Female senior secondary physics students’ engagement in science: a qualitative study of constructive influences

Background: Prompted by fewer females compared to males enrolling in physics and advanced mathematics at both secondary and university levels, our research investigated the views and experiences of female students currently studying upper secondary school physics. We interviewed 18 female students about influences they considered important to their own science education, interest in science, and future science-related aspirations. Our purpose was to identify the experiences that these students most strongly associated with the generation and maintenance of their engagement in science, particularly represented in this research by their enrolment in upper secondary physics. Results: The research team used a systematic, iterative process to identify the main themes in the transcribed interview data. We identified the influence each girl reported as the strongest (ranked first). We also combined all influences that the participants had nominated, regardless of their ranking, to further examine all factors participants suggested as influential in their sustained engagement in school science (represented by their decision to study upper secondary physics). Systematic analysis of the interview data confirms that the influences on these females’ choices to study physics at upper secondary originate from a combination of their teachers, their school’s science culture, members of their family, the participants themselves and their peers. Conclusions: The interviews highlighted the idiographic complexities in understanding the wide range of important influences on these students studying physics at upper secondary school and their engagement in science. The unique contribution of this work is giving voice to the participants and reflecting on what these high achieving females have to say about the influential factors in their decisions to pursue science. Supportive teachers and the school science culture play essential roles, and other cultural and/or social factors such as family members and peers are identified as important. References to the culture and expectations of the school, family holidays, and conversations with siblings are support factors that seem to interact and overlap. At the same time, the importance of policy-amenable factors such as competent and caring science teachers, and science-supportive school cultures should be emphasised and encouraged

Galileo Probe Measurements of D/H and 3He/4He in Jupiter's Atmosphere

The Galileo Probe Mass Spectrometer measurements in the atmosphere of Jupiter give D/H = (2.6 ± 0.7) × 10-5 3He/4He = (1.66 ± 0.05) × 10-4Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43784/1/11214_2004_Article_184084.pd

The Benefits of Peer Review and a Multisemester Capstone Writing Series on Inquiry and Analysis Skills in an Undergraduate Thesis

This study examines the relationship between the introduction of a four-course writing-intensive capstone series and improvement in inquiry and analysis skills of biology senior undergraduates. To measure the impact of the multicourse write-to-learn and peer-review pedagogy on student performance, we used a modified Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education rubric for Inquiry and Analysis and Written Communication to score senior research theses from 2006 to 2008 (pretreatment) and 2009 to 2013 (intervention). A Fisher-Freeman-Halton test and a two-sample Student’s t test were used to evaluate individual rubric dimensions and composite rubric scores, respectively, and a randomized complete block design analysis of variance was carried out on composite scores to examine the impact of the intervention across ethnicity, legacy (e.g., first-generation status), and research laboratory. The results show an increase in student performance in rubric scoring categories most closely associated with science literacy and critical-thinking skills, in addition to gains in students’ writing abilities

Responsibility at the Core of Public Education: Students, Teachers, and the Curriculum

The intent of this chapter is to inform, rather than prescribe reform, by directing attention to education’s core, where teaching and learning engage the curriculum. Behind the churn of policy talk, and central to the constitutional mandates creating mass compulsory schooling, lies the fundamental core of education: teachers, students, and the curriculum. At this level, we selectively consider evolving educational practices and educators’ successes, failures, and challenges in providing quality education for all students. First, we describe the mission and responsibilities of public education, the purpose for which the system was created, emphasizing its vastness and diversity. Contextualizing thusly, we turn to the fundamental core of education—students, teachers, curriculum, and the interactions among them. We open with student diversity in terms of race and ethnicity, language, socioeconomic status, and capabilities, and how varying circumstances in relation to these attributes have affected access and outcomes. We follow with the composition and qualifications of the teaching workforce, noting problems of cultural incongruity between the largely white, middle class teacher population and the diverse student body, the challenges of classroom management, and the importance of relationship building. Next, we highlight curriculum, including curriculum diversity and breadth, implications of tested versus untested curriculum, tracking, assessment practice, and teachers as curriculum generalists versus specialists. We consider how students connect to the curriculum, their motivation and engagement, and their experiences with pacing and rigor. Finally, we take on the full triad, using issues of tracking and the hidden curriculum to illustrate contemporary problems of practice.https://inspire.redlands.edu/oh_chapters/1008/thumbnail.jp