Chapter 10 Developing a Collaborative Classroom

1. Chapter 10Developing a Collaborative Classroom Gender and Sexual Orientation

2. Focus Questions • If you were buying clothes for a newborn, how would you decide the color? • What do you think about girls who use vulgar language? How about boys who do? • How would you feel if a family member suddenly declared they were gay? • How would you feel if a family member told you they wanted to change their gender? • Do you think of certain professions or subjects as being more appropriate for one gender over another?

3. Collaborative Teaching and Learning • Rationale • Reflects the interdependent global economic and political community • 30 years of research on gender and the different experiences boys and girls have in school • Girls- focus on preserving relationships and tend to learn more when collaboration rather than competition is central to the learning process • Boys- focus on principles of behavior

4. Characteristics of a Collaborative Classroom • Individual learning through collaboration • Balance between competition and collaboration • Responsibility of all members of the community • Integration of subject matter that leads to students seeing connections • Home-school collaboration • Students work together, bringing their individual perspectives and experiences, to attain new knowledge

5. Pedagogies Old New • Content- Co-curricular or extra-curricular • Sports, choirs, drama club, newspaper/yearbook etc. • Teachers- Sit and Get • Parents- assistive roles • Assessment- paper/pencil, regurgitating memorized facts • Content- Formal Curriculum • Cooperative Learning • Positive goal interdependence • Kagan structures • Task Specialization • Teacher as Coach • Parents- central to instruction • Assessment- group projects, performance over time

6. Reasons for lack of parental involvement • Significant transient problem- high rate of mobility • Alienation between the home and school- social/racial differences • School-generated problems- lack of sensitivity to needs and problems of students and their families • Non-traditional families- children cared for by other people than biological parents

7. Assessments • Beyond standardized tests • Variety of evaluative techniques • Go beyond simple recall of data/facts • Real world • Perform tasks/solve problems

8. Gender Role Socialization • Development of a sense of identity • 7/8 months old- individual identity • 18 months- gender identity • 3 years old- internalized gender • Stages of Socialization • Child learns to distinguish between males and females • Child learns to express appropriate gender role preferences • Child learns to behave in accordance with gender role standards

9. Gender Role Socialization • Dominant Culture • White, Middle-class • Influenced by: • Parents • Television • Media’s sexualization of young female performers • Marketing of unrealistic beauty standards (fashion, diet, beauty industries) • Video games/Music lyrics/videos that promote violence and negative stereotypes • Sex stereotypes is kids’ tv programs and movies • Books • Toys • Nursery Rhymes, Bible stories, Proverbs and sayings, Songs

11. Masculine/FeminineBehavior Boys Girls • Socialized much earlier than girls to be “manly” • “Sissies” • Headed down the wrong path • Punished more for deviation of “masculine” behavior • Called a “tomboy” • Will grow out of it

12. Gender Stereotyping Males Females • Aggressive • Independent • Strong • Logical • Direct • Adventurous • Ambitious • Non-emotional • Confident • Good at math and science • Loud • Plays with balls • Passive • Weak • Illogical • Indirect • Gentle • Emotional • Good at language and writing • Quiet • Plays with dolls

13. Gender Role Stereotyping • Genderized Traits • Traits that any person may be able to display but that are assigned value when displayed by people of the appropriate sex • Enforcing Stereotypes • Homophobia- fear of homosexuality and homosexuals • Misogyny- hatred and mistrust of women • Sex stereotypes- specific behaviors, abilities, interests, or values attributed to one sex over another • Sex bias- results from an underlying belief in sex role stereotypes • Sex Discrimination- action, rule, or law denies opportunities, privileges, or rewards to members of a particular sex

14. Gender as an Issue of Legal Equity in Schools • Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 • Prohibit discrimination in elementary and secondary schools on the basis of sex

15. Human Rights • Gay, Lesbian, Transgendered, Bisexual Rights • Make no assumption about sexuality • Have something gay-related visible in your office • Support, normalize, and validate a person’s feelings about his or her sexuality • Do not advise students to come out to parents, family and friends • Guarantee confidentiality • Challenge homophobia • Combat heterosexism in your classroom • Learn about and refer to community organizations • Encourage school administrators to adopt and enforce anti-discrimination policies • Provide role models