I found out this week that one of my students was secretly researching three of her teachers for her science fair project. I was one of the teachers she was researching.

You see, this student heard somewhere that teachers call on boys more than they do girls. So she decided to find out for herself. She kept a tally sheet of how many times boys were called on and how many times girls were called on in three of her classes.

The results…

The three teachers called on boys 60% of the time and girls 40% of the time.

Granted, this is 8th grade research…there was no distinction between the teachers, there was no explanation of how many boys and girls were in each class, and there was no information on how many boys volunteered answers as compared to girls.

Nevertheless, I was quite impressed with this young girl’s research (and a little shocked that I didn’t notice her doing this all week ).

And, the bottom line…her research made me think! Her research made me aware of whether or not I am calling on boys and girls equally. Her research has made me a better teacher!

Something to think about during your next lesson.

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