Developing a Collaborative Classroom

1. Developing a Collaborative Classroom Chapter Ten Gender and Sexual Orientation (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

2. Rationale for Collaborative Teaching and Learning • An interdependent world requires that we learn to live cooperatively • Competition for natural resources is counterproductive • Thirty years of research demonstrates that girls (and probably boys) learn more effectively when cooperation is the norm (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

3. Characteristics of a Collaborative Classroom • Both competitive and collaborative approaches are present • Teachers, students, other school personnel, parents, and members of the community work together • Lessons are integrated • Interest in home-school collaboration is high; parents are viewed as first teachers (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

4. Pedagogies: Old and New • Collaborative work in schools is not new: think about teams, choirs, plays • In collaborative classrooms, this kind of work is applied to the formal curriculum • In collaborative classrooms, the instructional mode is cooperative learning (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

5. The Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning: Two Factors • Goals cannot be accomplished unless each member of the group does his or her part (task specialization) • The group’s success depends on each individual learning the required material; the group sinks or swims together (positive goal interdependence) (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

6. Secondary Characteristics of Cooperative Learning • Emphasis on face-to-face interaction • Development of social skills • Group participation in reflection and analysis: monitoring how well the group is doing (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

7. Uses of Cooperative Learning • To teach specific content • To ensure active cognitive processing of information • To provide long-term support for and assistance in academic progress (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

8. Roles: Old and New • The teacher often acts as a coach • Students may serve as coaches as well • Parents, grandparents, and other community members often serve as instructors • Adults and students use a partnership model of teaching and learning (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

9. Place of Content Knowledge: Old and New • Because teachers and students collaborate, content is often interdisciplinary • Learning (and teaching) serve a variety of purposes • Students are better able to make connections between areas of knowledge (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

10. Assessment: Old and New • Assessment techniques should be compatible with instructional strategies • Assessment of collaborative work should measure performance over time (e.g., with portfolios or other demonstrations of both individual and group problem-solving ability) (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

11. Perspectives on Gender Identity • The development of one’s sense of identity—the knowledge that one is separate from parents and family—begins early • A critical part of identity development, beginning at least at birth, is gender (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

12. Sex and Gender Identity • Identification in terms of sex begins at about 18 months of age—”I am a girl,” “I am a boy” • However, while sex is a biological characteristic, gender is a social one—what it means to be a boy or girl in any given society—what the rules are (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

13. Gender Role Socialization • The rules associated with one’s gender role may vary by race, ethnicity, social class, religion, and even by geographical region • The process of learning one’s gender role can be described in three parts: (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

14. Gender Role Socialization • The child learns to distinguish between men and women, boys and girls, and to know what kinds of behavior are characteristic of each • The child learns to express appropriate gender role preferences for himself or herself • The child internalizes the “rules” and learns to behave in accordance with gender role standards (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

15. Gender Role Socialization in the Middle Class Parents: • Boys handled more roughly, girls get more verbal attention • Boys given more freedom to explore; girls kept closer to supervising parent • Girls get more help in solving problems; boys told to “figure it out” • Parents’ approval of “appropriate” gender behavior shapes the behavior of children (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

16. Other Socializing Agents • Television • Children’s books • Children’s toys • Nursery rhymes, religious stories • Proverbs and sayings (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

17. Masculine and Feminine Behavior • It is also the case that this society favors the active, the adventuresome, and the aggressive, and that these traits are largely associated with boys • But boys pay a high price for this association • Boys are socialized much earlier to gender role behavior than are girls con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

18. Masculine and Feminine Behavior • Boys are punished more harshly than girls for deviation from norms of gender role • Consider the relative meaning of the terms tomboy and sissy. • Which has a more negative connotation? • At what ages can these terms commonly be applied? (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

19. Perspectives on Gender and Schooling Schools as socializing agents: • Schools have an important socializing function for middle-class norms • Among those norms are those for gender roles • While these norms are changing, sanctions still operate when boys and girls move too far from the norms for each (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

20. Gender Stereotypes in School • For boys: independent, strong, logical, direct, adventurous, and aggressive • For girls: passive, weak, illogical, indirect, gentle, and emotional • These traits, while able to be exhibited by either sex, are genderized in favor of one or the other (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

21. Social Factors That Enforce Male and Female Stereotypes • Misogyny: the denigration or hatred of women • Homophobia: the fear of homosexuality and homosexuals • In both cases, the assumption is that feminine qualities are less valued, even contemptible (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

22. Some Further Definitions • Sex Role Stereotyping: when specific behaviors, abilities, interests and values are attributed to one sex or the other • Sex Bias: behavior that results from an underlying belief in sex role stereotypes • Sex Discrimination: any action that denies opportunities, privileges, or rewards on the basis of sex (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

