ERIC Number: ED517136
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Oct
Pages: 128
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: ISBN-0-8108-5367-1ISBN-978-0-8108-5367-6
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Science for Girls: Successful Classroom Strategies
Goetz, Susan Gibbs
Scarecrow Press
"Science for Girls: Successful Classroom Strategies" looks at how girls learn, beginning with the time they are born through both the informal and formal education process. In the author's current role as professor of science education, Dr. Goetz has surveyed hundreds of female elementary education majors in their junior and senior year of college. The results of her study show that the majority of the future teachers do not feel confident teaching science at the elementary level, feel ill prepared to teach science in general, and have had negative experiences during their elementary, middle, and high school years in science classes. Dr. Goetz raises the question of whether or not there is a cycle of poor science instruction during the early years delivered by poorly-prepared teachers, who themselves had poor instruction from poorly-prepared teachers. In order to break this cycle, it is necessary to better prepare our future female teachers, who will then model excitement, enthusiasm, and expertise in science instruction. Perhaps then we'll begin to see our girls show increased interest and achievement in the sciences. While the focus of "Science for Girls" is on science education, information about current research in the area of female learning styles in general is also presented. Furthermore, the author is careful to point out that the strategies suggested will not only benefit female students but also their male counterparts. Containing current research, lesson plans, and learning strategies and resources in science education, this book will be of benefit for classroom teachers, parents, and most importantly, the students they are teaching. Chapters of this book include: (1) Girls: Unique from the Start; (2) Girls and Learning: Falsehoods and Facts; (3) Turning Girls on to Science; and (4) Strategize for Success. Appended are: (1) Why the Difference?; (2) How Hands-On, Minds-On Methods Work; (3) Single-Sex Schools: Yea or Nay?; and (4) And the Walls Come Tumbling Down. A bibliography is also included.
Descriptors: Education Majors, Single Sex Schools, Elementary Education, Females, Elementary School Science, Learning Strategies, Science Instruction, Science Education, Teaching Methods, Womens Education, Majors (Students), College Students, Preservice Teachers, Cognitive Style, Males, Gender Differences, Student Motivation, Hands on Science, Student Interests
Scarecrow Press. Available from: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group. 4501 Forbes Blvd Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706. Tel: 800-462-6420; Fax: 800-338-4550; e-mail: custserv@rowman.com; Web site: https://roman.com/Scarecrow
Publication Type: Books; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education; Higher Education
Audience: Parents; Students; Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A