Strategies For a More
Gender-Equitable Classroom
AUTHOR: Dr. Carol T. Benson
SUBJECT(S): Applies to all subjects
GRADE LEVEL(S): K - 12
SUMMARY:
Each year, I try to incorporate into my teaching methods, some strategies that help all students to learn better. This seems an impossible task, and I find myself looking more closely at one group or another within my classroom, hoping to make small differences. As a mathematics teacher who is aware of some of the AAUW and other gender-related research, I chose to implement strategies that promote gender equity. It should come as no great surprise, that most of the strategies I am about to describe help to create a fairer classroom climate for all students.
A false assumption that we, as teachers, sometimes make is that we are being unfair to students when we call on them for answers to difficult questions if they appear to be self-conscious, shy, or of low ability. We tend, quite naturally, to try to call on students who know the answers and have raised their hands. However, this strategy holds only a small cadre of volunteers accountable for the material we study and for sharing ideas during discussions. We would be horrified if only those few volunteers worked on their homework or studied our subject. However, we seem to consider it appropriate, and even kind, to include only a few star pupils in active class discussion and query. The strategy that I use to avoid this teacher behavior was suggested in a presentation by Sadker and Sadker (authors of Failing at Fairness, published by Scribner) that I attended.
I make use of a packet of cards with one student name on each card, two cards per student. I use the information cards that I have students fill out the first day of class for this purpose. This includes name, parent name, address, phone number, and a short paragraph about the student. The second card contains only the name and an additional sentence about the student. I bring these cards to class each day and shuffle them daily or weekly, depending upon the frequency with which I am calling on students. When an opportunity comes up for a student response, I wait a few seconds so that all students may think about the question and compose an answer. I then call upon the student whose card is on the top of the deck. This allows each student to have an equal chance at being called upon; moreover, each is equally likely to be asked an easy or difficult question.
I have used these cards for selecting students for more than a year now. I am occasionally surprised to find a student who does not perform very well in written work answer a difficult question with great insight. This helps me to remember why we should use alternate assessments. Paper and pencil tests do not always test understanding. No one is expected to always know the answer to a question because students know that the responder was selected at random.
A second strategy that I use is to wait a minimum of three seconds (count one-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand.) This allows the students who think before answering adequate time to think through a question and form an answer before some eager young student (usually a male) volunteers. This strategy, coupled with the use of cards to determine who gets the opportunity to answer a question, distributes the questions more evenly and allows all students an opportunity to think before an answer is provided.
A third strategy that I use is to assign small group projects with assigned roles and to encourage sharing of ideas during the time students are asked to work on problems. Some students work better alone, but many (particularly females) tend to work better in cooperative efforts. When a variety of activities are used to promote learning (including small groups, partner quizzes and shared homework assignments) students tend to participate more actively in the learning process. Group projects assigned may include content problems or research into contributions to the area of mathematics made by different cultural groups.
A fourth strategy, one that I use based solely on personal observations, is related to the use of technology. When teaching my students to use new technology, I provide structured worksheets with key stroking so that students who get lost in the midst of an explanation can look back to the written coding and catch up with the group. This also allows students to participate actively when we are using a new feature of the calculator or computer. In the past, there were always a few students who would not use their calculators when the class was doing so, because they felt a need to copy down every keystroke of the process, for fear that they would not know how to repeat the sequence. They missed the opportunity to work along with the other members of their class. Now that I can tell them that all keystrokes for the class example are on the worksheet with explanations, they can participate without the fear of going home and not knowing what to do. Since fewer females are technology literate, this also helps promote fairness in the classroom.
I have become more watchful of my behaviors in the classroom in a few more areas, which I will share here briefly. I try to provide posters to spark interest among my students, but am watchful that a variety of role models are presented in these posters. Students tend to think of mathematicians as white males; they need to have their image widened. I try to praise students frequently for their ability and performance but only rarely for their appearance. Young men tend to be praised (or criticized) for performance; young women for their appearance or that of their work. We need to remember to be critical of the work of all our students. That is how they learn. They know that we criticize because we know they can do better work. Lack of criticism may be interpreted as lack of confidence in their abilities. Constructive criticism sends a clear message of high expectations, encouraging them to have high expectations for themselves.
It is my belief that the more we treat all our students like bright human beings who can do great things and think great thoughts, the more likely they are to do so.
Dr. Carol Benson University High School 7100 Illinois State
University Normal, IL 61790-7100 ph 309 438-8346 fax 309 438-5198
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