TABLE 3.
Percentages of students and differences in gender who selected each factor that would make them feel uncomfortable asking questions of instructors of large-enrollment college science coursesa
| What makes students feel uncomfortable asking questions | % (n) | Odds ratio of gender difference | P value for gender in respective model |
|---|---|---|---|
| If I do not feel confident in the course material | 72.5 (192) | Women are 1.4× more likely to select this factor | 0.299 |
| If I feel that other students will judge me | 67.5 (179) | Women are 2.0× more likely to select this factor | 0.052 |
| If I feel like there are too many people in class | 55.8 (148) | Women are 1.5× more likely to select this factor | 0.244 |
| If the instructor responds negatively to other students’ questions | 52.5 (139) | Men are 1.2× more likely to select this factor | 0.668 |
| If asking a question might make me feel less smart | 49.4 (131) | Women are 1.9× more likely to select this factor | 0.060 |
| If other students are not asking questions during class | 47.2 (125) | Women are 1.1× more likely to select this factor | 0.824 |
| If the instructor does not seem to welcome students’ questions | 44.9 (119) | Women are 1.1× more likely to select this factor | 0.803 |
| If it is hard to ask a question from where I sit in class | 36.2 (96) | Men are 1.0× more likely to select this factor | 0.932 |
| If it is obvious to other students in class that I am the one asking the question | 29.4 (78) | Women are 1.1× more likely to select this factor | 0.744 |
| If I have not had the opportunity to discuss my questions with other students in class | 29.4 (78) | Men are 1.1× more likely to select this factor | 0.944 |
| If the instructor does not designate class time for students to ask questions | 25.3 (67) | Women are 2.6× more likely to select this factor* | 0.040 |
| If other students are talking while I’m asking a question | 22.6 (60) | Women are 1.3× more likely to select this factor | 0.547 |
| None of these apply to me | 2.6 (7) | NA | NA |
For this analysis, we included the total n = 265 students who reported that they were uncomfortable asking questions. For each factor, we used binomial logistic regression to test whether a woman or man is more likely select it, controlling for race/ethnicity, college generation status, year in school, and GPA. The results of each regression can be found in Text S1. In this table, we include the odds ratios that a woman or man is more likely to select a particular factor, and we indicate with an asterisk which odds ratio is significant at the significance level of 0.05. We also include the P values for gender in the regression model in the last column. NA, not applicable, because we did not test whether there were differences with regard to who selected “none of these apply to me,” since so few students selected this category.