Brian's
Class Materials- FALL 2009 - SEYS 362
Queens
College/CUNY
Education Unit
Fall 2009
Please choose true or false for
each question and then think about how you will explain your
answers.
Note: The
purpose of this quiz is to promote discussion. The answers are
not cut and dried and depend on the individuals involved
and the context of the situation.
- It is best to group children by gender in science
classes. For example, if you were doing a lab activity it would
be best to put all girls in groups and all boys in their own
groups. COMMENT: It is not usually a good idea to do this. What works better is to make sure everyone
in a lab group has a substantive role. This ensures that boys and
girls will participate in hands-on activities and that some don't
always get "stuck" recording data or watching.
- Girls tend to be called on by teachers more often in
science classes. COMMENT: A good strategy is to alternate asking
boys and girls questions. It has been noted in studies that boys
are called on more often than girls in science classes.
- In traditional science textbooks, males are pictured
more
often than females. COMMENT: In the past there was a definite bias
towards including more males in science textbooks. Now this is
improving but it is still something to watch when you are looking for a
new text book. Pay close attention to how the males and females
are portrayed and what they are pictured as doing.
- In traditional science textbooks, females are
pictured
doing more complex science tasks than males. COMMENT: False: In the past in a
science textbook, a women might have been pictured
cooking at a stove while a man is shown operating a computer or
launching a
rocket.
- Boys tend to have more opportunities to use computers
than girls. COMMENT:
Boys tend to use computers more than girls and there are a variety of
reasons for this. In some schools boys actually have more access
although this is changing since schools are getting more computer labs
and computers in classrooms.
- Boys are better than girls in the physical sciences
and
mathematics. COMMENT: Not true
at all. In secondary schools boys and girls do equally well in
science and math the differences start to appear as one moves through
the pipeline. What seems to happen is that many talented females
lose interest in science and turn to other career choices.
- Girls get better grades in science than boys in
secondary
school. COMMENT: This is
true in many schools.
- Science teachers tend to favor boys in science
class. COMMENT: Sometimes this
happens and a teacher may not even be aware that she or he is favoring
one gender over another. Many boys will demand attention and when
a teacher begins to call on boys and girls equally, the boys may
actually feel slighted.
- Boys are more likely to have ADHD than girls. COMMENT: ADHD is a whole can of worms that
we won't deal with in this class. Unfortunately, many boys are
diagnosed with ADHD when the problem might lie elsewhere and be caused
by ineffective and inappropriate teaching methods.
- Most girls are treated differently from boys from an
early age and this affects their interest and attitude towards
science. COMMENT: True.
Just think about the gifts you give to boys and girls from an early age.
- The numbers of males and female scientists are equal
in
most areas of science. COMMENT:
This is not true and this is a major reason why all science teachers
need to pay attention to this issue.
- A teacher should have high expectations for all
students,
both male and female. COMMENT: This
is definitely true. Students will perform up to your
expectations. At times teachers will give female students praise
for an answer to a lower level question and then have higher
expectations for a male student, and ask the male student a more
challenging question.
- The numbers of females receiving graduate degrees in
the
Physical Sciences in increasing each year. COMMENT: "The number of master's
degrees earned by women rose more rapidly than for men since 1990. By
2002, women earned 44 percent of S&E and 63 percent of non-S&E
master's degrees, up from 34 and 58 percent, respectively, in
1990." Source: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/fige-1.htm.
Gender
information on doctoral degrees can be found here. In spite
of the fact that the numbers of women receiving degrees in science is
increasing, males still greatly outnumber females in the science and
engineering professions.
- Women are more intelligent than men. COMMENT: The statement is ridiculous and
irrelevant for science teachers. Intelligence is an artifact
created by psychologists and psychometricians and there is no consensus
on how it can be objectively measured. Needless to say, all
students can learn, and both males and females can excel in
science.
Summers on Women in Science