Sex differences in science learning: Closing the gap through animations

Males traditionally outperform females on measures of both visuospatial ability and science achievement. This experiment directly tests a manipulation designed to compensate for such differences through the presentation of relevant illustrations or animations to support the construction of understanding of a specific scientific phenomenon. Males and females read a scientific text about plate tectonics that contained static illustrations, animated versions of the static illustrations, or no illustrations. Participants were assessed on their visuospatial ability and also working memory capacity. Results indicated that while males outperformed females on both the visuospatial measure and overall science learning, the presence of animations effectively eliminated performance differences for this science topic. These results suggest that sex differences in learning outcomes can be overcome by supporting the visualization of scientific phenomena.     

Teacher-parent conferences: Learning from each other

Parent-teacher conferences offer important contact and provide opportunities for discussing a child's progress. Here are some tips on conducting productive conferences.Janis Bullock is instructor of Early Childhood Education at Montana State University in Bozeman.     

Protecting youth online: family use of filtering and blocking software

OBJECTIVE: This paper explores the characteristics associated with decisions to adopt or discontinue the use of filtering software, including a critical analysis of some explanations about why it is used or not used in households with children and adolescents. METHOD: This study consisted of a national telephone survey of households in the United States with youth (10 and 17 years) who use the Internet regularly. Interviews were completed with one youth in the appropriate age group and a parent or caretaker. RESULTS: Thirty-three percent of parents reported using filtering or blocking software, with an additional 5% having discontinued its use within the past year. Parents were more likely to adopt filtering software if they had younger children (10--15 years), a high level of concern about exposure to sexual material on the Internet, more extensive knowledge of what their child did online, low trust in the child's ability to use the Internet responsibly, and if the child used America Online (AOL). Using the Internet for school assignments was associated with not having filtering software. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest the need for (1) evaluation research of filter programs used in a real family context and (2) the development of a variety of strategies to prevent exposure to inappropriate material for youth of different ages.     

Analytical Models for Minority Representation in Academic Departments

We present mathematical models for the evolution over time of the proportion of minorities in an academic department or similarly selected group of constant size. Using the models, we analyze both the steady-state and time-dependent behavior of the proportion of minorities, and also obtain a means of evaluating the effectiveness of a department's hiring history. We derive a number of surprising results with importance to institutional hiring policy and affirmative action; and we also present methods, suggested by the model and its behavior, to improve departmental hiring practices.     

Collecting sexual orientation in counseling research: Implications for counselor education

Sexual orientation is often invisible in counseling research despite increasing LGBQ+ identity in the United States. We used consensual qualitative research to explore considerations from LGBQ+ counseling researchers for collecting sexual orientation. Three domains emerged: risks, benefits, and methodological considerations. Our findings highlight inclusive research practice strategies for LGBQ+ research participants.     

Primary grade student reports for teacher evaluation

The improvement of teacher evaluation is an important theme in current public school reform efforts. One change, suggested by a number of researchers, is to gather more lines of evidence or perspectives of teacher performance for decision making. Student views, commonly used in higher education, are advocated as one data source about teacher quality. Although it is clear that students of all ages can provide some perspective on teacher performance, substantial questions remain about using the views of young pupils.The purpose of this study was to empirically examine a sample of student reports of teacher performance from kindergarten through second grade. The analysis used procedures developed for student rating forms in higher education. The objective was to advance understanding and practice about effective teacher evaluation, specifically in the use of pupil report data.