Physical interaction enhances cognitive processes, and visuo-haptic simulators (VHS)—which integrate the sense of touch with visual simulations—offer a more engaging approach to learning abstract concepts. In particular, understanding the forces acting on a block on an inclined plane becomes more intuitive in a VHS environment compared to solely solving textbook problems. This study involved 19 first-year engineering students enrolled in an introductory Physics course. After receiving a lecture on the topic, the students engaged in a VHS activity and used ChatGPT to further interpret and discuss their findings. Their performance was compared to a control group of 28 first-year engineering students who followed a traditional instruction model and completed the same written evaluation. The groups consisted of 32% female students in the experimental group, while only 21% in the control group, highlighting the still persistent gender gap in engineering education. This paper presents an analysis of pre- and post-test results from the experimental group, as well as a comparative assessment of male and female students’ performance in both instructional models. Preliminary results revealed no statistically significant differences in learning gains between male and female students within the experimental group (p = 0.487).

Keywords: Gender and academic performance, Educational innovation, Higher education, ChatGPT, Visuo-Haptic simulators.