Erin and Sara

Annotations:

• Use the Note Area to cite sources of information you found. Click the upper right corner of the box to make the note pad appear, then type.

1. Level 2: Sources Before 2010. In the bubbles below, record the main idea of each of the five articles we read for the discussion posts. Use dates in APA style.
   1. "The Truth about Boys and Girls" by Sara Mead (2006) provides statistical evidence of success rates for each gender.

      Annotations:

      • http://www.cpec.ca.gov/CompleteReports/ExternalDocuments/ESO_BoysAndGirls.pdf
      1. Racial and SES gap are bigger issues than gender.
      2. Boys and girls are both progressing, but girls are progressing at a faster rate.
   2. "The Problem with Gender-Based Education" by Sara Mead (2008) discusses where gaps in learning are greater, and offers another option for dividing students into learning groups.

      Annotations:

      • Note the citation here - it is APA style.  The author's last name and the date of the article/book.  Then at the end, you would have a list of references in APA style that would include the name of the article/book - like what most of you did for your biography project.
      1. Gaps in learning are greater within each gender than between the two.
      2. Grouping students by development level would be more effective.
   3. "Pay Closer Attention: Boys are struggling academically" by Whitmire (2004) focuses on how the learning gap is not necessarily due to the fact that boys are achieving less, but that society has changed in ways that are more helpful for girls.

      Annotations:

      • http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/2004-12-02-boys-girls-academics_x.htm
   4. "How Schools Shortchange Girls" discusses how girls' education is not addressed or seen as an issue as worth addressing as the issue of race.

      Annotations:

      • https://iii.library.unt.edu/articles/4425801.31569/1.PDF
   5. "Landscapes of Learning: Sexism in the schools" by Greene, as the title suggests, brings up the issue of sexism in schools. She mentions that the first step in changing this is awareness, and also makes connections to Dewey.

      Annotations:

      • https://iii.library.unt.edu/articles/4406267.31551/1.PDF
2. Level 2: Sources After 2010. Choose 5 of the 8 new articles I provided, or search the web for others. Any combination is also fine. In the bubbles below, record the main idea of each.
   1. Liana Heitin (2014), in "Science Teachers Favor Males in Class, Study Says," discusses the results of a study that shows how boys are more often addressed in science classes, even by female teachers.

      Annotations:

      • http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2014/03/study_science_teachers_inadver.html?cmp=ENL-CM-NEWS2
   2. "Math, Reading Gaps By Gender Persist, Global Study Finds" by Erik Robelen (2013) discusses the gaps in both mentioned areas, but brings to light the size of the gaps on a global level. The reading gap is much larger in boys than the math gap in girls.

      Annotations:

      • http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2013/03/math_achievement_gap_for_girls.html?qs=boys+and+girls
   3. "Better to Be Lucky Than Good: The Persistent Gender Gap in Standardized Testing" by Segal (2013) discusses SAT testing and how the scores do not necessarily reflect each gender's strengths in questions, but the test itself.

      Annotations:

      • http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/reimagining/2013/07/The_SATs_Gender_Gap.html?qs=girls+and+boys
      1. Changing the way the test is scored may be the best solution to the problem.
      2. Girls' and boys' scores decrease and increase at the same time, but not necessarily to the same degree.
   4. Adams (2013), in "A Closer Look at Why More Women than Men are Going to College," seems to focus more on high school choices and how that affects the decision to go to college.

      Annotations:

      • http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/college_bound/2013/10/a_closer_look_at_why_more_females_are_going_to_college.html?qs=girls+and+boys
   5. Sarah D. Sparks (2014), in "Gender Gaps Alter Benefits of Extracurricular Activities, Study Finds," describes how involvement in outside activities and groups tends to heighten achievement in different areas of school.

      Annotations:

      • http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/inside-school-research/2014/01/gender_gaps_alter_benefits_of_.html?qs=girls+and+boys
      1. More club involvement equated to higher grades.
      2. Involvement in church tended to lead to fewer behavior issues.
3. Level 1: At least three connections go in bubbles on this level. What have you found to remain the same throughout both time periods (before 2010 and after 2010) concerning girls' and boys' ed? Write these connections in boxes/bubbles on this level.

