ERIC Number: ED432987
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1999-Jun
Pages: 15
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
A League of Their Own: Gender, Technology, and Instructional Practices.
Craig, Dorothy Valcarcel
This study examined gender differences and the process of Internet-assisted inquiry in a single-sex, technology-enhanced environment as female students pursued research topics within a math and science framework. Five group case studies consisted of various configurations selected from a cohort group of students and teachers representing two city school systems, five county systems, and one private school. Participants were teachers and female students representing grades 5 through 8 from a purposive sample in a lab-type setting where they engaged in group inquiry with the assistance of networked computers, peers, teachers, and other resources available on a university campus. A qualitative approach to research was implemented using the constant comparative method of data analysis. Data in the form of observational field notes, transcripts of video tapes, artifacts, and photos resulting from a two-week summer workshop revealed interesting findings regarding student behaviors while interacting with computers in a single-sex environment. Results from the study indicated that female students--when interacting within a single-sex environment--display similar behaviors as male students do when engaging in technology-enhanced activities. Additional findings show that the classroom teacher, operating within a theoretical framework and personal educational philosophy, can either hinder or enhance student processes. (Contains 20 references.) (Author/AEF)
Descriptors: Case Studies, Comparative Analysis, Computer Assisted Instruction, Discovery Learning, Discovery Processes, Educational Environment, Educational Practices, Educational Technology, Elementary Secondary Education, Females, Homogeneous Grouping, Information Seeking, Inquiry, Internet, Man Machine Systems, Mathematics Instruction, Qualitative Research, Science Instruction, Sex Differences, Single Sex Classes, Single Sex Schools, Student Surveys, Tables (Data), Teacher Attitudes, Teacher Role, Teacher Student Relationship, Workshops
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eisenhower Program for Mathematics and Science Education (ED), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: In: Spotlight on the Future, NECC '99. National Educational Computing Conference Proceedings (20th, Atlantic City, NJ, June 22-24, 1999); see IR 019 708.