1. Colorado State University
Gender Disparity in STEM and the Role of Calculus AMS Committee on Education
Jessica Ellis
Colorado State University
Calculus I has been pointed to as a major contributing factor in students’ decisions to not pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines, despite years of research and innovations focused on improving calculus instruction. Motivated by this, the MAA has worked with researchers in mathematics and mathematics education to examine the current state of Calculus I programs across the country, identify institutions with more successful Calculus I programs, and conduct case studies at these institutions to understand the factors contributing to their success. In this talk I will highlight the major findings from the Characteristics of Successful Programs in College Calculus (CSPCC) project, many of which will be featured in a monograph to be published later this year. First I will draw on the survey data to discuss the current state of Calculus I across the country, particularly drawing attention to what this data tells us about the students who persist in their STEM disciplines after taking Calculus I and those that don’t. Second, I will summarize the key findings from our case studies, paying special attention to the preparation of graduate students involved in the teaching of Calculus I. Time permitting, I will also discuss our current work on a follow-up grant in which we are investigating the precalculus/calculus sequence.  

2. Acknowledgments MAA Portland State San Francisco State
David Bressoud
Michael Pearson
Linda Braddy
Olga Dixon
San Diego State Univ.
Chris Rasmussen
Dov Zazkis
Kady Hanson
Gina Nuñez
University of Michigan
Vilma Mesa
Nina White
Helen Burns
Portland State
Sean Larsen
Estrella Johnson
Erin Glover
San Francisco State
Eric Hsu
Addie Schnirel
Arek Goetz
Arizona State
Marilyn Carlson
Michael Tallman
NSF
Colorado State
Bailey Fosdick
Rebecca Cooper

3. Why focus on Calculus? Intro STEM courses (Calculus I) often to blame
PCAST: 1 million + Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) graduates needed
STEM Pipeline - Leaking
Intro STEM courses (Calculus I) often to blame
(Seymour & Hewitt, 1997; Thompson et al., 2007)
PCAST - over the next decade, approximately 1 million more STEM graduates above and beyond the current level of STEM graduate production will be needed in order to meet the demands of the workplace
Problem is two fold:
Increase number of students interested in a STEM major
Retaining college students who start out in a STEM major

4. Characteristics of Successful Programs in College Calculus
To improve our understanding of the demographics of students who enroll in mainstream calculus,
To measure the impact of the various characteristics of calculus classes that are believed to influence student success,
To conduct explanatory case studies of exemplary programs in order to identify why and how these programs succeed,
To develop a model that articulates the factors under which students are likely to succeed in calculus, and
To use the results of these to leverage improvements in calculus instruction across the United States.
Explain what mainstream means

5. Student beginning and end of term, and one year later
Phase I: Six web-based surveys to identify factors that are correlated with success in Calculus I
Student beginning and end of term, and one year later
Instructor beginning and end of term
Course Coordinator
Reasonable response rate
Positive (or neutral) changes in enjoyment,
confidence and interest in mathematics
Persistence to Calculus II
Other information we were able to obtain
= “success”
Surveys were sent out in fall instructor and 2 student surveys at beginning and end of term, Dept chair or calculus coordinator survey, follow up survey to student who volunteered their one year later.
Selection criteria: reasonable response rate; Success as determined from survey using variables of persistence in calculus as marked by stated intention to take Calculus II; affective changes, including enjoyment of math, confidence in mathematical ability, interest to continue studying math; passing rate; variety of institution types; other information we had about participating institutions
Phase II: Case studies of selected calculus programs

6. Gender representation in STEM
What is STEM?
Broad: includes behavioral and social sciences
Restrictive: physical sciences (including math), biological sciences, engineering, and technical majors

7. Women in U.S. STEM labor force

8. Percent of degrees earned by women

9. Why focus on gender?
"The worst kind of group for an organization that wants to be innovative and creative is one in which everyone is alike and gets along too well.”
Mannix, E., & Neale, M. A. (2005)
Mannix, E., & Neale, M. A. (2005). What differences make a difference? The promise and reality of diverse teams in organizations. Psychological science in the public interest, 6(2),

10. Why focus on gender?
"The worst kind of group for an organization that wants to be innovative and creative is one in which everyone is alike and gets along too well."
Mannix, E., & Neale, M. A. (2005). What differences make a difference? The promise and reality of diverse teams in organizations. Psychological science in the public interest, 6(2),

12. Why focus on gender?

13. We are losing a disproportionate number of women at every step along the “STEM pipeline”, despite boys and girls indicating similar interests in science and math

14. Who is leaving calculus?
Asked current Calculus I students: “Do you intend to take Calculus II?”
Beginning of Calculus I
Yes – STEM intending No
End of Calculus I
Yes
Persisters
Converter
Switchers
Culminater

