Stereotype Threat and Women's Performance in Physics

Stereotype threat (ST), which involves confirming a negative stereotype about one's group, is a factor thought to contribute to the gender gap in science achievement and participation. This study involved a quasi-experiment in which 312 US high school physics students were randomly assigned, via their classroom cluster, to one of three ST conditions. The conditions included an explicit ST condition, an implicit ST condition, and a nullified condition. Results indicated that males in all three conditions performed similarly on a set of physics problems. Females in the nullified condition outperformed females in the explicit ST condition and females in the implicit and explicit conditions performed similarly. Males performed better than females in the implicit and explicit ST conditions, but male and female performance on the physics problems was not significantly different in the nullified condition. The implications of these findings for physics instruction and future research on gender differences in physics and ST in science are discussed.     

Discourse of derision: the role of the mass media within the education policy process

It is asserted that the mass media play a significant part in the education policy process, yet this contribution has received little attention in empirical and theoretical analyses. Convergence between theoretical work on education policy and media studies in linking social institutions with the economy in the perpetuation of social inequalities, while accepting their relative autonomy, provides a starting point for incorporation of the media role in conceptualization of the education policy process. Concepts which may assist the exploration of the media role within education policy are denned, including the anthropological notion of myths. These concepts are employed in analysing a policy issue wherein the British government and the mass media framed the relevant debate as a polarization between progressive and traditional education. The analysis draws on the experience of a primary school which was portrayed in a current affairs television programme as exemplifying progressive educational practices. Topics that would benefit from further study are suggested.     

Six Leadership Models for Professional Development in Science and Mathematics

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

Coordination of perspective by sixth graders and teacher trainees

Sixth grade students were compared by sex for their performance on two perspective coordination tasks. Responses were compared with understanding of the principle that still water remains invariantly horizontal. Forty-eight randomly selected sixth grade students (24 girls and 24 boys) and 12 college women were individually shown a standardized three-dimensional scene. While seated in a single position, subjects completed two tasks: (1) selecting from a set of 12 pictures (displayed together) the one which could be seen from each of eight positions marked on the displayed scene and (2) choosing the positions from which could be seen eight of the 12 pictures (shown one at a time). Four of the 12 pictures were mirror images which were impossible views. Males outperformed females on both of the coordination-of-perspective tasks. For both males and females, choosing the place was more difficult than choosing the picture. Strong relationships were found between understanding of horizontality and performance on the perspective tasks. Selection of mirror images (impossible views) indicated more understanding of perspective than other, less systematic errors. Finally, female teacher trainees performed only marginally better than sixth grade students, suggesting possible remediation needs.     

The ideal speech department in the second half of the twentieth century

A nonpartisan pressure group, Common Cause seeks to play an important role in political campaigns by forcing issues upon candidates which they would otherwise avoid, by providing information to shape public opinion on special issues, and by scrutinizing compliance with laws applying to campaign activities.     

The Use of Reflective Journals to Stimulate Critical Thinking in the Academic Internship

Reflective journals have been widely accepted throughout various educational disciplines for many years as a means of enhancing experiential learning practices. Reflective journals allow for students to gain a better understanding of a given experience and explore the levels of critical thinking as they work through the understanding and learning processes. Critical thinking involves the logical progression from mere knowledge and understanding to the highest levels of synthesis and evaluation. The immediate study presents findings of the analyses of a series of sequential reflective journals presented over the course of a semester-long internship experience. Findings indicate that reflective journals are shown to facilitate progression through the levels of critical thinking as identified in Bloom’s taxonomy and promote a higher level of understanding and application of theoretical concepts to practical experiential learning.     

Positive behavioral contrast,autoshaping, and omission responding in the goldfish (Carassius auratus)

Two experiments with goldfish were performed to investigate the role of stimulus-reinforcer vs. response-reinforcer relationships in omission training and the role of stimulus localizability in a positive behavioral contrast paradigm. The directed behavior of fish, like that of pigeons and rats in other studies, was greatly influenced by positive stimulus-reinforcer correlations, as evidenced by maintained contacts of a signal for food, even though such responses terminated the signal and cancelled reinforcement delivery. Goldfish exhibited positive behavioral contrast when the signals for reinforcement and nonreinforcement were displayed directly on the response key, but no contrast was observed when variations in a diffuse houselight stimulus were used as signals for reinforcement or nonreinforcement. Analysis of sequential-trial data yielded effects analogous to Pavlovian positive and negative induction. Theoretical and methodological problems were briefly considered.