Why Can’t a Woman Fail Like a Man? Gender Differences in Perceived Competence Following a Mistake

Stereotypes are pervasive and can significantly influence the way we perceive and evaluate others. When people occupy roles that are not congruent with stereotypes (such as a stay-at-home dad or a female CEO), past research has suggested that they are evaluated more harshly than those in roles that are stereotype-congruent. The present study examined the role of gender stereotypes by asking participants to read a vignette about a college student and their performance in a class. In these vignettes, the student’s major and gender were manipulated such that there were students in gender stereotype-congruent majors (female nursing major, male computer science major) and students in stereotype-incongruent majors (female computer science major, male nursing major). Participants were then asked to evaluate the student’s performance, providing rating of competence, status, and likeability. Analyses revealed that there was no significant effect of stereotype-congruence on evaluations, a finding inconsistent with prior work. This discrepancy is discussed in light of differences in participants’ familiarity with the role and job of the person being evaluated

The potential of wiki technology as an e-learning tool in science and education; perspectives of undergraduate students in Al-Baha university, Saudi Arabia

This paper examines the potential of wiki technology as an e-learning tool in Al-Baha University, Saudi Arabia with a random sample in two colleges: science and education. 24 male students participated in this survey. The data is collected through interviewer-administered questionnaires with 16 questions divided into four axes. The data is analysed to reveal the students’ perceptions of using wiki technology in learning. The results indicate that, students prefer to learn collaboratively with positive perceptions of wiki. These results lead us to determine the possible potential of wiki technology as an e-learning tool for undergraduate students in similar context

Engaging Undergraduates in Science Research: Not Just About Faculty Willingness.

Despite the many benefits of involving undergraduates in research and the growing number of undergraduate research programs, few scholars have investigated the factors that affect faculty members' decisions to involve undergraduates in their research projects. We investigated the individual factors and institutional contexts that predict faculty members' likelihood of engaging undergraduates in their research project(s). Using data from the Higher Education Research Institute's 2007-2008 Faculty Survey, we employ hierarchical generalized linear modeling to analyze data from 4,832 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty across 194 institutions to examine how organizational citizenship behavior theory and social exchange theory relate to mentoring students in research. Key findings show that faculty who work in the life sciences and those who receive government funding for their research are more likely to involve undergraduates in their research project(s). In addition, faculty at liberal arts or historically Black colleges are significantly more likely to involve undergraduate students in research. Implications for advancing undergraduate research opportunities are discussed

Student-produced podcasts as an assessment tool: an example from Geomorphology

The emergence of user-friendly technologies has made podcasting an accessible learning tool in undergraduate teaching. In a geomorphology course, student-produced podcasts were used as part of the assessment in 2008-2010. Student groups constructed radio shows aimed at a general audience to interpret and communicate geomorphological data within the context of relevant social and environmental issues. Questionnaire results suggest that the novel format engaged students, and promoted group working, IT, language and oral communication skills, and a deeper understanding of the context of geomorphic data. For teachers, podcasting technology offers efficient teaching of oral communication, with opportunities for distance and self-directed learning

Does increasing communication through visual learning environments enhance student perceptions of lecturers?

The current study was conducted in an effort to examine whether increased levels of communication using visual learning environments (VLEs) alters student perceptions of lecturers. Eighty-six MSc students in Computing Science participated by using She and Fisher’s (2002) Teacher Communication Behavior Questionnaire (TCBQ). In addition to using the questionnaire, data from the electronic class site were used to make assessments about the quality and quantity of communication. Two types of classrooms were evaluated: a) a control condition in which the lecturer did not alter any communication aspect of the module, and b) the experimental condition in which the lecturer posted weekly discussion topics. Significant differences were found by cultural background and gender of the students. The bulletin board postings in the experimental condition were more heavily content-based than the control condition ones. The consistency in discussion topic of the experimental condition postings, both bulletin board and email, were more fluid than in the control condition

‘Enjoyable’, ‘okay’, or ‘like drawing teeth’? Chinese and British students’ views on writing Assignments in UK Universities

Research in academic writing is a growing field within Applied Linguistics, yielding a wide range of conferences, journal publications and books. However, comparatively little work has been conducted on students’ attitudes towards the production of writing for assessment. This article reports findings from a questionnaire study of Chinese and British students (n=202) across 37 UK universities. The study aims to uncover the extent to which students feel they were prepared for tertiary-level writing, how useful they find assignment-writing, and whether they enjoy this activity. The focus of the article is on the similarities and differences in attitudes towards assessed writing given by the two student groups. Chinese students were selected as a contrast to British students as the former are now the ‘largest single overseas student group’ in the UK with more than 60,000 Chinese people studying in 2008 (The British Council, 2010). Detailed, open-ended responses from the questionnaire were coded and followed up with email and face-to-face interview questions with a subset of students (n=55). The findings indicate that neither student group feel well-prepared for the challenges of tertiary-level writing, and reveal a depth of feeling regarding the enjoyment and perceived utility - or otherwise - of academic writing