Characteristics of male and female science teachers

The characteristics of 273 male science teachers were compared with 72 female science teachers randomly selected from a fourteen-state region in the USA. A multivariate analysis of variance found differences between the two groups significant at the p ? 0.0005 level. Female teachers were higher on measures of interest in science and receptivity to change. Males scored higher on science knowledge indicators and on their perceptions of the teaching support they received. No differences were noted on measures of professional development or their perceptions of teaching effectiveness, curriculum, workload, or facilities. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of science career selection by women.     

Herrnstein’s equation for the rates of responding during concurrent schedules

A modification of the nonlinear curve-fitting procedure proposed by Wetherington and Lucas (1980) was used to assess how well Herrnstein’s (1970) equation for the rates of responding during concurrent schedules described performance. The equation fitted some results very well, accounting for 80% or more of the variance in the data in studies that used moderate-duration changeover delays and provided the same positive reinforcers, operanda, and simple schedules in the two components. The equation fitted the data poorly in other studies. The k parameter changed with several variables; it was not as constant as Herrnstein (1974) suggested. R₀ did not fit Herrnstein’s interpretation as reinforcement from unprogrammed sources. Forty percent of all values of R₀ were negative, and another 23% were unreasonably large (greater than 50 reinforcers/h). The data suggest that Herrnstein’s equation is not a general theory of concurrent-schedule responding, and that Herrnstein’s interpretation of k and R₀ should be modified.     

Feasibility of the MTAI as a Selection Instrument for Pre-Service Teacher Education — A Pilot Project

The Institute of Education is the only institution in Singapore that trains and prepares individuals for the task of teaching. In order to ensure that its products, the teachers, are of a respectable calibre, not only should the training programme be reviewed regularly, but also the method of selecting trainees.     

Can typical game features have unintended consequences? A study of players’ learning and reactions to challenge and failure in an educational programming game

It is difficult to motivate learners to seek out and persist at challenging learning tasks where failure is likely. However, in game environments, people seem highly motivated to engage with challenges and respond productively to failure. Many typical game features purportedly enhance intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy, which should improve students’ reactions to challenge and failure, which should in turn enhance learning. An experimental study with early middle school students tested these assumptions by comparing a “Full” version of a typical, commercial programming game to a “Minimal” version of the same game where common game features such as narrative, performance metrics, high-quality graphics, and sound were removed. In contrast to our hypotheses, players of the Full Game were less likely to choose coding challenges, were less tolerant of coding failures and gained less coding knowledge. Intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy did not differ between conditions. Correlational analyses showed that failure tolerance and challenge seeking may critically affect learning from educational games. The current study offers an existence proof that some common game features can hinder players' failure tolerance, challenge-seeking and learning, in certain game contexts. Future research should isolate the effects of individual game features, test generalizability and explore which contextual variables influence the findings.     

Teacher perceptions and attitudes that foster or maintain sex role differences

In an attempt to determine the nature of sex role differences as perceived by teachers, a survey of 60 secondary school teachers was conducted. The results revealed teacher perceptions of traditional male-female student behavior in the classroom, teacher preference for male teachers and male students, and the reluctance of most teachers to facilitate sex role behavior changes. Other evidence cited supports the claim of proponents that males and females are socialized differently-toward the maintenance of traditional sex role behavior. How the education system can aim for a new role balance allowing greater independence, integrity, and freedom from misconceptions about the other sex is discussed.

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Résumé Dans le but de déterminer la nature des différences de rôle attribuables au sexe comme les professeurs le voient, une étude a été entreprise auprès de 60 professeurs d'école secondaire. Les résultats ont révélé les perceptions par les professeurs de conduite traditionnelle masculine et féminine en classe, la préférence de la part des professeurs pour étudiants mâles et enseignants mâles, et la répugnance de la majorité des professeurs de faciliter des changements dans la conduite attribuable au sexe. D'autres témoignages cités supportent l'affirmation des partisans de la différence sociale entre hommes et femmes-vers le maintien de la conduite traditionnelle relative aux sexes. La présente étude discute de quelle manière le système éducationnel peut être orienté vers un nouvel équilibre des rôles permettant plus d'indépendance et d'intégrité et moins de conceptions erronées à propos du sexe opposé.

     

An action learning approach to the question: are ambulance response time targets achievable?

In recent years, NHS Ambulance Trusts throughout the UK have consistently failed to achieve their response time targets for both actual and potential life-threatening calls. To avoid a media and public outcry, the NHS response has been to change the basic parameters upon which the response time targets are calculated. An action learning study, which considered patient experience from initial response to outcome, concluded that the ambulance service must move away from the nearest crew response model to one which provides a defined multi-organisational service to specific categories of need. A key issue with the learning sets, which were made up of front-line crews, was understanding the Trust-wide picture and where acceptable new procedures could provide economic benefits to the Trust, benefits to the patients and help achieve the response time targets. A simulation model driven by parameters agreed by the action learning sets provided proof that new procedures would generate the required benefits. The learning sets also identified that the public should adjust their expectations to understanding that an immediate front-line ambulance response would only be despatched in life-threatening cases, but there would be alternative slower responses for all other cases.     

The effect of grouping of laboratory students on selected educational outcomes

The purpose of this study was to discover if grouping students in the laboratory on the basis of their formal reasoning ability affected (1) their science content achievement, (2) their formal reasoning ability, (3) the learning environment in the laboratory, and (4) the relationships between individuals in a particular group. The laboratory groups for three physical science classes for preservice elementary teachers were arranged as follows: (1) one class with students of unequal reasoning ability grouped together, i.e., one highly developed formal reasoner per group (the heterogeneous group), (2) one class with students of similar reasoning ability grouped together (the homogeneous group), and (3) one class arranged in groups according to the desires of the class members (the student choice group). The three classes were compared using pre-and post-scores on content and formal reasoning instruments and scores for classroom environment and social relationships. Results indicated that the groupings as described had significantly different effects on science content achievement but not on any of the other questions posed above. The students in the class with laboratory teams grouped by student choice had significantly lower science content scores than the students in the classes with teams formed using either the heterogeneous or homogeneous grouping procedures. The difference between the heterogeneously and homogeneously grouped classes was not significant at the 0.05 level.     

Minitab Menus-Do They Help or Hinder?

A comparison of the levels of difficulty experienced by students in the use of Minitab through its menu interface and its command language showed no advantavge in using the menus.     

The Use of Reflective Journals in Initial Teacher Training

The intention of this article is to examine the role of reflective journals in Initial Teacher Training courses, and, in particular, how they can enable students to develop critical independence for professional self-appraisal. It explores the value of journal writing in the process of learning about teaching by reproducing an edited extract of one PGCE (Post-Graduate Certificate in Education) student's course journal, and by offering both a student's and a tutor's perspective of the significance of the journal.