   Annotations:

   • Here is where you show evidence of your thinking. Connect the pieces about boys and girls' education that you have found to be the same in sources before 2010 (which we read for the discussions) and in sources you found dated after 2010.
   1. Both Greene and Robelen (2013) agree that getting to know your students can help to address differences between genders. An example of this includes the anxiety that girls face in math class.
   2. Tom Segal (2013) and Sara Mead both show that the issue is not that boys are getting worse in school and scoring lower, but rather that girls are achieving higher at a faster rate.
   3. Sara Mead (2006) and Erik Robelen (2013) both have provided evidence through test scores that boys achieve higher in science and especially math, whereas girls perform better in reading.
4. Level 3: What differences in the updated information did you find? Compare articles dated after 2010 to those dated before 2010. Record at least three.
   1. Mead (2006) says that race and SES have a greater affect on test scores than gender, but Segal (2013) claims that the difference in scores has more to do with the test itself.
   2. Whitmire (2004) discusses how society has changed for the better for females, which contributes to their education, but Sparks (2014) mentions that involvement in extracurricular activities can affect classroom achievement for both boys and girls.
   3. The newer articles tend to put more emphasis on studies performed such as Heitin's (2014) article about science classrooms, whereas the older articles generalize more.
   4. Level 4: Look at sources dated after 2010 that your group found for this week's discussion posts. On this level, show at least two likenesses (to the right) and two differences(to the left) you found as you studied these and ANY other works we have studied in the course. Cite your findings.
      1. We found an article titled Keep them Separated? Gender-based Education Being Challenged (2012) that related to the article by Sara Mead "The Problem with Gender-Based Education". Both articles:

         Annotations:

         • http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2012/09/12/keep-them-separated-gender-based-education-being-challenged/ and http://www.newamerica.net/blog/early-ed-watch/2008/problem-gender-based-education-2517
         1. Point out that there is no research showing that separating the genders gives benefit to the students’ education.
         2. Mention stereotypes as the primary reason classrooms are gender divided.
      2. The Article Gender-Based Classroom: Is this the answer to student success? is different from the article by Sara Mead: "The Truth about Boys and Girls".

         Annotations:

         • http://www.cpec.ca.gov/CompleteReports/ExternalDocuments/ESO_BoysAndGirls.pdf and http://www.parents-kids.com/index.php/current-issue-v15-2/archive-v15-126/152-parents-kids-magazine-may-2012-issue/1002-gender-based-classrooms-is-this-the-answer-to-student-success
         1. The Article: Gender-Based Classroom: Is this the answer to student success? differs from the article by Whitmire titled: Pay closer attention: Boys are struggling academically. The key differences were:

            Annotations:

            • http://www.parents-kids.com/index.php/current-issue-v15-2/archive-v15-126/152-parents-kids-magazine-may-2012-issue/1002-gender-based-classrooms-is-this-the-answer-to-student-success and http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/2004-12-02-boys-girls-academics_x.htm
            1. Reason for separation: One argues due to physical and social differences, while the other is because boys are academically suffering.
            2. The USA article discusses the challenge of college and career for boys, while the other article points out the early developmental differences between the genders.
         2. Mead points out that the issue may lie within the sub groups of boys while the other article doesn’t point to race as being an issue.
         3. Mead shows that test scores are not declining for boys, the differing article discusses the benefits of only overall classroom environment.
      3. The article titled Gender-Based Classroom: Is this the answer to student success? (2013) is similar to Sara Mead’s article The Problem with Gender-Based Education. Both articles:

         Annotations:

         • http://www.parents-kids.com/index.php/current-issue-v15-2/archive-v15-126/152-parents-kids-magazine-may-2012-issue/1002-gender-based-classrooms-is-this-the-answer-to-student-success and http://www.newamerica.net/blog/early-ed-watch/2008/problem-gender-based-education-2517
         1. Discussed that students not only learn differently, but their social development is very different.
         2. Mentioned that gender separation is viewed as discriminatory by some and that there isn’t a lot of proof that it is a solution.
      4. Level 5: What conclusion(s) have you drawn about girls and boys' education as a result of synthesizing all you have read for this assignment?
         1. The issue of achievement between boys and girls has to do with how they learn, and the first step is awareness of the issue.

            Annotations:

            • http://www.hereiswhereifound.com.  A notation needs to be on each of your bubbles in this area - support what you believe!  For example, you could refer to something in "Savage Inequalities", in which case you would write: (Kozol, 1991)
         2. There is no significant or outstanding benefit to gender-based teaching that has been proven to succeed.
         3. If test scores are improving for girls and for the most part staying the same for boys, then the issue for boys needs more research. (As Sara Mead mentions: The issue lies within the subgroups of boys).