SHOULD BOYS AND GIRLS BE IN SEPARATE CLASSROOMS?

Jean Wolph

Louisville Writing Project

Kentucky Writing Project Network

2

Writing Reading Argument MINI-UNITEmphasis

# of Lessons

ARGUMENT SKILLS PRODUCT ELEMENTS OF

ARGUMENT CLOSE READING STRATEGIES

RESPONSE TO READINGS TOPICS

Draft, Feedback, Revise, Reflect Close reading strategies

Writing & talking to develop knowledge on

topic or issue

Countering

5 Lessons(6 days)

Entering Skills: Taking notes from sources. Making a strong claim, selecting relevant evidence, quoting and paraphrasing, citing sources.

Foundational Skills: Understanding the difference between pro/con and countering.Organizing an argument essay that includes a counter.

Digging Deeper:

Product: Multi-paragraph draft

• Kernel Essay

• Revision

ClaimEvidenceCounter

Studying models

They Say/I Say

SHOULD BOYS AND GIRLS BE TAUGHT IN SEPARATE CLASSROOMS?

3 shared texts(radio broadcast, 2 articles)

Mini-Unit Overview

Writing Standards Emphasized in the Mini-Unit

Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both....

Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources ….

Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources…and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism ….

Draw evidence from …informational texts ….

Write routinely over longer and…shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Days 4-5 Day 6

Listen to NPR “On Point” show about single-sex class-rooms. Take notes using “They Say/I Say”chart.

Share and discuss notes from broad-cast.

Complete the “I Say” side of the chart.

Compare pro-con article with debate-format argument to understand the difference between informing and arguing.

Study and analyze examples of countering.

Revise a model to add countering.

Draft a short argument with these components:

Overview of issue

Claim

Evidence

Concession

Counter

Conclusion

Mini-Unit Sequence

WHAT WE’LL DO

Learn some new terms that help us see what argument writers are doing.

Listen to and take notes on an NPR (National Public Radio) show, On Point, on the debate over single-sex education, to get an overview of the issue.

Compare a pro-con article with argument pieces to understand the difference between informing and arguing.

Take a position on the issue of single-sex classrooms.

Use evidence from these articles and the radio show to write a short argument that supports your position and addresses and counters an argument of the opposition.

NEW TERMS AND ARGUMENT MOVES

Concession—admitting a flaw, problem, or limitation of your argument, evidence, or claim

Acknowledge Limitations—concession Counter—pushing back against another

claim, piece of evidence, or argument Acknowledge Counterclaim—note a claim

that the opposition makes Demonstrate Limitations—show a weakness

in a claim, piece of evidence, or argument or the opposition

Benefits—advantages

DEBATING SINGLE-SEX CLASSROOMSNPR’S ON POINTWITH GUEST HOST JANE CLAYSONDECEMBER 3, 2014 AT 10:00 AM 

Boys and girls in separate classrooms:

Numbers are rising in public schools. We’ll look at the trend and

the  pushback.

What do we expect to learn in this broadcast?

In this file photo taken May 9, 2012, Dillon Elledge, 8, right, and Brody Kemble, 7, second from right, work with flash cards in their all-boys classroom at Middleton Heights Elementary in Middleton, Idaho. (AP)

SOURCES TO CITE FROM THE BROADCAST

Sarah Sparks, assistant editor at Education Week.(@sarahdsparks)

Nakia Douglas, principal of the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy in Dallas, TX. (@nakiadouglas75)

Lise Eliot, associate professor of neuroscience at the Chicago Medical School of Rosalind Franklin University. Author, “Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences Grow Into Troublesome Gaps — And What We Can Do About It.” (@lise_eliot)

Kathy Piechura-Couture, professor of education at Stetson University.

