Science and engineering students' classroom experiences: An analysis by gender and discipline

Based on a concern about the persistence of women in science-related disciplines, this study sought to determine whether science and engineering students' classroom experiences and the importance students attributed to their experiences differed by gender and discipline. Using Chickering & Gamson's (1987) "Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education" as a framework, students' classroom experiences were separated into eight broad categories: Student Preparation, Feedback to Students, Instructor's Expectations of Students, Active Learning, Student Interaction, Instructor's Response to Differences Among Students, Student-Faculty Contact, and Learning Experiences.; A survey instrument that included questions related to the eight broad classroom experience dimensions was used to collect data on students' classroom experiences and values in 22 undergraduate biology, chemistry, and mechanical engineering classrooms in a total of three institutions. Most of the classes were sophomore/junior level, and the number of students in each of the classes varied. 896 surveys met the study criteria and were included in the analyses. A total of 23 indices were created using the data collected in the study.; Although there were no significant differences in how men and women perceived instructors' classroom behaviors, there were differences in the extent to which men and women reported that they valued particular classroom experiences. For each of these differences (importance of preparation, importance of requirements, importance of cooperative environment, importance of diversity flexibility, and importance of familiarity and respect), women valued the experience more highly than did men. There were also differences in classroom experiences and in the extent to which students valued their experiences across the three disciplines, with more disciplinary differences in students' classroom experiences than in the value they attached to their experiences.; While some of the variables included in the study, such as size of class, encouragement from teachers, and expected grade, accounted for a portion of the reported differences in students' experiences and the importance they attached to their experiences, gender and discipline did not add much to the overall understanding of differences in experiences and values.