Pygmalion and the gender gap: do teacher expectations contribute to differences in achievement between boys and girls at the beginning of schooling?

ABSTRACT

This study examined the role of teacher expectations in the emerging gender gaps in reading and mathematics in the first year of schooling. Therefore, we first investigated whether boys and girls differ in their vulnerability to teacher expectancy effects. Second, we analysed whether gender-specific effects of teacher expectations contribute to gender achievement gaps. Our analyses were based on 1,025 first-grade students in Germany. Among the majority of the students, boys and girls did not differ in their vulnerability to teacher expectancy effects. Further analyses examined a subgroup of students who were targets of relatively strong teacher expectation bias and who showed unexpectedly high or low achievement gains. In this specific subgroup, girls’ mathematics achievement was more adversely affected by negatively biased expectations and benefitted less from positive bias than boys’ achievement. Mediation analyses revealed that teacher expectation bias did not substantially contribute to gender gaps in reading or mathematics.     

How do apes ape?

In the wake of telling critiques of the foundations on which earlier conclusions were based, the last 15 years have witnessed a renaissance in the study of social learning in apes. As a result, we are able to review 31 experimental studies from this period in which social learning in chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans has been investigated. The principal question framed at the beginning of this era, Do apes ape? has been answered in the affirmative, at least in certain conditions. The more interesting question now is, thus, How do apes ape? Answering this question has engendered richer taxonomies of the range of social-learning processes at work and new methodologies to uncover them. Together, these studies suggest that apes ape by employing a portfolio of alternative social-learning processes in flexibly adaptive ways, in conjunction with nonsocial learning. We conclude by sketching the kind of decision tree that appears to underlie the deployment of these alternatives.     

Differentiating between distance/open education systems-parameters for comparison

A wide range of institutions all over the world utilize various forms of distance and/or open learning. This paper suggests eight parameters for categorizing distance/open education systems: (1) target population; (2) dimensions of openness; (3) organizational structure; (4) design and development of learning materials; (5) use of advanced technology; (6) teaching/tutoring system; (7) student-support system; and (8) inter-institutional collaboration. These parameters provide criteria for comparing a broad spectrum of distance/open learning institutions, and assist in depicting the unique characteristics of each distance/open education system. The discussion is preceded by a conceptual examination of the relations and interrelations between thedistance education andopen learning terms.

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Zusammenfassung Eine große Anzahl von Institutionen in der ganzen Welt wendet verschiedene Formen von Fernunterricht oder offenem Lernen an. In diesem Artikel werden acht Parameter zur Kategorisierung von Fernunterricht und offenem Lernen vorgeschlagen: (1) Zielgruppe; (2) Dimensionen des Zugangs; (3) organisatorische Struktur; (4) Design und Entwicklung von Lernmaterialien; (5) Anwendung fortgeschrittener Techniken; (6) Lehr- und Überprüfungssystem; (7) System zur Unterstützung der Studenten; und (8) Zusammenarbeit zwischen den Institutionen. Diese Parameter stellen Kriterien für den Vergleich eines breiten Spektrums von Institutionen im Bereich des Fernunterrichts und des offenen Lernens zur Verfügung und helfen bei der Identifikation einzigartiger Eigenheiten jedes betreffenden Systems. Der Diskussion geht eine konzeptionelle Untersuchung der Beziehungen zwischen den BegriffenFernunterricht undoffenes Lernen voraus.

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Résumé Un grand nombre d'institutions de par le monde utilise diverses modalités d'apprentissage ouvert et/ou à distance. Le présent article suggère huit paramètres pour classer les systèmes d'enseignement ouvert ou à distance: (1) la population cible, (2) les dimensions de l'ouverture, (3) la structure organisationnelle, (4) la conception et la mise en oeuvre des matériaux didactiques, (5) l'utilisation de technologies modernes, (6) le système d'enseignement et de tutorat, (7) le système de soutien aux élèves et (8) la collaboration interinstitutionnelle. Ces paramètres fournissent des critères de comparaison pour un grand nombre d'institutions diversifiées d'enseignement ouvert ou à distance, et permettent de décrire les caractéristiques majeures de chacun de ces systèmes. Un examen conceptuel des relations et interrelations entre les termes d'enseignement à distance et d'apprentissage ouvert, précède cette discussion.

