The
advertisement is one of several that have been running weekly
in Northern Illinois University's student newspaper, the Northern
Star. The campaign is part of an effort by researchers Amy Levin,
Ph.D., and Diana Steele, Ph.D., who have set out to demonstrate
that women are successful with mathematics.
This past fall, Levin and Steele launched a National Science
Foundation-funded project aimed at increasing women's participation
in high-level math courses, where females traditionally have
been underrepresented on college campuses nationwide. The project-titled
"E-WOMS: Expanding Women's Opportunities Through Mathematical
Sciences"-consists of the university-wide ad campaign and
a Calculus I course specially designed for freshman women.
"In conversations we had with women on campus, it was very
clear that a lot of them shared the larger social misperception
that they have less ability or interest in math, that it's a
male field," said Levin, director of Women's Studies at
NIU.
"Nationally, the retention rates in advanced mathematics
courses are lower for women than men," she added. "Because
the workplace requires increasingly advanced computational and
technological skills, women who do not continue in mathematics
significantly curtail their earnings potential and career options."
The ad campaign is patterned after NIU's nationally recognized
social-norms program used to curb alcohol consumption among
students. The point of the social-norms model is to dispel misperceptions.
Meanwhile, the special calculus course debuted this past fall.
It's geared toward the ways in which women learn. The course
emphasizes collaborative problem solving, relates calculus to
real life, requires students to write about how they approach
problems and makes use of mentors and support groups.
So far, the researchers have been thrilled with the course results.
"It's been much more successful than we even hoped it would
be," said Steele, a professor in NIU's Department of Mathematical
Sciences. "Nobody got below a 'C' in Calculus I, and nobody
withdrew from the course.
"In the past, lack of success in calculus typically ends
up prompting some students to change majors in order to avoid
taking more mathematics," Steele added. "Nobody in
our pilot group changed their major. In fact, two students who
were undecided have chosen to major in math. And we're thinking
about asking last fall's students to serve as mentors when the
pilot Calculus I course starts up again next fall."
Steele said that nationally about 20 percent of freshman women
move on from Calculus I to Calculus II. Ten of the 13 students
in the pilot program are now taking a regular Calculus II course.
They continue to meet in a support and study group, led by Jill
Shahverdian, a Ph.D. candidate in mathematics.
Steele
said the NIU students formed a special bond with both their
support group leader and their instructor, Richard Blecksmith,
Ph.D. He said he was surprised by the program's across-the-board
success.
"With every test I gave, the scores on average were 20
points higher than other semesters," he said. "I actually
made the class much more rigorous than I usually do, almost
to the level of an honors class. By the end, the students had
a better grasp of some of the concepts than any class I've seen
in a long time."
Blecksmith said the pilot class met for an extra hour of mentoring
each week. Instead of using the extra time to work through calculus
equations, students participated in other math-related activities,
such as discussing how to read a math textbook, going on a field
trip to the Museum of Science and Industry and reading a Tony
Award-winning play, "Proof," about a woman mathematician.
"There was a real camaraderie among the students,"
Blecksmith said. "Part of the goal was to see what would
happen to women if there was no competition from men in the
class. Had there been male students, I think the dynamics would
have been different. With a lot of the women who took on leadership
roles in the class, their self-confidence was increased by the
fact we had a small group and they could feel comfortable among
themselves.
"I thought we'd be successful," he added, "but
not to this extent, to tell the truth. I've never had a calculus
class outside of honors where everyone has passed the course
with a C or better."