A New Framework for Science in the Classroom for Both Girls and Boys - Part 1

A New Framework for Science in the Classroom for both Girls and Boys - Part 1

I discovered several themes when collecting the data and focusing on the research question: How can I change my ways of teaching science so that I would better represent the needs, knowledge, efforts, voice, and dreams of all my students?

Allison Ryan and Helen Patrick examined 7th and 8th grade students - their social environment of their classroom, student motivation, engagement and achievement all were observed when they felt that their teacher understood and supported them. Keeping this in mind, along with my own research, I have developed a new framework for science in the classroom for both girls and boys. Within this new framework I propose a list of things to change and how to make the change.

1. Encourage Student Voice - Student success in science, especially for girls, requires that students have opportunities to find and develop their voice.
1. What Should a Teacher Do to Encourage Student Voice?
1. Help students recognize the moments during a lesson when you need to present and explain a concept and when you encourage and expect students to express their own understanding and ideas.
2. Collect data for yourself to see the participation rate of individual students. Keep track of which students talk and under what conditions.
3. Allow for student thinking time. Increase your wait time. Three seconds greatly increases student participation and  quality of responses (Rowe, 1987).
4. Encourage multiple voices and new voices. Use a talking stick or talking circles. Talking chips help equalize participation.
2. Unfold the Question of Equity - Developing an understanding of what equity means and why it is important requires that we be explicit with our students about the history, social structures, and resulting attitudes that have led to inequalities within the field of science and the science classroom. Explicit attention to gender and racial equity and helping students to see scientists as regular people, all seem to have a positive effect (Finson, 2002). Many of us are familiar with programs that expose girls to role models and career information, improving girls self-confidence as well as their perceptions of their ability to do science. In addition to these programs I suggest that the discipline of science must include the perspectives and insights of women; these ideas should be shared within the design of the curriculum. In other words, the contributions of women and minorities should be part of the historical analysis of the development of scientific knowledge.
1. What Should a Teacher Do to Unfold the Question of Equity?
1. Learn to see inequity. Educate yourself about how systems of privilege are constructed and maintained. Listen to each word you use in the classroom. Gloria Ladson-Billings (2006) describes this as developing sociopolitical consciousness and includes both local issues of the community and larger issues that affect equity.
2. Examine what is included and not included in your curriculum. Help students master this knowledge and help them see what has been omitted.

Science learning of non-mainstream students is influenced by a variety of factors associated with their racial, ethnic, linguistics, and social class backgrounds. Science has it own code of conduct and language, which historically clashes with the virtues of femininity. Learning science must engage student in constructing knowledge and linking new ideas to what is known.What has not been emphasized is that scientific inquiry in itself has emerged from certain political, cultural, and socioeconomic frameworks and bringing awareness to this fact can help unfold the question of equity in your classroom.

More suggestions from my New Framework for Science in the Classroom for both Girls and Boys will be shared in the next blog.