Even more interesting is the fact that overall, students scored lower in
the comprehension test when they believed that the lecturer was Asian
(Figure 6.4). Not only were some of these students incapable of hearing
objectively when confronted with an Asian face, their block extended to
the way they absorbed and understood factual material. This was more
extreme in the case of the science lecture, something not totally
unpredictable. Rubin notes:
Figure 6.4 Student comprehension scores, by ethnicity of slide viewed and subject of lecture
Source: Rubin (1992)
For many undergraduates, introductory courses in mathematics and
the natural sciences have reputations as extremely inhumane courses
designed to winnow out marginal students. And it is well known that