Synthia Taylor, principal of Marshall Middle School in Janesville, WI. (@love_detour)

PREPARE TO TAKE NOTES

They Say I Say (reactions and questions)

Sarah Sparks, assistant editor at Education Week

Nakia Douglas, principal of the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy in Dallas, TX

Lise Eliot, associate professor of neuroscience at the Chicago Medical School of Rosalind Franklin University. Author, “Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences Grow Into Troublesome Gaps — And What We Can Do About It.”Kathy Piechura-Couture, professor of education at Stetson University

Synthia Taylor, principal of Marshall Middle School in Janesville, WI

Other:

Leave plenty of room in each row to record points that each source makes about single-sex classrooms.

DEBATING SINGLE-SEX CLASSROOMSNPR’S ON POINTWITH GUEST HOST JANE CLAYSONDECEMBER 3, 2014 AT 10:00 AM 

Boys and girls in separate classrooms:

Numbers are rising in public schools. We’ll look at the trend and

the  pushback.

Let’s Listen with Pen in Hand toNPR’s On Point:

(<iframe width="100%" height="124" scrolling="no"

frameborder="no" src="//embed.wbur.org/player/onp

oint/2014/12/03/single-sex-classrooms-education-reform"></

iframe>)In this file photo taken May 9, 2012, Dillon Elledge, 8, right, and Brody Kemble, 7, second from right, work with flash cards in their all-boys classroom at Middleton Heights Elementary in Middleton, Idaho. (AP)

THINKING ABOUT WHAT WE HEARD

They Say I Say (reactions and questions)Sarah Sparks, assistant editor at Education Week

Nakia Douglas, principal of the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy in Dallas, TX

Lise Eliot, associate professor of neuroscience at the Chicago Medical School of Rosalind Franklin University. Author, “Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences Grow Into Troublesome Gaps — And What We Can Do About It.”Kathy Piechura-Couture, professor of education at Stetson University

Synthia Taylor, principal of Marshall Middle School in Janesville, WI

Other:

We’ll review and discuss what we learned from the broadcast, then write our reactions in the “I Say” part of the chart.

Single-sex education: the pros and cons

Should boys and girls be taught separately? Does single-sex education boost academic success? Read the arguments for and against.  http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/single-sex-education-the-pros-and-cons/ by Kristin Stanberry  

Kristin Stanberry is a writer and editor specializing in parenting, education, and consumer health/wellness issues. Her areas of expertise include learning dis-abilities and AD/HD, which she wrote about extensively for Schwab Learning and GreatSchools.  

Thinking about what we heard

Reading and Analyzing a Pro-Con Article

WHAT DO WE NOTICE ABOUT THE WAY THIS ARTICLE IS WRITTEN?

What job does each of these sections do?

• Paragraph 1• Paragraph 2• Nature vs. Nurture• Making the case for single-sex

education• What Critics Say About Single-Sex

Education• Measuring Public Perception

READING AND ANALYZING SHORT ARGUMENTS

National Education Association Debate: Do students learn better in single-sex classrooms?

http://www.nea.org/home/17276.htm

Yes No

HOW IS THIS “DEBATE” ARTICLE DIFFERENT FROM THE “PRO/CON” ARTICLE?

Format Content Purpose

HOW IS THIS ARTICLE DIFFERENT FROM THE “PRO/CON” AND DEBATE ARTICLE?

Format Content Purpose

Read an example of a “stand-alone” argument:

“Why I Believe Classrooms Should Be Separated By Gender” by Jessica Ham, teen writerKings River Life Magazine, July 10, 2010http://kingsriverlife.com/07/10/why-i-believe-classrooms-should-be-separated-by-gender/

How is this different from the other articles we’ve read?

How could we add a countering move to this article?

ARGUMENT WRITERS TRY TO GET READERS TO IGNORE OR DISMISS THE REASONS AND EVIDENCE OF THE OPPOSITION.

Where do we see each author recognizing the position of the opposition?

How do they make the opponent’s argument seem less important or relevant?

