David Webb
@djphysicswebb.bsky.social
Thinks a lot about teaching and learning. Retired physicist. Hunts for demographic inequity within the system.
#EduSky 🍎 #Science 🧪
#EduSky 🍎 #Science 🧪
Reposted by David Webb
Our new research indicates that the gender gap in intro physics is an artifact correlated with the “stakes” associated with physics exams and is therefore NOT due to differences in preparation or understanding. 🧪🧵 #acadmicsky #HigherEd #EduSky #STEMed link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/...
High-stakes exams inflate a gender gap and contribute to systematic grading errors in one introductory physics series
A study in introductory physics suggests high-stakes exams are causing a gender gap, rather than measuring it.
link.aps.org
October 31, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Our new research indicates that the gender gap in intro physics is an artifact correlated with the “stakes” associated with physics exams and is therefore NOT due to differences in preparation or understanding. 🧪🧵 #acadmicsky #HigherEd #EduSky #STEMed link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/...
Reposted by David Webb
Research suggesting how an exam gender gap can be inflated from zero up to roughly 1/3 of a grade point simply by increasing the stakes of your exams.
Can't help thinking of gaps on a different high stakes exam, the SAT, when I see results like these.
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
Can't help thinking of gaps on a different high stakes exam, the SAT, when I see results like these.
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
Proud of the work I published with @djphysicswebb.bsky.social . Gender Gap in intro physics is eliminated when employing retake exams because women do better on the FIRST try - suggesting exam STAKES (not differences in preparation/understanding) explain gender gap. 🧪 link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/...
High-stakes exams inflate a gender gap and contribute to systematic grading errors in one introductory physics series
A study in introductory physics suggests high-stakes exams are causing a gender gap, rather than measuring it.
link.aps.org
October 21, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Research suggesting how an exam gender gap can be inflated from zero up to roughly 1/3 of a grade point simply by increasing the stakes of your exams.
Can't help thinking of gaps on a different high stakes exam, the SAT, when I see results like these.
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
Can't help thinking of gaps on a different high stakes exam, the SAT, when I see results like these.
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
Research suggesting how an exam gender gap can be inflated from zero up to roughly 1/3 of a grade point simply by increasing the stakes of your exams.
Can't help thinking of gaps on a different high stakes exam, the SAT, when I see results like these.
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
Can't help thinking of gaps on a different high stakes exam, the SAT, when I see results like these.
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
Proud of the work I published with @djphysicswebb.bsky.social . Gender Gap in intro physics is eliminated when employing retake exams because women do better on the FIRST try - suggesting exam STAKES (not differences in preparation/understanding) explain gender gap. 🧪 link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/...
High-stakes exams inflate a gender gap and contribute to systematic grading errors in one introductory physics series
A study in introductory physics suggests high-stakes exams are causing a gender gap, rather than measuring it.
link.aps.org
October 21, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Research suggesting how an exam gender gap can be inflated from zero up to roughly 1/3 of a grade point simply by increasing the stakes of your exams.
Can't help thinking of gaps on a different high stakes exam, the SAT, when I see results like these.
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
Can't help thinking of gaps on a different high stakes exam, the SAT, when I see results like these.
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
Reposted by David Webb
cry havoc and let slip the frogs of war
October 11, 2025 at 12:32 AM
cry havoc and let slip the frogs of war
I'm a professor at the flagship university for the fourth whitest state in the US. Over 80% of our students are white.
The biggest barrier to access here is that due to lack of state funding, we have top 10 highest tuition per capita of public unis in the country.
We also have a food pantry.
The biggest barrier to access here is that due to lack of state funding, we have top 10 highest tuition per capita of public unis in the country.
We also have a food pantry.
oh, we have some straightforward gutter racism. “the blacks and the browns are the reason white people can’t get ahead” www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
July 12, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Huh, @cassandrapaul.bsky.social and my paper that showed that demographic biases in physics classes can be removed was referenced by a Sociology professor in an article that showed up in at least 39 different publications yesterday.
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #Physics ⚛️ #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #Physics ⚛️ #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
The costs and benefits of DEI by sociologist Rodney Coates.
Beyond the backlash: What evidence shows about the economic impact of DEI theconversation.com/beyond-the-b...
Beyond the backlash: What evidence shows about the economic impact of DEI theconversation.com/beyond-the-b...
Beyond the backlash: What evidence shows about the economic impact of DEI
From civil rights to corporate boardrooms, efforts to expand inclusion have long shaped American life. What does research show about the returns – and limits – of today’s DEI programs?
theconversation.com
May 30, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Huh, @cassandrapaul.bsky.social and my paper that showed that demographic biases in physics classes can be removed was referenced by a Sociology professor in an article that showed up in at least 39 different publications yesterday.