15. Beginning of term survey End of term survey
Calculus Persistence
Gender
SAT/ACT Mathematics Score
Previous Calculus Experience
Intended Career/ Major
Reports of Instructor Quality
Reports of Student Centered Practices
End of term survey
There were 2,266 students for which we had complete data and of these 17.8% were identified as Switchers.
Logistic mixed effects regression model: we analyzed the association between Calculus persistence and gender, controlling for student preparedness, career intentions, instruction, and institution

16. Results + -

17. Results

18. Results

19. Results

20. A female student’s odds of switching are approximately 1
A female student’s odds of switching are approximately 1.5 times that of a comparable male student of the same preparedness, career goals, and reports of instruction (95% CI: )
Calculus I is a critical “leak” in the STEM pipeline, especially for women

21. Reason for not intending to take Calc. II
Reasons for leaving
End of term survey: “If you do not intend to take Calculus II, check all reasons that apply”
Reasons given by 329 Switchers
STEM-Intending
STEM-Interested
Reason for not intending to take Calc. II
Men
(37)
Women
(48)
(86)
(158)
1. I changed my major and now do not need to take Calculus II
70%
65%
33%
32%
2. To do well in Calculus II, I would need to spend more time and effort than I can afford
41%
35%
38%
37%
3. My experience in Calculus I made me decide not to take Calculus II
42%
45%
4. I have too many other courses I need to complete
27%
25%
50%
5. I do not believe I understand the ideas of Calculus I well enough to take Calculus II
14%
20%
Among STEM-intending students, 35% of women reported this as a reason while only 14% of men acknowledged it (p = 0.026). Among STEM-interested students, 32% of women reported this as a reason compared to only 20% of men (p = 0.051).
Only one reason is statistically different for men and women: perception of ability
Due to difference in ability or confidence in ability?

22. Confidence, not Ability
In this study, 42% of male switchers and 48% of female switchers got an A or B in Calculus I
Research conclusively states no math ability differences between genders
A meta-analysis of gender differences in mathematics found no differences in ability (Lindberg, Hyde, Petersen, and Linn, 2010 )
A study specifically looking at gender differences in Calculus I found that women outperform men (Islam & Al-Ghassani, 2015)
But there are differences in mathematical confidence between genders (Fennema & Sherman, 1978; Good, Rattan, & Dweck, 2012)

23. Role of confidence
We compare the change in student reported mathematical confidence among mathematically-capable students grouped by gender and persistence
Mathematically capable: standardized math scores at or above the national 85th percentile
All mathematically-capable students lose mathematical confidence over the course of Calculus I
Switchers experience a greater decrease in confidence than Persisters
Women start at a lower confidence and therefore end at a lower confidence, while experiencing the same decrease as men

24. Summary & Implications
Calculus I gives insight into experiences of women throughout pipeline
More (capable) women leave due to lack of incoming math confidence compared to men
Solution strategies
(Increase pipeline flow) Involve young women in STEM and build their confidence and interest early on
(Decrease pipeline leaks) View intro STEM courses as an opportunity to INCREASE confidence

26. How do we actually fix the problem?
Research-based strategies:
Personality plays more of a role than gender, and so interventions focused on developing a growth mindset (be resilient in the face of academic challenges) have been shown to positively affect willingness to engage in difficult material and performance (Alcock, Attridge, Kennya, & Inglis, 2014; Yeager and Dweck, 2012)

27. How do we actually fix the problem?
Research-based strategies:
Inquiry Based Learning (IBL) (a form of active learning) has been shown to support men and women in achieving similar learning gains, and women persist at higher rates compared to women in non-IBL courses (Kogan & Laursen, 2014; Laursen et al., 2011)
These gains may be more important for courses earlier in undergraduate’s math career (Laursen et al., 2011; Watkins & Mazur, 2013)
However – using active learning approaches can bring up other equity issues related to participation (Esmonde, 2009)

28. How do we actually fix the problem?
Research-based strategies: Role models in Calculus at San Diego State University (Susan Nickerson)
New NSF study, Inspiring Women to Thrive in STEM, that is investigating how peer role models can reduce stereotype threat and increase women’s persistence in the calculus sequence
“Our results show that peer role models have the intended effect on women highly identified with mathematics increasing both mathematical belonging and mathematical self-efficacy, but have no statistically significant effect on men or women with low mathematical identification.”

29. How do we actually fix the problem?
Progress through Calculus (PtC) study: Visit universities that support more women and students of color in getting STEM degrees, investigate their calculus sequence

30. Discussion Question As a chair, faculty member, or a program director:
How have you experienced (or witnessed) issues of inequity in our undergraduate math courses (such as through course enrollment, graduating student populations, etc.)
Knowing these issues exist (regardless if we see/quantify them on a daily basis), what can we do (and what have you tried) to address these issues?
Share with neighbors (~10 min), and then share out to group (~5 min)

31. Thank you! For more info and/or references:or
Yvette Solomon

33. Why focus on gender?

34. Why focus on gender?

35. Why focus on gender?

36. Why focus on gender?