Gender,pre-service teachers and assessment of pupil work

Across Australia fewer females choose to study the physical sciences and their achievements are lower than for males. Many reasons have been put forward for this. Elsewhere science teachers have been found to hold gender-stereotyped expectations of their pupils and to assess pupil capabilities differently according to the gender of the pupil. The gender of the teacher has also been found to affect the assessments made. This study investigated whether pre-service teachers would assess pupil capability across a range of work samples and potential in science differently according to the gender of the pupil or the gender of the pre-service teacher. No statistically significant differences were found for the assessments made. Weak trends in the data along gender-stereotypic lines were found which have implications for teacher training courses. Correlational findings also revealed worrying trends relating forms of assessment with assessment of pupil capability and potential. Ms Helen Forgasz, Research assistant and Ph.D. studen, Faculty of Education, Monash University, 3168.Specializations: science, physics and mathematics education, gender issues.     

Getting to Know Animals

Flora got to the edge of the village.＊ Mitt came with the geese. The gander（雄鹅） waddled （蹒跚而行） along. Behind him, the other＊ geese waddled in a row.     

School effects and subject choice: The uptake of scientific subjects in Ireland

Studies of subject take-up within secondary education have tended to focus on student characteristics and have rarely attempted to take account of the broad variety of ways, formal and informal, in which schools can constrain or facilitate particular subject choices. In contrast, this article explores both the school and student factors shaping the take-up of Biology, Physics, and Chemistry at upper secondary level. The analyses draw on detailed information on almost 4,000 students in 100 secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland. Schools are found to differ in the proportion of students taking science subjects, even controlling for the profile of students. School structures at both lower and upper secondary levels are found to play a role in shaping the choices made by students regarding science.     

Action Learning: A Model for In-Service Teacher Education

Technology has changed the way the world functions on a day-to-day basis, but what about education? Education has been directly affected by the increase of technology in the United States. This change has not been well accepted by some members of the educational community, thus leaving the realm of education behind in the technology era. This article seeks to focus on the benefits of technology in the classroom as well as some of the issues that surround teachers and technology. The article also delves into the future of technology and education and provides some helpful tips for technology use in the classroom.