Gender Differences in Attitudes and Approaches to Problem-Solving in Physics

The attitudes and approaches to problem solving (AAPS) survey investigates the extent to which respondents’ attitudes and approaches to problem solving in physics are aligned with expert practitioners of physics. The AAPS survey has been validated and successfully used to understand the development of problem-solving expertise among novice physics students, but its length can be unwieldy. Using AAPS survey data from 1,355 introductory physics students from a large research university in the United States, we have found important differences by gender on overall scores and on clusters of questions related to scratchwork and drawing. Our findings suggest a need to consider how expertise is developed, as well as an ongoing need to award appropriate credit to the entire problem-solving process, e.g. by giving credit for drawings and scratchwork. Such pedagogical strategies may help support gender equity in physics.