Attendees can gain insight from the discussion regardless of whether they are students or faculty, female or male. The excerpt below is from The Woman's Guide to Navigating the Ph.D. in Engineering and Science , by Barbara B. Lazarus, Lisa M. Ritter, and Susan A. Ambrose, which offer important insight into this problem. The lesson was clearly defined and you were learning existing knowledge. As you progress in your graduate work, both faculty and peers challenge and test your ideas. Although the questioning may be intense, the professor is really trying to test the student's analytical, reasoning, and communication skills.
Many women perceive insistent questioning as harsh and negative, or as a personal attack.
Self-esteem and socialization are the root of many women's difficulty in dealing with new methods of learning in graduate school. The gender difference can also prove to be a disadvantage in working with a male advisor. Maribel Vazquez is the co-president of MEGA Women. This story was published on Tuesday, May 1, 2001. Read other stories in this issue.