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Physical Review Physics Education Research
written by Sonja Cwik and Chandralekha Singh
Student motivational beliefs in introductory physics courses can influence their course outcomes as well as their retention in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines and future career aspirations. Prior research has shown that students' perceived recognition by others as a physics person is important in predicting their physics identity and career choices. This study used validated survey data from 827 students in the first of two college algebra-based introductory physics courses primarily taken by bioscience majors, in which women make up approximately 67% of the class. We investigated how the students' perceived recognition by instructors and teaching assistants (TAs) as a physics person predicts their grade at the end of a mandatory physics course for bioscience majors in which women are not outnumbered by men. We found that overall women had lower perceived recognition than men as a physics person and their perceived recognition played an important role in predicting course grades controlling for high school GPA and math SAT scores. Since physics as a discipline presents a barrier to women due to deep-rooted societal stereotypes and biases about who can excel in it, the numerical representation of women alone in these courses does not imply that they will feel recognized by their instructors and TAs as a physics person without an intentional effort to make the learning environment equitable and inclusive. These findings suggest that physics instructors and TAs should focus on changing the culture in their physics classes and create an equitable and inclusive learning environment in which students from traditionally marginalized demographic groups, e.g., women, feel recognized, and can excel.
Physical Review Physics Education Research: Volume 18, Issue 1, Pages 010138
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Classical Mechanics
- General
Education Foundations
- Achievement
- Research Design & Methodology
= Data
= Validity
- Sample Population
= Gender
- Societal Issues
= Gender Issues
- Student Characteristics
= Affect
- Teacher Characteristics
= Affect
= Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Education Practices
- Classroom Management
- Learning Environment
- Pedagogy
= Instructional Issues
- Recruitment
= Diversity
General Physics
- Physics Education Research
Other Sciences
- Life Sciences
- Upper Undergraduate
- Reference Material
= Research study
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Access Rights:
Free access
License:
This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
Rights Holder:
American Physical Society
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.18.010138
NSF Number:
DUE-152457
Keywords:
IPLS gender study, belongingness, bioscience gender study, expectancy value theory. motivational theory, gender equity, gender imbalance, perceived recognition, physics identity
Record Creator:
Metadata instance created June 28, 2022 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:
July 16, 2023 by Caroline Hall
Last Update
when Cataloged:
May 31, 2022
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AIP Format
S. Cwik and C. Singh, , Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18 (1), 010138 (2022), WWW Document, (https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.18.010138).
AJP/PRST-PER
S. Cwik and C. Singh, Not feeling recognized as a physics person by instructors and teaching assistants is correlated with female students’ lower grades, Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18 (1), 010138 (2022), <https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.18.010138>.
APA Format
Cwik, S., & Singh, C. (2022, May 31). Not feeling recognized as a physics person by instructors and teaching assistants is correlated with female students’ lower grades. Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res., 18(1), 010138. Retrieved April 21, 2025, from https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.18.010138
Chicago Format
Cwik, Sonja, and Chandralekha Singh. "Not feeling recognized as a physics person by instructors and teaching assistants is correlated with female students’ lower grades." Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18, no. 1, (May 31, 2022): 010138, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.18.010138 (accessed 21 April 2025).
MLA Format
Cwik, Sonja, and Chandralekha Singh. "Not feeling recognized as a physics person by instructors and teaching assistants is correlated with female students’ lower grades." Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18.1 (2022): 010138. 21 Apr. 2025 <https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.18.010138>.
BibTeX Export Format
@article{ Author = "Sonja Cwik and Chandralekha Singh", Title = {Not feeling recognized as a physics person by instructors and teaching assistants is correlated with female students’ lower grades}, Journal = {Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.}, Volume = {18}, Number = {1}, Pages = {010138}, Month = {May}, Year = {2022} }
Refer Export Format

%A Sonja Cwik %A Chandralekha Singh %T Not feeling recognized as a physics person by instructors and teaching assistants is correlated with female students' lower grades %J Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. %V 18 %N 1 %D May 31, 2022 %P 010138 %U https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.18.010138 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Journal Article %A Cwik, Sonja %A Singh, Chandralekha %D May 31, 2022 %T Not feeling recognized as a physics person by instructors and teaching assistants is correlated with female students' lower grades %J Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. %V 18 %N 1 %P 010138 %8 May 31, 2022 %U https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.18.010138


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Not feeling recognized as a physics person by instructors and teaching assistants is correlated with female students’ lower grades:

Is By The Same Author and Covers a Similar Topic As Students’ sense of belonging in introductory physics course for bioscience majors predicts their grade

A 2022 study by the same researchers on how a sense of belonging in an introductory physics course for bioscience majors predicted female students' grades.

relation by Caroline Hall

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