were improvements. More girls saw physics as relevant to their career aspirations and far fewer saw it as a boys subject. Perhaps the most significant changes for the teachers involved were improvements in interest, motivation and behaviour. As one said: After attending training, analysing surveys and trial and error in the classroom, I have changed how I teach physics topics to girls. I now look for opportunities to relate my lessons to the interests of the students. This approach has been successful in improving classroom management of challenging high-ability groups. Project 3: Increasing girls engagement and participation in discussion Margaret Duggan of Comberton Village College decided to try some of the approaches suggested in Yes she can with a mixed year 11 class (15/16 yearolds). As with the other projects, a pre-intervention survey was carried out to find out about students perceptions of physics and how confident they were at giving their opinions and answering questions in physics lessons. Girls were found to favour discussion or written assessment rather than hands-up, although some liked open questioning as it helped them stay alert. Some commented that boys could be argumentative during class discussions, something they found 64 School Science Review, March 2008, 89(328)

distracting. Boys liked the competition element of hands-up questioning and said they learnt from the responses of others. Four techniques were then tried: group response to questions with avoidance of hands-up; same-sex groups within the class; rotating roles during practical activity; expert and rainbow discussion groups (expert groups investigate particular aspects of a topic and then one from each group contributes what they have found out in mixed rainbow groups). Observations during lessons and a questionnaire showed that girls were more likely to ask for help when working in groups rather than having to put their hands up. However, this response was more positive when the groups were single sex; in mixed discussion groups boys tended to dominate just as they did in a whole-class hands-up situation. The rotation of roles within same-sex practical groups was also successful in encouraging girls involvement and engagement in all aspects of the activity. The use of expert and rainbow groups was highly rated by girls, who like their on-going learning to be assessed in this way. As with all the other projects a post-intervention questionnaire was used. Girls responses were more positive overall, with an increase in willingness to ask questions and more girls saying they found physics easier than biology or chemistry. Unsurprisingly, however, fundamental views about the subject had not shifted. The intention is to couple these successful classroom approaches with ways of making physics more relevant to girls as in the previous project; it is recognised that the initiative needs to work across several aspects of teaching. The future The DCSF has decided to continue support for this project. The aim is to involve more teachers in action research and to disseminate their findings to provide everyone with practical ideas for addressing the issues of girls and physics. The intention is not to persuade girls to study the subject reluctantly, and certainly not to have a corresponding negative effect on boys uptake! It is much more about using effective teaching approaches that avoid placing barriers in the way of female students whilst being good for all. Most changes will be small but, as the project has already shown, small changes in approach really can make a difference. Useful websites www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk www.iop.org www.setwomenresource.org.uk www.wisecampaign.org.uk References and further reading Hollins, M., Murphy, P., Ponchaud, B. and Whiteleg, E. (2006) Girls in the physics classroom: a teachers guide for action. Institute of Physics. Millar, R. and Osborne, J. ed. (1998) Beyond 2000: science education for the future. Report of a seminar series funded by the Nuffield Foundation. London: King s College London. Murphy, C. and Beggs, J. (2003) Children s perceptions of school science. School Science Review, 84(308), 109 116. Murphy, P. F. and Gipps, C. V. ed. (1996) Equity in the classroom: towards effective pedagogy for boys and girls. London: Falmer. Murphy, P. (2000) Are gender differences in achievement avoidable? In Issues in science teaching, ed. Sears, J. and Sorensen, P. pp. 165 174. London, RoutledgeFalmer. Murphy, P. and Whitelegg, E. (2006) Girls in the physics classroom: a review of the research on the participation of girls in physics. Institute of Physics. Osborne, J. and Collins, S. (2000) Pupils and parents views of the school science curriculum. A study funded by the Wellcome Trust. London: King s College London. Osborne, J., Ratcliffe, M., Collins, S., Millar, R. and Duschl, R. (2001) What should we teach about science? A Delphi study. Evidence-based Practice in Science Education report. School of Education, King s College London: EPSE. Bob Ponchaud is the former lead HMI for science and now a freelance consultant. Email: bob.ponchaud@edcon-ltd.co.uk School Science Review, March 2008, 89(328) 65