School-Based Professional Development to Increase the Number of Female Students Choosing and Persevering with Advanced Matriculation Level Mathematics and the Sciences
Of all high school physics students in Israel, only 35% are girls. Similarly, the dropout rate for female students from the advanced track in mathematics is double than that of male students. There are many reasons for this phenomenon; including differences in the level of support from parents, schools advisors and teachers, as well the more competitive classroom environment and the typical traditional teaching style in these subjects, which has been shown to alienate female students.
In order to encourage more girls to select and persevere with mathematics and the sciences at advanced levels, the Amal school network has proposed a model of school-based professional development for school staff, whose goal is to increase awareness, change attitudes and particularly to alter teaching practices. The proposed program will pilot in five Amal high schools, and will involve the entire educational team comprised of mathematics, physics and engineering teachers, guidance counselors, homeroom teachers and principals – a total of 20 staff members in each school.
The Amal network is a veteran operator of schools in Israel, with 40,000 students and 42 high schools across all sectors of society. The network was established in 1928, and specializes in vocational and technological education. The program would be directed by Dr. Ronit Ashkenazi, deputy director of the Amal network and head of pedagogy, and most likely managed by Miriam Schechter, previously responsible for gender equality at the Ministry of Education. Both are experienced in developing and operating national programs for advancing girls in the sciences.
The program will be conducted in each school over a period of six months. In the introductory stage, school staff will be exposed to the issue in a thematic manner. The heart of the program will allow for the teachers to work in their classroom with assistance from instructional coaches, both individually and in groups. Teachers will prepare customized lesson plans in which they will try out instruction techniques that are adapted to the learning styles of female students, reducing competitiveness in the classroom and encouraging collaborative learning.
Following peer evaluation and feedback, cases from the classroom will be used by the school’s staff in order to generate joint learning looking into the way female students learn, how this affects what they choose to study, and the extent to which they persevere and succeed. The lesson plans, as well as the assessment activities which will be developed in the program, will be published on the program website to allow more teachers to use them in their classrooms.
It is expected that in the five schools participating in the program the number of girls choosing and persevering with advanced level mathematics, the sciences or engineering will be 50% of the class, and that the dropout rate for girls from these subjects will decrease in comparison to other similar schools. The program hopes to improve the attitudes of school staff towards female students learning these subjects; and change teaching methods so that they contain more features tailored towards learning styles of girls.
* The text presented above shows the grant as approved by the Foundation Board / Grant 63