NARRATOR:
You will hear two students discussing research into gender and achievement in physics.
NARRATOR:
First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 27.
NARRATOR:
Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 27.
LISA:
Greg, I finally read the article you recommended about gender and physics.
GREG:
The one on Akira Miyaki's study of university students.
GREG:
I found it unusual that the research team included both psychologists and physicists.
LISA:
At first, I wasn't sure which students took part.
LISA:
They weren't physics majors.
LISA:
They were studying subjects grouped under STEM, science, technology, engineering and…
GREG:
But physics formed part of all their degree courses.
LISA:
As I understand it, Miyaki's group began with the fact that women are less well represented in introductory college physics classes.
LISA:
On average, the women who enroll also achieve lower results than the men, although the reason isn't clear.
GREG:
Yes, the researchers were essentially looking for a way to raise the women's performance.
GREG:
To do that, they first had to understand the problem better.
LISA:
Let me see if I remember…
LISA:
The women in the physics class believed the male students thought women were poor at the subject and expected them to get low test scores.
GREG:
That was the women's belief, and it made them anxious, which did affect their results.
GREG:
But the belief itself was mistaken.
GREG:
The men weren't making those assumptions about the female students.
LISA:
Miyaki's team then used a very simple activity.
LISA:
The students completed some writing before attending physics class.
LISA:
What was it called?
GREG:
Values affirmation.
GREG:
They wrote an essay about things with personal significance.
GREG:
It wasn't specifically about physics, but about broader matters such as music or people who were important in their lives.
LISA:
So the exercise was intended to put them in a more positive frame of mind.
GREG:
Expressing those thoughts in words could help them relax and overcome psychological barriers to good performance.
GREG:
What surprised the researchers was the scale of the effect.
GREG:
This single activity moved the women's physics grades from the C range into the B range.
LISA:
That's a substantial improvement.
LISA:
Not quite an A, but impressive.
LISA:
It also suggests the women had previously been performing well below their real ability compared with the men.
GREG:
Still, the article omitted several details.
GREG:
For example, did the students write only once or on several occasions?
GREG:
More importantly, were they told why they were doing the exercise?
GREG:
That information could have influenced the outcome.
LISA:
Because if they knew the researchers expected it to improve their performance, they might try to produce the predicted result.
NARRATOR:
Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 28 to 30.
NARRATOR:
Now listen and answer questions 28 to 30.
GREG:
For our own project then, I thought we could conduct a similar investigation and test whether the writing activity itself really produced the improvement.
LISA:
We could ask one group to write about a completely different factual subject, perhaps a general knowledge topic.
GREG:
Or one half could complete a writing task while the other half did something different, such as speaking.
LISA:
Another possibility is for half to do the same personal writing as in the original study and half to complete a factual writing task.
LISA:
That would show whether the topic was responsible rather than some other feature.
GREG:
At our meeting with the supervisor on Monday, we can say we've chosen the project.
GREG:
We should prepare our aims.
GREG:
We also need to find the original study since the article was only a summary.
LISA:
I read another paper by Smolinski.
LISA:
It compared how women and men performed in mixed teams, single-sex teams and individually during class activities.
GREG:
Let me guess, the women did better in groups.
LISA:
That's what I expected too.
LISA:
In fact, teamwork made no difference.
LISA:
Men and women achieved the same results whether they worked in teams or alone.
LISA:
It probably isn't especially relevant to our study.
GREG:
My concern is whether we can complete everything in the time available.
LISA:
We should manage now that the project is clearer.
LISA:
I'm still uncertain how we'll measure whether the participants make progress.
GREG:
We may need guidance on that.
GREG:
We also have to choose an appropriate sample size.
GREG:
Not too large or too small.
LISA:
That should be manageable.
LISA:
What should we do next?
LISA:
We could check the science class timetable, but making an appointment with one of the science professors would be more useful.
GREG:
We might even observe a class.
LISA:
What would that add?
GREG:
Let's follow your suggestion.
NARRATOR:
That is the end of part three.
NARRATOR:
You now have one minute to check your answers to part three.
