Samantha Russo and Chelsey Kersh

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 main idea in the Mead (2006) article is that the common belief of boys doing worse in school is not true.
      1. Boys are scoring higher and achieving more than ever before.
      2. It is not that boys are performing worse; girls are just improving at a faster rate.
   2. The main idea in the Mead article (2008) is that the idea that each gender should be taught differently in schools because of brain differences is false.

      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. There is simply not enough evidence that girls and boys should be taught differently.
      2. There are too many variables to know at this time whether gender-based education is necessary.
   3. The Whitmire article's (2004) main idea is that boys are struggling because society has changed in ways that help girls.
   4. Greene's article (1978) states that sexism is destructive.
      1. Teachers need to put effort into not labeling students as "others" by IQ or sex.
   5. Whitmire, in "How Schools Shortchange Girls" (2004) claims that girls are ignored and falling behind the boys in school, and they are discriminated against in the work place.
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. The Robelen article (2013) states that girls have higher anxiety about math in general, but they do not have more anxiety when taking actual math tests.
      1. Their anxiety can be improved by teachers simply addressing their anxiety.
   2. Segal (2013) says that boys have done consistently better than girls on the SAT, especially on the math section.
      1. The reason could be because of how the test is structured and scored.
      2. This does not match up with what is happening in the classrooms: girls earn higher grades than boys in math their freshman year.
   3. Heitin's blog (2014) says that science teachers are unintentionally favoring boys over girls in their classrooms.
      1. Teachers speak more often to boys than girls.
      2. When asked about their best students, teachers describe more boys than girls.
   4. In his article, Brenneman (2013) discusses the differences in behavior between girls and boys in the U.S. and Asia.
      1. In the U.S., girls have better behavior control than boys.
      2. In Asia, there is no difference like in the U.S., but teachers still perceive a difference.
   5. In Mead's (2013) article, there are many more boys than girls at NYC's elite public schools.
      1. Girls have caught up to and even surpassed boys in some cases regarding academics.
      2. The reason for this is that fewer women take the exam to get into these schools, possibly because of the heavy focus on math and science.
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. There are differences in the scores between genders.
   2. Teachers should adhere to and be conscious of gender differences.
      1. Mead (2006) claims that boys are scoring higher and achieving more than ever before.
      2. Robelen (2013) calls for directly addressing the anxiety that girls have with math.
      3. Mead (2006) states that girls are improving academically at a faster rate than boys.
   3. Boys are falling behind academically.
      1. Fewer males are enrolling in college than females.
   4. Both Mead (2006) and Robelen (2013) imply that teachers should be aware of and base their teaching styles off of the gender differences.
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. Whitmire (2004) claims that the boys are struggling to compete academically with girls, while Segal (2013) gives evidence that boys are performing better academically than girls on the SAT.
   2. Whitmire (2004) states that society has changed in ways that help girls, yet Heitin (2014) describes that science teachers are favoring the boys over the girls in their classes.
   3. Whitmire (2004) talks about how boys are not performing as well as girls, yet Robelen (2013) says that boys are testing in all ten STEM subjects better than girls overall.
   4. The articles before 2010 talked about academic scores on a national level, while articles after 2010 discussed the scores on a global level.
   5. 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 that the articles Mead (2008), Greene (1978), Adams (2013) and Spark (2014) agree that school needs to be a center of learning and focus around students.
         1. Spark (2014) states that gender gaps alter the benefits of extracuriccular activities and make a positive impact on the lives of rural youth.
         2. Greene (1978) generally expresses the opinion that teachers need to adapt to the students, be aware of the gender gap, but focus on treating every student equally.
         3. Adams (2013) and Mead (2008) both discuss the gaps between males and females. Gender gaps did not exist due to development, but due to quality of education.
      2. Older articles, such as Mead (2008), and newer articles, such as Robelen (2013), discuss test scores at different levels globally.
         1. Articles disagree on ways to intervene with the gender gap between test scores.
            1. Greene (1978) and Robelen (2013) agree that intervention needs to be up to the teachers discretion. Teachers need to create a stimulating learning environment for both genders.
            2. Heitin (2014) and Mackie (2004) state that affirmative action needs to change to help girls. There are differences in how boys and girls grow over time, and there has to be a focus on what boys and girls struggle with.
         2. Robelen (2013) finds results from boys and girls globally.
         3. Mead (2008) and Mead (2006) only find results from boys and girls nationwide.
      3. Adams (2013), Robelen (2013), and Mead (2008) both discuss that differences between genders is not the only influence on academic scores.
         1. Robelen (2013) "While statistically significant, the difference dwarfed by the far larger gaps seen by race, ethnicity, and income level."
         2. Adams (2013) determined that there were major differences in enrollment patterns by gender among minorities.
         3. Mead (2008) says that boys are doing miserably in inner cities and also in wealthy school districts. This trend appears throughout the industrialized world.
      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. There are many factors that affect test scores besides gender.

            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)
            1. Robelen (2013) focuses results on boys and girls globally. These results differ in industrialized areas.
            2. Robelen (2013) states that girls are more anxious than boys, especially in mathematics and while taking examinations.
            3. Mead (2006) researches the differences in development between boys and girls. Girls succeed faster at language arts whereas boys succeed faster at physical activities.
         2. Test scores differ at global levels. We should be aware of the differences, but we should not agree with every opinion written in an article.
            1. Gender gaps occur mainly in industrialized areas. The majority of the research studies, such as Mead (2006), Mead (2008), Heitin (2014), and Adams (2013) all bass their research in the United States of America
            2. Robelen (2013) finds results from boys and girls globally, and concludes that widegender gaps mainly occur only in the United States.
            3. A lot of authors will state their opinion on why something occurs, such as gender gaps, but the authors do not provide solutions that will work for every institution.
         3. Teachers should be aware of the gender gaps, but also create solutions which suit their classrooms.
            1. Greene (1978) and Robelen (2013) both agree that teachers need to adapt to the students.
            2. Teachers need to be aware of the condition of each student. According to Robelen (2013), anxiety is very common among women. Teachers could inform their students of both genders and help them with anxiety issues.
            3. Extracuriccular activities help students become more well-rounded individuals. Sparks (2014) states that extracurricular activities help indivudals from both genders in rural areas.
   6. Articles before 2010 focus mainly on test scores, while articles after 2010 focus on factors other than academic ones, such as behavior and extracurricular activities.