Students have a varying and unique learning ability which is clearly manifested in the manner in which they comprehend and respond to questions ((Demers" Bennet 2). Notably, extrovert students are most likely to answer questions freely and students who return to school to pursue further education are answering most questions due to their vast knowledge on the topic. Students who have immense knowledge about the topic, as well as those who have done adequate preparations, are also answering the questions.
2. Who does the teacher call upon?
Some professors will most definitely start by calling upon students who are normally dormant and rarely participate in discussions followed by those who are usually active and frequently participate. Conversely, some professor will turn to students who normally speak in class to avert the occurrence of awkward silence in class.
3. Whom does the teacher talk to?
Through personal experiences, I realizedthat the size of the class is crucial in determining who the professor talks to. For instance, in a relatively smaller class comprising small groups of discussion, the professor virtually knows everyone by name and will talk to them besides joining each group to talk and at the same time having a chance to directly ask students a question to get feedback. Conversely, in a big class of 200 students, the teacher only talks to the students who often follow the teacher to the office to ask questions. Another situation where the teacher will talk privately to students is when the student is suspected to have cheated or plagiarized in exams.
4. Which student asks questions?
Students who had conducted proper reading about the topic or course are most likely to ask a question to cement their understanding on the topic whereas those who did not do the prior study or pre-read the textbook will only listen to and follow the lectures without asking questions. Additionally, the students who have not properly understood the subject or a particular topic are most likely to ask a question for further clarifications.
5. Which students receive individual assistance?
Students should take it upon themselves to seek individual assistance in the areas they feel that they have been left behind because it is intricate for the professor to know individual students learning capabilities. This is contrary to the approach used in high school where classes are smaller and student seeking individual assistance can easily be identified.
Which students “call out”?
Students who generally record poor performances in class are most likely to call out because they are often guilty of being suspected of misunderstanding. Moreover, students who lack concentration in class and are probably distracted by some other things have high changes of calling out.
6. Which students are off the task?
Students who are not interested in the subject but they are procedurally required to take the course in order to graduate. For instance, a requirement for computer science students to undertake two Biology classes in order to graduate will compromise their concentration in those subjects. Students who value job experiences at the expense of education will consider degree a waste of time and money. Also vulnerable are the students who underrate the professor and feel less motivated by his teachings(Demers" Bennet 3). Students who lack objective and those with anxiety and depression without adequate support are likely to be off the task.
7. Which students are more on task?
Students who feel greatly inspired or motivated by a particular person, as well as those who value hard work, will be more on the task. In addition, students who receive unwavering support from the family, friends, co-workers, and teachers are most likely to concentrate on their work.
Part 2
Observations of Gender Equality in the Classroom
There are significant advancements on the issue of gender in Canadian school settings and students are currently receiving equal treatment in classroom irrespective of their gender. Unlike in the previous where the perception of gender used to be a dominant matter of concern among students, contemporary students in classrooms intermingle freely and form discussion groups that are gender sensitive. Equally important to note is the improvement on the teachers approach to the issue of gender in the classroom where students are handled equally and asked similar questions. Similarly, professors encourage girls to pursue some subject that was previously a preserve for boys (Demers" Bennet 3). However, I critically observed that quite a number of male students pursue subjects such as engineering while most female students concentrate on health science, education, and languages which they had traditionally been associated with.
Part 3
Summary of Experiences in School.
Being a female student, I have never felt disadvantaged or discriminated at any particular point as a result of my gender status in my college life or classroom. Throughout my college life, gender has never been a substantial issue despite the fact that we often debated and joked about men being better than women. In high school when I joined the basketball team, our coach trained us together with boys and this experience was crucial in enhancing my perception about gender equality. My feminism ideologies were further strengthened when I took classes in Sociology, Philosophy, Criminology, and Labour Studies. In Labour Study, learning about feminism and gender equality in the workplace helped in cementing and respecting my status in the society irrespective of my gender.
Gonick concurs that gender issues can be fully addressed in school depending on choices of subjects that students engagein (Gonick 8). My observation is that there is the existence of gender disparity among sports personalities especially in WNBA vs NBA regarding their respective salaries despite winning similar titles. For example, Sylvia Fowles who is WNBA player and Stephen Curry of NBA received a varying salary of 109 000 US dollar and 36 Million US dollar respectively.
Work Cited
Demers, Dr. Serge, and Carole Bennett. "Single-Sex Classrooms." Ministry of Education / Ministère De L'Éducation, June 2007, www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/Demers.pdf.
Gonick, Marnina. "Between “Girl Power” and “Reviving Ophelia”: Constituting the Neoliberal Girl Subject." semantic scholars, pdfs.semanticscholar.org/312c/e305ad13267065f45e97cfbb406f858b2d3a.pdf. Accessed 2006.
