This week’s class we tried a new activity called, EdCamp.

EdCamp is a user-generated method of having an educational conference. Typically, the attendees generate topics that they are interested in and the ideas are then explored.

We did something similar to this, where we all took to a Google Doc and started listing topics that we thought would be interesting to discuss. These topics included Inquiry, A Teachers Professional Path, and Gender Identity within the Classroom.

We then voted on a few topics that we wished to focus on, and then we broke up into prospective groups.

The group that I join was discussing how to break the gender binary within the classroom. Our conversation was short, but one thing that was mentioned was a study (can’t remember by who or when) that involved a group of 5 year olds. They were asked to draw people of different professions such as a firefighter, police officer, nurse, doctor, and a teacher. The firefighter, police officer, and the doctor were all drawn as men, while professions such as nurses and teachers were drawn as women.

We then discussed that it is views and ideas such as these gender stereotypes that we need to be able to address and change within our classroom.

We were unable to share ideas and thought any further, but I am sure our discussion will be continue in the future, and I look forward to future EdCamp opportunities with me colleagues.