15-minute writing exercise closes the gender gap in physics

Female Physicists

A university physics professor closed the gender gap in his semester-long class by having his students engage in two fifteen-minute periods of writing.  And the prompt had nothing to do with science.


As Ed Kim reports, in his blog, Not Exactly Rocket Science, participants were asked to write about what they valued most in life -- creativity, humor, family, achievement -- and a few sentences about why.  The effects were significant:  the women achieved as well, and better, in some cases, than the men in those classes.



Researchers hypothesize that writing about core values and strengths helps combat what is called 'stereotype threat' -- the subconscious beliefs we all carry that certain groups are good, or bad, at particular activities.  (Basketball, fellow white guys?)  When any member of that group is engaged in the activity they are 'known' for failing at, he or she spends mental energy in anxiety, without being aware of it at a conscious level.  But writing about core beliefs seemed to shift subjects' attention in a way that allowed them to focus on the learning at hand in a more productive way.


What might this mean for our students?


Would it be worth a half an hour of your class to find out?


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