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #Physics ⚛️ #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #Physics ⚛️ #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
Reposted by David Webb
Corgis have an extremely low center of gravity and the density of a dead star.
PERFECT for skateboarding! 😇
PERFECT for skateboarding! 😇
May 19, 2025 at 12:51 AM
Corgis have an extremely low center of gravity and the density of a dead star.
PERFECT for skateboarding! 😇
PERFECT for skateboarding! 😇
Matt Yglesias endorses the theory that men are naturally more inclined toward extreme intelligence over on the other site.
May 15, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Yay, science!
On Friday, my son stayed home from school because he had a sore throat and wasn’t feeling well. He went with my husband to his office for the morning while I handled our daughter. When he came back at lunch, he was not interested in eating, saying his throat hurt too much. 1/n
May 5, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Yay, science!
Reposted by David Webb
any excuse to repost the greatest Tetris story ever, when a reporter went to cover early e-gaming championships and discovered that his wife was unknowingly *the world's greatest Tetris player* by a huge margin
archive.boston.com/news/globe/m...
archive.boston.com/news/globe/m...
May 4, 2025 at 4:35 AM
any excuse to repost the greatest Tetris story ever, when a reporter went to cover early e-gaming championships and discovered that his wife was unknowingly *the world's greatest Tetris player* by a huge margin
archive.boston.com/news/globe/m...
archive.boston.com/news/globe/m...
Re-posting and including picture showing no gender gap on low stakes in-term exams and significant negative gender gap on medium stakes in-term exams. Gender gap on the high stakes final exam is 50% larger than on the medium stakes exams.
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #Physics ⚛️ #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #Physics ⚛️ #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
April 30, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Re-posting and including picture showing no gender gap on low stakes in-term exams and significant negative gender gap on medium stakes in-term exams. Gender gap on the high stakes final exam is 50% larger than on the medium stakes exams.
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #Physics ⚛️ #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #Physics ⚛️ #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
Reposted by David Webb
Everyone is weird. Being weird is what makes us human. We are the apes who stopped, thought and embraced weirdness.
Find someone who accepts that you are weird, without judgement.
Find someone who accepts that you are weird, without judgement.
April 25, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Everyone is weird. Being weird is what makes us human. We are the apes who stopped, thought and embraced weirdness.
Find someone who accepts that you are weird, without judgement.
Find someone who accepts that you are weird, without judgement.
@cassandrapaul.bsky.social and my new preprint describes how high stakes exams in introductory physics can make it seem like there is a gender gap in learning/understanding physics when, in reality, there is none.
arxiv.org/pdf/2504.09418
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #Physics ⚛️ #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
arxiv.org/pdf/2504.09418
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #Physics ⚛️ #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
arxiv.org
April 20, 2025 at 2:42 PM
@cassandrapaul.bsky.social and my new preprint describes how high stakes exams in introductory physics can make it seem like there is a gender gap in learning/understanding physics when, in reality, there is none.
arxiv.org/pdf/2504.09418
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #Physics ⚛️ #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
arxiv.org/pdf/2504.09418
#iTeachPhysics 🎢 #Physics ⚛️ #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd
Reposted by David Webb
Shelly-Ann racing in her kid's Parents Day race at the school is the funniest thing I've seen all week LMAO
April 17, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Shelly-Ann racing in her kid's Parents Day race at the school is the funniest thing I've seen all week LMAO
Reposted by David Webb
It always boggles my mind that I, a journalist, am expressly forbidden from trading stocks, but members of Congress, with vastly greater knowledge of market-moving news, are allowed to profit by front-running markets, and so may profit by in essence stealing from the public they represent.
April 10, 2025 at 10:30 AM
It always boggles my mind that I, a journalist, am expressly forbidden from trading stocks, but members of Congress, with vastly greater knowledge of market-moving news, are allowed to profit by front-running markets, and so may profit by in essence stealing from the public they represent.
Reposted by David Webb
As of Friday, there have been 46 cases in which federal judges have blocked Trump policies.
The rulings in those cases have come from 39 different judges appointed by 5 different presidents (of both parties) to 11 different district courts across 7 different circuits.
Maybe it's not the judges?
The rulings in those cases have come from 39 different judges appointed by 5 different presidents (of both parties) to 11 different district courts across 7 different circuits.
Maybe it's not the judges?
March 30, 2025 at 1:15 PM
As of Friday, there have been 46 cases in which federal judges have blocked Trump policies.
The rulings in those cases have come from 39 different judges appointed by 5 different presidents (of both parties) to 11 different district courts across 7 different circuits.
Maybe it's not the judges?
The rulings in those cases have come from 39 different judges appointed by 5 different presidents (of both parties) to 11 different district courts across 7 different circuits.
