Lecturing: Engaging Women in Math and Science Courses

Adapted with permission from the Center for Teaching and Learning, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

The lower numbers of women who take science courses during college reflect attitudes, developed at an early age in U.S. students, toward the "masculinity" of these fields. Studies show that peers, teachers, counselors and family members frequently dissuade both female and minority students from taking upper-level mathematics and science courses (Clewell, Anderson & Thorpe, 1992). By the time female students enroll in a required math or science course, they may very well bring with them a considerable amount of anxiety, and may fear that this course will be particularly difficult for them because they are female.

This anxiety may heighten when a woman looks around her and sees that a majority of the other students are male and that a male teacher is presiding over the class. The instructor must not only recognize the female students with math or science anxiety, but also notice potential female science or math majors who are not receiving enough support for their interests. Studies monitoring female (and minority) students' progress through math and science departments show that these students frequently abandon their intended majors because they do not receive enough encouragement from their peers and professors. They may also feel inhibited in a predominantly male/majority atmosphere. One woman planning to major in a science reported that, in one class she took, the continual sexual joking between the male students created a male community that made women feel like outsiders. The professor did not stop the students' behavior, and even participated in the joking on several occasions. The student commented that it upset her to see this kind of behavior go uncensored in her classes because, although she herself felt well-informed enough to understand what was happening and could confront the professor, many women do not know how to confront sexist behavior:

"There are a lot of women who don't have the background in talking about this kind of stuff, and aren't going to know why they don't like it. They're just going to change their major[s]."

As a math or science teacher, you can have a tremendous influence on women in your class. First, establish a professional atmosphere that is comfortable for men and women alike. Second, make female students aware that they are capable of learning the material, and encourage those who perform well to take additional courses in the department or to pursue advanced studies in the field. Students who do well in these fields often credit a teacher as having been an important influence (Clewell, Anderson & Thorpe, 1992).

When it is relevant, make reference to women currently conducting important research in your field. When talking about hypothetical scientists or mathematicians to illustrate a point, make sure you occasionally assume the scientist or mathematician is a woman. By doing this, you send out a message to students that your field is open to women as well as men.

In addition, rather than teaching only mathematical formulas, make an effort to show how they can be used outside the classroom. By showing the relevance of these concepts to solving "real-world" problems, you are more likely to make both male and female students aware of the importance of your discipline and to awaken their curiosity to discover more about it. For more detailed discussion of strategies for including women in your science class, consult Sue V. Rosser's Female-Friendly Science (1990), especially Chapter 5, "Toward Inclusionary Methods."