YESSingle-sex classrooms can make it easier for teachers to match their instructional style to the characteristics of the students. Girls seem to favor learning in a quieter setting. They like to work together and come to a consensus. Boys tend to favor a setting that is more competitive, physically active, and louder.Research shows that girls benefit from being together for math and science. They feel more comfortable about their abilities without worrying about how they appear to boys. They also they have more opportunity to participate in class discussions. Boys, who are typically more confident in math and science, dominate discussions. Teachers also tend to call on boys more often.Recent research shows that boys also benefit from single-sex classes. Teachers can encourage boys’ tendencies to be direct and confrontational, loud and

excited at times, and to interrupt each other. Of course, not all girls and boys are going to be comfortable in single-sex classrooms, so it would have to be voluntary. But offering single-sex classrooms in public schools is the cheapest, most effective, and simplest “innovation” available to improve achievement, particularly in math and science.

Robert Kirschenbaum is a school psychologist with the Clover Park School District in Lakewood, Washington.

ConcessionLimiting the claim

Concluding with benefits

ARGUMENT WRITERS TRY TO GET READERS TO IGNORE OR DISMISS THE REASONS AND EVIDENCE OF THE OPPOSITION.

Where do we see each author recognizing the position of the opposition?

How do they make the opponent’s argument seem less important or relevant?

NOPerhaps the opposite gender could be a distraction for students in the classroom, but by grouping students by gender, we lose important elements of true education. In a diverse classroom, there are countless questions, perspectives, and interests, which all add to the excitement of learning.  Our students have much to contribute to each other. Students of all ages benefit from learning in the company of the opposite sex. Learning experiences need to resemble life experiences. How can we prepare students for future families, homes, and workplaces without exposing them to members of the opposite sex? How can we expect them to learn to respect and appreciate gender differences as adults if we do not teach them to form healthy relationships and have positive interactions and appropriate dialogues now?...As educators, our efforts should not be driven by how we can separate students to minimize distractions. We should focus on how we can bring all students together to maximize learning. Students learn better when teachers learn to teach better—regardless of the gender of the students.

André Boyd teaches at Johnson Middle School in Timmonsville, South Carolina.

Acknowledges an opposing argument

Counters by introducing overriding concern/benefit

READ THIS EXCERPT FROM A “PRO” SINGLE-SEX CLASSROOM ARTICLE, “SHOULD WE SEPARATE GENDERS IN THE CLASSROOM?” BY HOLLY J.AVAILABLE AT HTTP://GETTINGBOYSTOREAD.COM/CONTENT/SHOULD-WE-SEPARATE-GENDERS-CLASSROOM/

Perhaps the more important reason boys and girls flourish when separated is simply that the different sexes tend to have different learning styles that can be best explored in separate classrooms. Proponents of gender-separated classrooms acknowledge that throwing girls in one room and boys in another doesn’t mean everyone’s grades will automatically improve. The key is to understand core differences in learning styles, and to implement lesson plans that cater to the individual sexes. 

 

Opponents insist that segregating the sexes reinforces gender stereotypes. Scientist Rosalind Barnett calls the idea conservative and traditional, and makes the claim that there is limited evidence that boys learn differently than girls do.

 

However, schools that receive training about how to successfully teach to gender-separated classrooms report that their students are performing better and achieving higher grades than when they were in co-educational classes. The benefit seems greatest for boys, who are, statistically, the main cause of disciplinary problems in schools and who generally score lower grades than their female counterparts. Why should all-boys classes work so well? Studies indicate that boys have high levels of stress when they feel they have to perform in order to impress girls, and that schools tend to be very girl-centric and do not cater to the learning styles of boys.

How does this author develop both claim and counterclaim fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out strengths and limitations?

Limitation of Pro

Acknowleges

Counterclaim /

cites their

evidence

Introduces

evidence that

conflicts with

Con’s claim

A new way to

think about it

DRAFTING YOUR ARGUMENT: INCLUDE THESE COMPONENTS

Overview of the

issue

Claim and evidence

Concession/

Note limitation(s)

of your argument and try to minimize

importance of

limitation(s)

Acknowledge

counterclaim

anddemonstrat

e its weakness

or irrelevance

Conclude with

strongest

evidence & what

you want

audience to think or do