Fieldwork Language and Gender in the Classroom
Objective: To observe, record, and report my findings while examining student and instructor interaction in a classroom setting.
Subjects: Morgan State University Students and Instructor
Settings Observed: 9am classroom at Morgan State University in the BSSC building
Observations in the 9am class: Anthropology on Thursday. Room can be described as slightly dark due to the dimmed brightness but spacious enough to fit 30 students in the class. The class itself is of approximately 15 students
Beginning of class students would mubble or not be fully clear on what they mean
Students consists of mostly males compared with females
About 20 minutes in to class and students do not say more than 20 words per response also an equivalent of less than a minute to speak
Instructor tries to peak interests in the and continues to involve students by constantly asking questions that need a response
The instructor encourages communication when it is conducted either towards the instructor or towards the class as a whole
Instructor gives students ability to speak by pointing towards the student or calling them by their names
Instructor has positive body language and engaged eyes to make students find the courage to give their response
Instructor's gender has little to no effect on participation and does not affect who volunteers to speak
Students refrained from talking amongst one another when not given the ability to speak by the instructor
Has called on a particular student about 3 times in the first 30 minutes of class and instructor now has proficiently learned the student’s name
When a male student answered the instructor’s question he spoke loud and confident also with clarity
Tendency among the males was to speak in medium to deep, monotone voice and using hand gestures to express themselves
Females tend to be inconsistent when speaking; they would vary from rough, soft, loud, quiet; however, will stay consistent when it comes to speaking in complete thoughts
Another tendency among students is to use the word “like” and “i think” multiple times when responding; sometimes twice or more in a sentence
The beginning half of class the instructor would ask questions pertaining to the chapters the class is supposed this however had minimal amount of participation; approximately 2 students at a time would raise their hand to answer questions
Towards the ending half of class the instructor would ask questions pertaining to background of students and their feelings about cultural practices and this had an outcome of having between 4-5 students raising their hands to give their input
Some students would raise their hands to give a response and some would not
Analysis/Hypothesis: Students will only speak up and speak in a clear, loud format only when they are absolute about their response. Students also tend to respond more when a subject has to deal with them rather than deal with a subject out of context. As time goes on in a classroom students feel more comfortable to respond and class participation tends to increase. Everything about class participation depends on comfortability and confidence. Whether it would be the classroom setting, the teacher, whether or not the student understands what is happening in class, or chance the students know the correct response to a possible question.
