A recent study released by the University of Colorado at Boulder found that the "gender gap" between male and female physics students indicated by higher rates of participation and success in introductory physics courses among male students can be reduced by a short writing exercise that focuses on "affirming" female students' values, Inside Higher Ed reported. The study found that the gender gap originates from differences in preparation before college and psychological factors stemming from the stereotype that men are expected to do better in physics than do women, according to AScribe newswire. Research showed that the writing tasks, which ask participants to write about values most important to them, "buffer [women] from other threats," because women who believed in the gender stereotype obtained higher grades after completing the writing exercise.
Hebrew College, which enrolls between 1,400 and 1,500 students in learning programs ranging from a graduate school of Jewish education to a supplementary school for teenagers and adult learning, will sell its campus in Newton Center, Mass., to eliminate $32.1 million in debt, The Boston Globe reported. The College has suffered a series of financial setbacks over the last few years due to declining donations and the economic downturn. Despite these difficulties, the School of Jewish Music and rabbinical school at Hebrew College have continued to attract strong students, and graduates have found work at leading institutions, according to The Globe. Hebrew College will lease space at the Andover Newton Theological School starting August 2011 or August 2012, depending on when the campus is sold, according to The Globe.