23. Gender as an Issue of Legal Equity in Schools • Title IX, Educational Amendments (1972) “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

24. Some Important Court Cases • Grove City v. Bell (1984)—Supreme Court agrees that schools that do not receive direct federal funds can be excluded from Title IX • Civil Rights Restoration Act (1988)—overrode Bell, required all education institutions receiving any federal funds (e.g., student loans) must comply with Title IX • Numerous cases have been brought in lower courts on the question of girls’ athletics; most have affirmed Title IX (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

25. Some Important Court Cases • Other cases have been brought on issues of sexual harassment; the results have been mixed in adult-on-student cases: • Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools (1992)—petitioners may claim punitive damages under Title IX when intent to evade compliance is established (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

26. Some Important Court Cases • Gebser and Mccullough v. Lago Vista Independent School District (1997)—denied compensatory damages from both the teacher involved and the school district • The first successful student-on-student harassment case was decided in 1995: • Doe v. Petaluma Unified School District (1995)—plaintiff was awarded punitive damages of $250,000 (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

27. Major Studies on Gender and Schooling in the Last Decade • Mid-Atlantic Equity Center and NETWORK Study (1993) found eight areas of concern related to Title IX still to be addressed in order to ensure equal educational opportunity for all students: (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

28. Major Studies on Gender and Schooling in the Last Decade • Girls at risk of dropping out of school • Gender bias in student–teacher interactions • Participation and achievement of girls in math and science • Students enrolling and completing vocational education courses historically nontraditional to their sex • Gender bias in standardized tests • Gender differences in learning styles • Teen pregnancy and parenting • Sexual harassment of students by their peers (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

29. American Association of University Women (AAUW) Studies in the ’90s • Studied self-esteem, educational opportunities, career aspirations among boys and girls • Studied incidence and impact of sexual harassment in American schools, the impact of different educational approaches on girls’ achievement, the influence of school climate on adolescents, and single-sex education for girls (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

30. AAUW Studies: Findings • Lower self-esteem among girls • Differentiated educational experiences • Gendered career aspirations • Issues that tend to favor boys: • Academic achievement • Curricular materials • Learning environments • Sexuality education (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

31. Where We Are Now • New interest in the education of boys as well as girls • New issues of concern: • Single-sex education (of both boys and girls), particularly in math and science • Use of technology • New interest in socialization of boys to gender role, particularly with respect to violence, decreasing academic achievement, increasing numbers of boys on medication for hyperactivity disorders (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

32. Perspectives on Gender and Sexuality • Sexual activity among teenagers is lower than 10 or 15 years ago, but is still very high • The United States has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the industrialized world • The likelihood of sexual activity increases with age; more than half of seventeen-year- olds are sexually active con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

33. Perspectives on Gender and Sexuality • Among the most difficult problems facing teachers and students is the relationship between heterosexual and homosexual students • Public awareness about homophobia has increased, due largely to gay and lesbian activism and the tragedy of AIDS • Some studies suggest that the more students know about homosexuality, the less homophobic they will be con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

34. Perspectives on Gender and Sexuality • Yet, cognitive knowledge about homosexuality often fails to neutralize deep-seated attitudes toward the issue • Tolerance is also complicated by gender-related issues involved: • Hostility and violence are more often directed toward gay men • Losing jobs or being evicted from housing is a more common problem for lesbians con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

35. Perspectives on Gender and Sexuality • Differences in masculine and feminine traits (and behavior) are perhaps as wide among homosexuals as they are among heterosexuals, which serves to complicate the issue still further • The belief that gay men are “feminine” and lesbians are “masculine” is as much a stereotype as any other kind of stereotypic categorization • One of the most difficult aspects of homosexuality in a homophobic society is the separation of sex and gender (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

36. Teachers Can Decrease Levels of Homophobia • By using gender-free terminology (e.g., partners and persons) instead of husband, wife, boyfriend, or girlfriend • By systematically interrupting homophobic comments • By overtly using homophobic misinformation to encourage critical thinking • By using educational materials that do not assume that all students are heterosexual (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

37. Ethical Issues • The degree to which all students are encouraged to be open, reflective, and critical thinkers • The degree to which open inquiry may place students at odds with their families or the community • The degree to which the role of the school is seen as one which helps all students to understand, appreciate, and negotiate differences—of gender and sexuality as well as of other characteristics (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

38. Something to Think About Although it is true that not every single boy or girl believes in or adheres to gender stereotypes, it is generally true that society, in part through schooling, attempts to enforce them. . .even in the face of contrary evidence. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e