Maybe it's not the judges?
Reposted by David Webb
Titled this "Super cute adorable Oak Titmouse" in my folder.
I was not wrong.
Also - TAKE THAT, All About Birds who describe them, "Nondescript save for its crest, the Oak Titmouse might not wow many bird watchers at first sight."
Nondescript my tail feathers!
#birds #becurious
I was not wrong.
Also - TAKE THAT, All About Birds who describe them, "Nondescript save for its crest, the Oak Titmouse might not wow many bird watchers at first sight."
Nondescript my tail feathers!
#birds #becurious
March 14, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Titled this "Super cute adorable Oak Titmouse" in my folder.
I was not wrong.
Also - TAKE THAT, All About Birds who describe them, "Nondescript save for its crest, the Oak Titmouse might not wow many bird watchers at first sight."
Nondescript my tail feathers!
#birds #becurious
I was not wrong.
Also - TAKE THAT, All About Birds who describe them, "Nondescript save for its crest, the Oak Titmouse might not wow many bird watchers at first sight."
Nondescript my tail feathers!
#birds #becurious
Reposted by David Webb
As computing capabilities increase, the number of digits we'll be able to calculate will also increase.
I think what's so poetic about this:
It's a process that began with the first civilizations and is a thread that weaves through the whole of human history.
It's our story as a species.
I think what's so poetic about this:
It's a process that began with the first civilizations and is a thread that weaves through the whole of human history.
It's our story as a species.
Happy #PiDay 2024!
Let's talk about the history of pi (π) and the methods used to approximate it!
We start with the Babylonians (~2000 BCE), who used π = 3 for architectural projects, or in at least one instance, π = 25⁄8 = 3.128, which is within 0.5% of the actual value.
Let's talk about the history of pi (π) and the methods used to approximate it!
We start with the Babylonians (~2000 BCE), who used π = 3 for architectural projects, or in at least one instance, π = 25⁄8 = 3.128, which is within 0.5% of the actual value.
March 14, 2025 at 12:28 PM
As computing capabilities increase, the number of digits we'll be able to calculate will also increase.
I think what's so poetic about this:
It's a process that began with the first civilizations and is a thread that weaves through the whole of human history.
It's our story as a species.
I think what's so poetic about this:
It's a process that began with the first civilizations and is a thread that weaves through the whole of human history.
It's our story as a species.
Reposted by David Webb
We wrote this open letter to our students reaffirming our educational commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion and access (DEIA). Faculty friends, if this resonates with you, and you feel comfortable doing so, please consider signing this letter, and sharing it widely. medium.com/@dearstudent...
Open Letter to Our College Students
(Add your name to the letter by completing this form.)
medium.com
March 4, 2025 at 5:18 PM
We wrote this open letter to our students reaffirming our educational commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion and access (DEIA). Faculty friends, if this resonates with you, and you feel comfortable doing so, please consider signing this letter, and sharing it widely. medium.com/@dearstudent...
Reposted by David Webb
At some point the opposition needs to say what is happening here: Donald Trump is a tyrant in the full sense of the term, an American fascist dictator who believes the law flows directly from his command. And he is also a deeply unwell, unfit, and criminal man with nonsensical whims
March 4, 2025 at 1:11 PM
At some point the opposition needs to say what is happening here: Donald Trump is a tyrant in the full sense of the term, an American fascist dictator who believes the law flows directly from his command. And he is also a deeply unwell, unfit, and criminal man with nonsensical whims
Reposted by David Webb
Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦
February 28, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦
Reposted by David Webb
Not just deserve. Weather monitoring, disease management, and food safety are services we pay for from the government that are being stolen from us.
People to deserve to know when a hurricane is coming toward them and deserve to not die from the flu and deserve to have an egg sandwich sometimes
February 27, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Not just deserve. Weather monitoring, disease management, and food safety are services we pay for from the government that are being stolen from us.
Reposted by David Webb
Lately I've noticed that when I discuss with profs about how active learning (AL) dramatically improves student outcomes, folks will respond that their students don't seem to really like active learning.
I'm perusing some literature on the subject and thought I'd share out.
#iTeachPhysics 🧪⚛️ 1/5
I'm perusing some literature on the subject and thought I'd share out.
#iTeachPhysics 🧪⚛️ 1/5
February 24, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Lately I've noticed that when I discuss with profs about how active learning (AL) dramatically improves student outcomes, folks will respond that their students don't seem to really like active learning.
I'm perusing some literature on the subject and thought I'd share out.
#iTeachPhysics 🧪⚛️ 1/5
I'm perusing some literature on the subject and thought I'd share out.
#iTeachPhysics 🧪⚛️ 1/5