Bias, Interpreting, & Stereotyping

1. Bias, Interpreting, & Stereotyping

2. “A Nice Little Wife to Make Things Pleasant:” Portrayals of Women in Canadian History Textbooks Approved in British Columbia

3. Jeopardy

5. Women’s History $100 • What was Edith Deyell referring to when using the phrase “ a nice little wife to make things pleasant,” she was referring to the decision to _______ the French fur trader. • Marry

6. Women’s History $200 • It is worthwhile to take a moment to consider why women have been deprived of a usable past. It is only in the past ______ years that historians of women’s and gender history have come to the fore in Canada. • Thirty

7. Women’s History $300 • Historians have examined ways in which working class homemakers have earned an income or stretched the income of the male breadwinner. The family home was frequently the setting for paid labour. Give an example of this type of paid labour. • Spinning, weaving, dressmaking, tutoring.

8. Women’s History $400 • If only macro-economic, political, and military events are considered to be of significance historically, then there is little hope of seeing many _____ on the pages of Canadian history textbooks. • Women

9. Women’s History $500 • It was not the evil intent of male historians that left out women in history, women and their activities have been missed because we have asked questions that are ____________ to women. • Inappropriate

10. Interwar Period$100 • Married women worked predominately in their homes and were supported by their ________ in the interwar period. • Husbands

11. Interwar Period$200 • Middle-class women sometimes engaged in volunteer activities such as?? • Rural school board members, church or charitable work

12. Interwar Period$300 • James W. Loewen has used the metaphor of the _______, which usefully describes representations of women during this period. • Remora

13. Interwar Period$400 • Pioneer women are presented as _______ and __________ or as onlookers to the crucial tasks in which the males are engaged. • Weak and dependent

14. Interwar Period$500 • Which Alberta educator and curriculum developer, acknowledges females, and who’s texts were approved for use in the elementary and junior high schools in BC and other provinces over a period spanning four decades? • DonaldaDickie

15. Writers and Queens$100 • What period of time in Canada was one of very gradual change in terms of women’s social roles? • The 1950s to 1970s

16. Writers and Queens$200 • By 1970, women comprised of ____ percent of the paid labour force? • 32.7 percent

17. Writers and Queens$300 • A study conducted in BC in the 1970s revealed that, in the case of childless couples, a wife’s entry into the paid labour force meant that her husband relieved her of domestic duties for an average of six ______ a week. • Minutes

18. Writers and Queens$400 • Women and girls continue to receive shrift in the textbooks. Those adult women who merit inclusion are usually _______ or _______. • Writers or royalty

19. Writers and Queens$500 • DonaldaDickie uses what phrase, which is a concept quite unique to this era? • Forefathers and foremothers

20. Filler Feminism$100 • Filler Feminism started in what decade? • 1980s

21. Filler Feminism$200 • The human rights commission, established in 1975, included an evolving view of women and their roles in Canadian society. This coincided with the second wave of feminism, known as the _____ __________ movement. • Women’s liberation

22. Filler Feminism$300 • In this era, women demanded social and economic reform’s. Give one example of the social or economic reform’s women demanded? • Equal-pay legislation, paid maternity leave, the removal of occupational barriers in the workplace.

23. Filler Feminism$400 • In BC, the textbook assessment involved four separate analysis: for instructional design, readability, social considerations, and curriculum match. Which analysis examined areas such as language usage, gender role portrayals, age portrayals, etc. • Social considerations

24. Filler Feminism$500 • In BC there is marked disparity in this period between the elementary textbooks and secondary. The secondary textbooks are strangely devoid of women and of discussion of ______-_______ issues. For instance, in the textbook, Thinking About Our Heritage, there is only 3 references to women and 81 references to men. • Gender-related

25. Riddle Me This "A man wanted to get home but he can’t, he's afraid because a man in a mask is waiting for him there"   • What's going on here, who is the man in the mask and why is the man afraid?

26. 7 Forms of Bias in Instructional Materials • Invisibility: What You Don’t See Makes a Lasting Impression • Stereotyping: Shortcuts to Bigotry • Imbalance and Selectivity: A Tale Half Told • Unreality: Rose Colored Glasses • Fragmentation and Isolation: The Parts Are Less than the Whole • Linguistic Bias: Words Count • Cosmetic Bias: "Shiny" covers http://www.sadker.org/curricularbias.html

27. Activity… • Read the article given to your group • With your group discuss whose voices are represented in the article and whose are silenced?  How does this lead to bias? Try to find 2 forms of bias (if there are any) • Be prepared to share with the class • Group Discussion Question: • Why is it important to carefully evaluate and critically think about the learning resources used in the classroom?

28. Problems that may arise… • Misinformed or misinterpretation of information • Confusion and frustration • Eat away classroom time • Provides limited exposure to different views of the world • An appropriate education should provide individuals with different ways of viewing the world, communicating about it, and successfully coping with the questions and issues of daily living

29. Discussion Questions • What are some factors that you as a teacher would consider when choosing and evaluating learning resources to use in the classroom?

30. BC Ministry of Education Selection Criteria for Evaluating Learning Resources • Curriculum Fit • Content • Instructional Design • Technical Considerations • Social Considerations

31. “A key feature of effective teaching is the selection of instructional materials that meet the needs of students and fit the constraints of the teaching and learning environment.” ~ The National Academies Press

32. The Danger of a Single Story