Academic Performance: Social Norm Interventions
While the social norms approach has most often been used to address alcohol-related issues, its success in that area has lead to other applications as well. The following is a social norm intervention targeting academic performance.
Note: If you are aware of a social norm intervention that warrants inclusion here, please address your suggestion to [email protected].
Northern Illinois University (NIU): E-WOMS
E-WOMS: Expanding Women's Opportunities through Mathematical ScienceProject Description and Objective
Northern Illinois University is a public, land grant institution with approximately 23,000 undergraduate and graduate students. From August 2001 to December 2002, Northern Illinois University (NIU) will engage in a small, experimental project to improve the participation and retention of women in mathematics. This project offers a two-pronged approach to solving the problem of low continuation rates for women in college mathematics. The first component involves a collaboration among three departments (Mathematical Sciences, Communication, and the Women's Studies Program) employing the social norms approach to change the negative campus perceptions regarding women's roles, abilities and achievements in mathematics. The second component consists of teaching interventions focusing on 60 women taking Calculus I during their first semester at NIU.Funding Source
The National Science FoundationEvaluation
A variety of methods, both traditional and alternative, will be used in this project to collect sufficient information for evaluation.Assessment strategies will be devised to determine whether the social norms ads convinced women students to take Calculus I, and whether those taking this course continued into higher level mathematics. Assessments will also be made in the changes in peer attitudes through pre- and post-surveys of three populations: a random group of freshmen (men and women), students in the intervention, and another section of Calculus I students (male and male).
Focus interviews will be conducted with students participating in the intervention at the beginning and end of the fall semesters. These interviews will assess each student's beliefs and attitudes about mathematics, her perception of her ability and past performance in mathematics, and career goals and aspirations.
Additional quantitative data from the Office of Institutional Research will be collected and analyzed. This data will come from statistics about numbers of women enrolled in Calculus I, their grades, and whether the women who completed Calculus I enrolled or intended to enroll in additional mathematics courses. Particular attention will be paid to those women who began college intending to major in disciplines that require mathematics courses beyond Calculus I. An attempt will be made to ascertain whether student's experiences in the special Calculus I section helped them to continue in their chosen majors. A comparison of these statistics will be made with those from past semesters in order to understand the success of this intervention.
Co-Principal Investigators
Amy Levin
Director, Women's Studies Program
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
Tel 815.753.1038
Email [email protected]
Diana Steele
Assistant Professor, Mathematical Sciences
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
Tel 815.753.6755
Email [email protected]