Science for Girls

Successful Classroom Strategies

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.