Science Education International (Nov 2018)
Science Education International ¦ Volume 29 ¦ Issue 4 196 INTRODUCTION Many countries are concerned about the low number of women in science (D´Andola, 2016). Many researchers have investigated possible causes for why there is such a low number of women in sciences. For example, Moss-Racusin et al. (2012) found that there was a subtle gender bias favoring male undergraduate students in their double-blind study. Moss-Racusin et al. (2012) reported that male applicants were rated as more competent than their female counterparts for laboratory manager positions from faculty members of biology, chemistry, and physics departments. The role of nurture has been shown to be an important factor in the gender gap in spatial abilities by Hoffman et al. (2011) in their study of eight tribes in India. Harsh et al. (2012) demonstrated, however, that participation in an undergraduate research program before graduate school was effective for males and females in contributing to the pursuit postgraduate participation in chemistry and physics. A search of the literature highlights that there is literature concerned with gender differences in physics and mathematics, but few studies have been dedicated to the field of chemistry, especially chemistry taught at the university level. Two of these studies were Shibley et al. (2003) which examined cognitive ability in chemistry and Turner and Lindsay’s (2003) on cognition and organic chemistry. This paper study sought to examine university level chemistry, specifically to highlight if organic chemistry and physical chemistry are actually harder for one gender over the other. To address this question, the collected final scores of two modules of study over a 15 years’ period were analyzed. This analysis was undertaken to identify whether teaching with a gender perspective, an emphasis on reasoning and construction of knowledge, using molecular models in taught sessions, and applying open-book examinations had effect on the scores of students. Particularly, on whether there exists an interaction effect between student’s scores and gender. The university autonomous metropolitan (UAM) was founded in 1974 and was the third public university in Mexico City. The student population is about 42,000 students, which is distributed over five campuses. In four of these campuses, the traditional teaching methodology was followed; however, the Xochimilco Campus applied a module teaching method. The goal of this module teaching method was that the students would engage in active learning and have the ability to gather and analyze information. The assessment of the learning involved a range of artifacts such as homework, seminars, and included written examinations, in which the close-book examination method has been preferred by many teachers in Mexico. Is Chemistry as Hard for Women as for Men? A Case Study in the Bachelor of Biological Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the Autonomous Metropolitan University Xochimilco Campus in Mexico, City
Abstract
Few would deny that teachers play a decisive role in the learning-teaching process of students. The learning-teaching process with a gender equity perspective is an important tool to improve the participation and success of women in chemistry. The learning-teaching process with a gender equity perspective was analyzed using the final scores of two taught modules along with molecular models, students’ drawing of flow diagrams, and open-book examinations. Data collected over a 15 years’ period were subject to χ2 testing using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Software. Results found that the interaction effect between final scores and gender was statistically significant in the module of organic chemistry of drugs but not in the case of the module on drug production, which dealt with physical chemistry subjects. The significance of this study indicates that the teaching methodology used could help female students to learn both chemistry and physical-chemistry with better or similar outcomes than male students.
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