     

Behavioral Inhibition and Stress Reactivity: The Moderating Role of Attachment Security

The role of the mother-toddler attachment relationship in moderating the relations between behavioral inhibition and changes in salivary cortisol levels in response to novel events was examined in 77 18-month-olds. Behavioral inhibition was determined by observing toddler inhibition of approach to several novel events. Attachment security to mother was assessed using the Ainsworth Strange Situation. Changes in salivary cortisol were used to index activity of the stress-sensitive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system. In addition, toddler coping behaviors and the behaviors used by mothers to help toddlers manage novel events were examined. Elevations in cortisol were found only for inhibited toddlers in insecure attachment relationships. Mothers in these relationships appeared to interfere with their toddlers' coping efforts. These results are discussed in the context of a coping model of the relations between temperament and stress reactivity.     

Program Directors' Perceptions of Admission Screening Measures and Indicators of Student Success

The purpose of the current research was to ascertain program directors' perceptions of the effectiveness of applicant screening measures currently used in counselor education programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs and their perceptions of the effectiveness of measures of graduate student success. The personal interview was identified as the most effective screening measure currently used, and practicum/internship performance was considered the most effective measure of graduate student success.     

The relationship between perceptions of pre‐menstrual syndrome and degree performance1

This paper explores whether female undergraduates’ self‐reported experiences of pre‐menstrual syndrome (PMS) were associated with degree performance, operationalized as degree class outcome, in a sample of ‘high achieving’ students (N?=?55). Students reported that PMS was disruptive to academic work (comprising lectures, seminars, writing essays, reading, examinations and interviews) but no association was found between degree performance and either the number of PMS symptoms reported or the reported disruption to each aspect of academic work.     

Not always gladly does she teach,nor gladly learn: Teachers inKünstlerinroman for young readers

M. Sarah Smedman teaches children's literature and other literature courses at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is the author of many articles and reviews in children's literature and is the recipient of the Children's Literature Association's Scholarship Award.     

The Cognitive and Academic Benefits of Music to Children: Facts and fiction

There is considerable interest in the potential non‐musical cognitive and academic benefits of music listening and instruction to children. This report describes three lines of research relevant to this issue, namely, the effects of: (1) focused music listening on subsequent task performance (the Mozart effect); (2) music instruction; and (3) background music listening. Research suggests that while Mozart effect studies have attracted considerable media attention, the effect cannot be reliably demonstrated in children. In contrast, music instruction confers consistent benefits for spatiotemporal reasoning skills; however, improvements in associated academic domains, such as arithmetic, have not been reliably shown. Finally, background music may calm and focus children with special education needs, thereby enhancing learning. Additional research is required to determine whether this effect is evident in normal populations. Overall, evidence for the non‐musical benefits of music listening and instruction is limited. The inherent value of music and music education should not be overlooked by narrowly focusing on cognitive and academic outcomes.     

Is peer review an appropriate form of assessment in a MOOC? Student participation and performance in formative peer review

Many aspects of higher education must be reconceptualised for massive open online courses (MOOCs). Formative and summative assessment of qualitative work in particular requires novel approaches to cope with the numbers involved. Peer review has been proposed as one solution, and has been widely adopted by major MOOC providers, but there is currently little evidence about whether it is appropriate or under what conditions. Here, we examine student participation, performance and opinions of a peer review task in a biomedical science MOOC. We evaluate data from approximately 200 student topic summaries and 300 qualitative peer reviews of those summaries, and compare these to student demographic data (gender, age, employment status, education, national language) and to performance in multiple choice tests. We show that higher performance in the written topic summary correlated with both higher participation in the peer review task and with writing higher quality peer reviews. Qualitative analysis of student comments revealed that student opinion on the usefulness of the peer review task was mixed: some strongly believed it benefitted their learning, while others did not find it useful or did not participate. We suggest instructional design strategies to improve student participation and increase learning gain from peer review in the MOOC context.