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Re: Help with Thesis on Gender Roles in HS Physics Classroom



Responses below.

********************************************
"We especially need imagination in science.
It is not all mathematics, nor all logic,
but it is somewhat beauty and poetry."
- Maria Mitchell
********************************************
George Spagna
Department of Physics
Randolph-Macon College
P.O. Box 5005
Ashland, VA 23005-5505
phone: (804) 752-7344
FAX (804) 752-4724
e-mail: gspagna@rmc.edu
http://faculty.rmc.edu/gspagna



-----Original Message-----
From: Laura Robertson [mailto:larobertson@VASSAR.EDU]
Sent: Saturday, October 04, 2003 12:24 AM
To: PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu
Subject: Help with Thesis on Gender Roles in HS Physics Classroom


Greetings,
My name is Laura Robertson and I am a senior at Vassar College who is
writing a thesis on gender roles in the physics classroom. I will
specifically be looking at the issues that females deal with. I would
greatly appreciate it if you could take some time to fill out this
questionnaire. Thank you in advance for your help!

Thank you,
Laura Robertson
larobertson@vassar.edu


------
I know that some of these questions are a bit broad, but I really want to
give you space to add what you feel is relevant information. Thank you
kindly for taking the time to fill this out!

1) Do you notice any stereotypical gender issues in your classroom:
a) During in-class discussion? (In "Changing the Pattern of Gendered
Discussion" Guzzetti & Williams writes, "Females' reasons for not speaking
out were not only because of their lack of self-confidence or fear of
violating social conventions, but also because they felt intimidated")

Unfortunately, ours is a campus culture where both men and women hesitate to speak out.

b) While working in small groups? (e.g., problem sets?)

Half of my intro students are women ... they seem to work in small groups as effectively as the menn.

c) While working in lab? (have you done any work on single-sex working
lab groups?)

They seem to take control of the mixed-sex groups, perhaps because they tend to stay on-task more.

2) Have you used inquiry learning in your classroom? Do the students react
differently to this, as opposed to traditional methods?

We use a mix of active engagement methods ... pure inquiry, unfortunately, does not fit within time constraints.

3) Has your school done any training with regards to the issues of gender
roles in the classroom/sciences?

No - but I've tried to stay current on the literature. It also helps that I lead a mixed-gender department ... two of us are male, one female faculty.

4) Is this something that is talked about in your professional circle?

At chairs' conferences, AAPT meetings, yes. Some within the department.

5) Do you find there are extracurricular activities that help your female
students become more involved in physics?

6) Do you find the textbooks are relevant to both male and female learners?

I find most of the textbooks irrelevant to both.

7) Have you used computers in your classroom? If so, do males and females
appear to be at the same comfort level with them? What types of programs
do you find most helpful to the physics material?

I insist that everybody get hands-on with the computers. I also find as many men as women are computer phobic when it comes to using them to do real work. Games and surfing don't count.

8) In your opinion, do you think the school counselors encourage the female
students in the sciences to the best of their ability?

No evidence either way. Historically, our department has always attracted both men and women ... though our current senior class is all male (small sample, so draw no inferences) but our rising junior class is half female.

9) Have you had experience teaching in single-sex classrooms? If so, what
differences did you notice between that and a coeducational environment?

Not by intention.

10) Do you find that the social pressures of adolescence affect the female
students in the classroom?

Absolutely. They also affect the males!

11) Are there any additional observations you would like to add?

No,

Thank you so very much for helping with this!