investiGaming is a publication of the Serious Game Design group in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media at Michigan State University, 2007-2009
This gateway is partially supported by grant 0631771 from the National Science Foundation.
The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent Michigan State University or the National Science Foundation.
Classroom ContextinvestiGaming › Tags › Classroom Context
Selected highlights from the CLASSROOM CONTEXT tag (scroll down to see the full list of entries with this tag, including links to the entries)
Computer Use in Schools
• In many countries computer use in schools is dominated by men (Janssen 1993).
• In many countries less than half of the schools have a special policy for the promotion of equal opportunities for boys and girls with regard to computer use (Janssen 1993).
• Teachers started using three to five computers in their classrooms and they shifted from large group to small group instruction in order to build upon the knowledge students brought to school with a focus on cultural understandings and practice (DeVoogd 1998).
Promoting Student Success
• To promote student engagement and success, issues more significant than gender are how the science and technology-rich classroom environment is structured, and what pedagogical practices are in place (Mayer-Smith 2000).
• Girls’ success in middle school can be contributed to school reforms like team teaching and cooperative learning, especially when these techniques are used to address gender issues, match students with caring adults, and confront real student concerns such as violence, pregnancy, and social norms (American Association of University Women (AAUW) 1996).
• While there is no easy answers to the question of which pedagogy suits who best, educators should avoid the idea of the ‘quick fix’ and be skeptical about government interventionist agendas and their over-reliance on male role models and whole class teaching (Daniels 2001).
Children’s Computer Use
• Males ages 11-12 and 15-16 reported greater experience with and more positive attitudes towards computers than females (Comber 1997).
• Younger pupils, both male and female, have greater experience with and more positive attitudes towards computers than older pupils (Comber 1997).
• Female and male pupils reported similar levels of enjoyment of computers (Comber 1997).
• 1st grade girls were more likely than 1st grade boys to use inclusive language during group brainstorms (Nicholson, 1998).
Girls and Whole Class Success
• Classrooms with higher female ratios tend to be more successful, with boys and girls alike excelling academically when compared with single-sex male classrooms or classrooms with lower female percentages (Lavy 2007).
• The proportion of girls in a class has a significant positive effect on academic achievements of girls and of boys in high school, especially when girls outnumber boys by more than 55 to 60% (Lavy 2007)
• In all-female classroom settings, girls are more likely to show leadership and experiment (Koch 1994).
Barriers for Girls
• Women tend to see technology and computers as precise and unforgiving. If something goes wrong, women tend to blame themselves for doing something wrong as opposed to blaming the machine (Koch 1994).
• Games introduce children to basic technology. Gender bias inhibits girls’ interest in games and access to computer technology (Koch 1994).
• Women and minorities are underrepresented in technology-related careers for many reasons, including lack of access, level of math and science achievement, and emotional and social attitudes about computer capabilities (Brown 2001).
• 1st grade girls working in groups to compose stories were likely to have their ideas critiqued, laughed at , or publically criticized when working in mixed gender groups than when working alone or in all female groups. (Nicholson, 1998)
• 1st grade girls often had their concentration interrupted by boys, whereas the reverse was not observed (Nicholson, 1998).
Promoting Women’s Success in Computer Science
• Schools and teachers can use the following strategies to attract women and minorities to high-tech careers and prepare them for work: (1) connect technology to female and minority students’ interests; (2) work to change social attitudes; (3) involve business in developing the skills needed for high-tech occupations; and (4) provide career information (Brown 2001).
• Collaborative and cooperative learning environments are effective teaching strategies for technology learning because they promote learning through social interaction with others (Brown 2001).
• In order to increase female and minority students’ interest in technology, teachers can introduce technology in the middle grades and provide mentors and role models (Brown 2001).
• Schools can facilitate gender equity and leadership development by employing the following policies: (1) select software free of gender and ethnic bias; (2) ensure that computer laboratories are accessible to each gender, ethnic group, and income level, as well as to students with disabilities; (3) encourage the incorporation of technology strategies within all sectors of the curriculum; (4) provide staff training in technology; and (5) periodically review and revise equity policies as necessary (Brown 2001).
American Association of University Women (AAUW) (1996)
Synopsis:
A report of a study and video on the behavior of adolescent girls.
Keywords:
academia, report, middle school, gender identity, classroom, parents and gaming, family dynamics
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
The author describes the teaching strategies she used in order to increase the success and number of female and minority students in a game development program at the collegiate level.
Keywords:
academia, classroom context, adults younger, girls designing games, game design
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes
Synopsis:
Outlines the use of the game SimCity in the classroom setting, its educational appeal and uniquely broad audience.
Keywords:
classroom, Sim City
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Explores the reasons women and minorities are underrepresented in technology-related careers and suggests strategies that schools and teachers can use in order to attract women and minorities to high-tech careers and prepare them for work.
Keywords:
IT careers, gender stereotypes, gender equity, report, classroom context
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Explores the issue of gender and gendered game preferences, in relation to the cultural framing of the gaming audience.
Keywords:
book, chapter, gaming culture, gaming social context, what women want, classroom
Full Text: No | Abstract: Yes
Synopsis:
The effects of age, gender and prior computing experience upon attitudes towards computers were investigated in 278 secondary school pupils drawn from the 11-12 and 15-16 years age-groups.
Keywords:
journal, academia, classroom, middle school, computer skills,
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Suggests that boys experience a contradiction between the cultural messages and practices associated with masculinity (competition and individuality) and the teaching practices typical of successful primary schooling (collaboration and codependency).
Keywords:
journal, learning, classroom, gender equity, learning process
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Examines staff development experiences in four elementary classrooms in order to describe the evolving ways teachers came to learn how to build on the knowledge students brought to school with a focus on cultural understandings and practice related to computer use.
Keywords:
journal, academia, case study, elementary school, classroom,
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Examines data results from 21 countries regarding the involvement of women in the implementation and use of computers in the educational practice of elementary, lower secondary and upper secondary education.
Keywords:
journal, classroom, learning, computer skills, survey
Full Text: No | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Explains why girls are often turned off of computers and suggests techniques that might help girls become more interested in computers.
Keywords:
journal, gaming social context, psychology, what women want, Canada, classroom context
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Estimates the effects of classroom gender composition on scholastic achievements of boys and girls in Israeli primary, middle, and high schools and identifies the mechanisms through which these peer effects are enacted.
Keywords:
case study, conference, report, Israel, classroom, cooperation, competition
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Four 10th grade science classes and three 11th grade physics classes were observed and interviews with two teachers and 81 students (48 females and 33 males) were conducted in order to investigate how students respond to the integration of technology with the teaching and learning of science.
Keywords:
journal, case study, classroom, gender inclusive
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
36 first-grade students were observed composing stories on computers alone, in same-gender and in mixed gender groups, to analyze social and physical interactive behaviors, discourse patterns, and story content.
Keywords:
journal, elementary school, classroom context,
Full Text: No | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Investigates the potential of computer technology to improve education, by examining how the social organization of schools and classrooms influence the use of computers, and how computer use in turn affects the functioning of classrooms.
Keywords:
book, classroom
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes
Synopsis:
Presents various aspects and considerations of gender equity in classroom teaching through conversations with and observations of eight teachers.
Keywords:
book, academia, gender equity, case study, gender stereotypes, classroom
Full Text: No | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes