Week 2 Project of the Week Content Proposal

Week 2 is turning in the content proposal. Now that I had all week to prepare for the proposal I have a better understanding of what my project is going to look like. This helps to eliminate some of the fears I am having. I want to do a great job but feel my skills are not as strong in the designing department. My proposal is based on a Udutu training module. There will be a pre-test for educators to take to see what they currently know and a post test to assure that learning has occured. The meat of the project will contain education information about the brain and behavior of males and females. More specifically, the differences that occur within the brain. There will be tables and graphs demonstrating these differences and video showing the differences. Another aspect of the training module will be placed on solutions to gender differences and how to overcome them. Then there will be a webquest to get the eductors taking the training module to think critically and challenge them for further studies. I really hope to enspire eductors to want to learn more about gender differences and how these differences affect learning.

I. THESIS ABSTRACT
This paper considers gender differences in learning and how online learning is also affected due to biological differences within the brain that significantly increase the possibility of these differences while learning an online course. Do men and women learn differently because of biological factors and is online learning any different than traditional learning that might cause any difference? Many regard the Internet as male-dominated with females at a disadvantage. The studies reviewed first take a look at various biologically based studies of men and women to determine gender differences in brain functionality. Secondly, some studies reviewed examined learning differences among genders. Lastly, there is discussion as to whether these biological and learning differences influence online learning differences.



II. Introduction
Problem Addressed
The need addressed in the thesis is for more gender neutral lessons to occur so that learning can occur with either gender. Solutions to gender-neutral lessons include raising expectations to increase overall grades and performance, incorporating various learning styles that will encompass a larger audience and increase motivation between both genders and to include more collaborative technologies that increase social interaction.
The media projects intention is to create awareness to educators about gender differences and how the proposed solution can decrease the gender gap and make learning occur for both genders.
Target Audience
The project is designed for educators at any level. The aim is at online educators and traditional educators thinking about teaching to online males and females. The role of these educators is to become more aware of the specific biological differences between males and females that contribute to the different learning styles and behaviors. The educator will become more focused of factual based evidence occurring about gender differences within the brain and take with them this knowledge to the classroom or online training modules by incorporating some of the solutions.
Sharing the project
Sharing the Udutu training module to educators through facebook, blogging on educational blog sites and personal web site.
III. Goals and Objectives
Instructional Goal
The subject of the media project is biological gender differences. The educator will learn various skills and acquire several new attitudes about gender differences within the brain that contribute to learning differently. For instance, the project will begin with an introduction to gender differences in the brain and erase some of the stereotypes that exist between genders. Next, there will be information about brain differences such as the hypothalamus and certain neurotransmitters effecting males and females differently. The educator will then get information regarding solutions based on supported evidence through video and podcasting. Finally, a conclusion for further studies will be displayed as a webquest.
Learning Domain
Cognitive – mental skills (knowledge)
The domain here is set in cognitive or mental skills. The educator is becoming knowledgeable in the aspects of brain and behavior among males and females that can lead to learning differently. The mental skills used within the project’s experiment help to demonstrate the differences that occur between the genders and produces buy-in for the educator.
Learning Objectives
Determine current knowledge of males and female’s brains using a pre-test
Introduction to the brain, hormones, chromosomes and their differences
Demonstrate male and female verbal and spatial behaviors via experiment
Connect brain differences to learning differences
Introduce solutions to bridging the gap between the differences
Create a webquest challenge to incorporate additional thoughts on subject
Post-test to determine if learning occurred
IV. Presentation
Instructional Approach
The projects main instructional approach is to guide the educator through the differences between the genders and to focus on the various strategies used to overcome any differences that may contribute to learning online. The theory overseen throughout the project is that of the multiple intelligence theory by Howard Gardner. In his book, Intelligence Reframed, Howard Gardner walks through seven intelligences and explains that, “people have a wide range of capacities. A person’s strength in one area of performance simply does not predict any comparable strengths in other areas” (p. 31). These wide capacities of ranges in intelligence can suggest that both males and females will contribute to several types of intelligences and the need to tap into the various intelligences within a structured training environment is essential.
The seven intelligences are, linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, bodily kinesthetic, spatial, interpersonal and intrapersonal. The theory proposed in regards to gender differences is that males will share more spatial intelligence and females will have more interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence. However, there will be contribution in several of the intelligences and a need to address multiple intelligences within a training session will improve the overall satisfaction and performance of the students.
Intelligences, according to Gardner is defined as a “bio-psychological potential to process information that can be activated in a cultural setting to solve problems or create products that are of value in a culture” (p. 33). Taking this into account, the intelligence theory that Gardner describes creates a solution to the gender differences that occur while learning. Even though there are biological differences between males and females there is marked similarities within multiple intelligences.
Aside from Howard Gardner’s book regarding multiple intelligences there are two other authors that influence the media project. Diane Halpern’s book, “Sex Differences in Cognitive Abilities” is an excellent book on gender differences within a cognitive approach. There is much discussion surrounding sex chromosomes, hormones and in depth discussion into the brain and its behavior surround the differences.
Michael Gurian’s book, “Boys and Girls Learn Differently” has an excellent breakdown of the parts of the brain, its function and the impact it has on males and females. This is part of the lesson on how the brain learns and how brain-based differences affect boys and girls.
Lesson Structure
The content order for the project is to begin with a pre-test on the Udutu training module. The pre-test will consist of questions surrounding multiple intelligence, general brain knowledge and traditional stereotyping of boys and girls behaviors in regards to learning. The middle, or body, of the project will be informative, teaching about the brain and behavior of males and females using various movies that demonstrate these differences as well as research study examples of evidence regarding the differences. There will also be an area pertaining to proposed solutions such as retaining expectations and web 2.0 technologies that increase collaboration. A webquest challenge to get the educator to think critically about future ideas and theories regarding gender differences and finding solutions to learning differences will be the subject of the webquest. The end will have a post-test to see if theories proposed have been learned.
V. Evaluation
The project will contain both a pre and post-test to determine if learning occurred. The pre-test consists of questions that are proposed in the project such as what is multiple intelligence and what does the hypothalamus do? These questions are only to gauge where the educator is at that very moment before learning takes place. The post-test will ensure that learning has occurred.
There will be various types of questions that will engage the educator who is working within the project and enforce the concepts learned. The idea is to engage the educator to think about the lessons by taking the pre-test and this will support the general understanding of where the educator is at that moment. The post-test will encourage the educator to be mindful of the lessons being raised and to show that learning has taken place.