When teaching objects avoid gender-stereotyped objects

  • Topics that are best avoided include make-up and sports.
    • Note that, especially if you are a male teacher with mostly/all male students, "assignments and teaching examples often embed male-dominated interests and activities, such as sports statistics and card and number tricks." Often, there’s "little in computer science instructional material" that intentionally attracts students with other interests. (Margolis 37).
  • If you’re unsure of good objects to teach with, ask your students for suggestions.
    • Get good suggestions by saying, "Give me something you want to describe." Then ask, "How would you describe the properties of this thing?"
    • This is also a good way to get a class involved in the lesson.

More about this tip

External Source

Interview with Leo Newball

Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing by Jane Margolis and Allan Fisher, from Chapter 2: Middle and High School