ROLE OF GENDER IN STUDENT AFFECT IN INTRODUCTORY PHYSICAL GEOLOGY COURSES AT MULTIPLE INSTITUTIONS
GARNET collected student responses to the MSLQ (Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire; Pintrich et al., 1993) at the beginning and end of the semester for the 2009/2010 academic year. Respondents represent 539 males and 607 females from 14 classes in 7 institutions ranging from research universities to community colleges. Responses in the 15 subscales of the MSLQ and various demographic data were statistically analyzed to characterize pre-instruction affect and the shift in affect during the course of the semester.
Incoming attitudes between the genders are significantly different in cognitive and metacogntive strategies (e.g. memorization, critical thinking), self-efficacy, test anxiety, time and study environment, and effort regulation. Females report less confidence (self-efficacy) in their ability to succeed in the course, have higher test anxiety, but record higher scores on most learning/cognitive strategies then their male peers at the beginning of semester. Shifts in value components (e.g. intrinsic goal orientation), self-efficacy, critical thinking, metacognition and elaboration strategies were significantly different between the genders. Female students recorded negative shifts in multiple scales (e.g., self-efficacy, task value, critical thinking). In contrast, males showed some negative shifts (e.g., self-efficacy) but increased their scores in several subscales (e.g., intrinsic goal orientation, critical thinking).
The differences in attitudinal shifts between the genders throughout the course of a single semester could have implications on the likelihood of recruiting female students into geology. Despite similar course grades, female students reported that they were statistically less likely to take additional classes beyond the introductory geology course compared to the male peers.