Resources on Issues of Academic Performance of Women and Underrepresented Minority Students not an exhaustive list

Resources to aid student academic performance focus on the pressures students face as well as the interventions faculty can use to promote achievement. The articles below provide a brief sample of the literature and more information can be found in our bibliography.

• Steele, C. M. (1997). A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. American Psychologist, 52(6), 613-629. "Stereotype Threat" shows that even the most academically prepared minority or female students can be susceptible to the threat of being negatively stereotyped (e.g., "women aren't as good as men at math" or "Asians and whites are better at physics than African Americans"). Counteract that threat by maintaining high standards and explaining to students that their efforts lead you to believe that they can meet that standard.
• Aronson, J., Lustina, M.J., Good, C., Keugh, K, Steele, C.M. and Brown, J. (1999). When white men can't do math: Necessary and sufficient factors in stereotype threat. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 35(1), 29-46. Stereotype threat can inhibit anyone's performance given the right indicators (e.g., telling white, academically prepared males that Asian males perform better in their area of proficiency before giving a test in that particular area). Make it clear to all students that intelligence expands in response to training and experience.
• Treisman, U. (1992). Studying students studying Calculus: A look at the lives of minority mathematics students in college. College Mathematics Journal, 23, 362-372. Using challenge over remediation is one of the best ways to support underrepresented students. Treisman's approach to minority students in first semester calculus classes (i.e., more student group study sessions, more teaching assistance, creating a culture of mathematics study) was instrumental in changing how faculty taught these courses. For a review of this research and more on Dr. Treisman's Professional Development Programs.

There are a number of Centers for Teaching at leading research universities worth noting. These include:

• Ivy Plus Centers
• Stanford University
• School of Medicine Faculty Development Program
• University of Maryland
• University of Michigan
• University of Pennsylvania