Activity 1

Title: Personal Learning Inventory

Instructional Strategy: Brainstorming/Critical Thinking

Purpose: This activity is designed to help students become aware of their preferred mode of learning.

Objectives:

• Generate an inventory of preferred mode of learning.
• Compare preferred mode of learning with that of others.
• Develop understanding of differences in preferred mode of learning between multiple individuals.

Student Activity:

Write the answers to the following questions on a piece of paper:

1. What subject(s) did you excel in during your K-12 years?
2. What test format correlated to your best performance on tests?
3. What types of classroom atmosphere have you found most comfortable?
4. What study strategies have you found most beneficial?
5. Do you feel more comfortable following directions or exploring on your own?

Take five minutes or more if necessary to write down the answers to the above. Share your answers with the entire class. The instructor or a student volunteer can take notes on the board so the whole class can observe the similarities and differences.

Variation:

1. Share your answers in groups of three to four and discuss the similarities and differences of the answers of each group. Then discuss why these similarities and differences exist.
2. Discuss in groups of three or four how teaching style can be affected by knowing your own preferred mode of learning. For instance, is it going to be more difficult or easy to design a lesson that you personally least prefer as a mode of learning?
3. Form groups of four to five composed of students from different subject areas.
4. Form groups by the test format that you typically succeed at and then write down a few possible test questions for the next exam or quiz related to Chapter 4 or similar material.
5. In a round robin fashion, offer study strategies that typically work for you while the instructor creates a list on the board. Once this list exceeds twenty or twenty-five items, suggest a few key categories for these strategies (e.g., organizational, anxiety reducing, etc.). Discuss strengths and limitations of the strategies.

Activity 2

Title: Girls Are . . . Boys Are . . .

Instructional Strategy: Brainstorming/Critical Thinking

Purpose: This activity is designed to help students understand the prevalent stereotypes related to gender issues.

Objectives:

• Identify the stereotypes related to gender differences.
• Engage in a discussion on gender-related stereotypes.
• Determine if you personally fit stereotypical gender-related characteristics.

Student Activity:

On the board the instructor will write a table with two columns. One column will say "Girls are . . ." and the other column will say "Boys are . . ." Think of the stereotypical gender characteristics related to girls and boys and share it with the class. The instructor will write what the class shares on the board. The instructor can take volunteers or collect responses in a round robin fashion with students contributing one idea at a time. From the characteristics that are written on the board, the instructor can facilitate a discussion on: (1) if there are any characteristics that are shared among genders, (2) if there are any characteristics that are direct opposites, and (3) how students suspect the gender-related stereotypical characteristics developed. Challenge students to think of examples that do not support the stereotypes. Discuss the implications of stereotypes for education.

Variation:

1. Think and share two to three instances where you made assumptions about an individual due to his/her gender, and how that affected your behavior.
2. Think and share your personal experience on when you were treated differently in a classroom due to your gender.
3. Form groups of three to four and design a skit in which a teacher treated a male or female student in a stereotypical way. Reenact the skit with less-biased and more effective displays of teaching.