  An analysis of longitudinal student Physics practicals data over a period of
three semesters is conducted. In particular, we study the association of the
gender of students and their Physics practicals marks in mechanics,
thermodynamics, optics, electricity, and overall marks (OVM). Together with
gender, all variables are binarized, i.e. distinction mark is coded 1, and zero
otherwise. To visualize performance of students, the qualitative method of
plotting a two-dimensional orbit is used to represent binary multivariate
longitudinal data of each student. Analysis of orbits reveals information of
patterns in the data. This study gives a good indication of which Physics
practical each gender group perform better in. Our visual analysis indicate
that male students tend not to get distinctions in both mechanics and OVM, but
that females tend to get distinctions in OVM. We have also observed that
students' marks is most stable (i.e. least changing) in optics and OVM, and
most frequently changing in electricity. A comparison to the GEE statistical
model indicates that visual results present initial insights to help and
complement statistical analysis.
