Not only is March Women's History Month, but today is International Women's Day! I can't think of a better day to highlight some of the amazing women who have left their mark on the field of psychology and therefore the world.
Thankfully, teaching psychology opens up so many opportunities for us to explore the topic of gender and to highlight women's contributions in particular. Check out a few ideas for the psychology classroom below!
Inclusive and Inspirational Décor
Your classroom walls are an opportunity for all of your students to see themselves in the field of psychology. Make sure they are covered with a diverse group of people. So often, the psychologists our students learn about in their textbooks will be white men, but there have been an enormous amount of women and people of color who have shaped the field as well.
This poster set includes 20 posters of 20 influential women in psychology. Each poster includes the psychologist's image, name, and a quote.
Simply post them around your room or use them for an activity in which students use the poster they're given to research the individual and share what contributions she made to the field of psychology.
You could even extend the activity by having students find additional people that they think should be highlighted on the walls of the classroom and explain why they've chosen each person.
There are, of course, WAY more than 20 women who have influenced psychology. If there is someone in particular that you would like on your wall, please fill out this form and I will do my best to include in my next set of posters.
If you're also looking to add more people of color to your walls, I'll be sharing a new poster set that includes men and women of color very soon! Make sure you don't miss them by subscribing to my newsletter!
Highlight Include Contributions of Female Psychologists
Whatever unit you're currently working through with your students, take a look at your slides and other materials. Are there female psychologists present? If not, who has made an impact on that area of psychology and how can you include her?
It doesn't need to be a completely different lesson added in or a side tangent about her whole life story. In fact, doing that (like when textbooks add a marginalized individual in the literal margin to highlight their contributions, when others are included in the main text) highlights the other-ness of the individual. Include her as you include other figures in psychology. Don't make a big deal about it and maybe someday it won't be a big deal. It'll just be the norm to include everyone's contributions.
Don't Shy Away from Gender
While it can be a daunting topic, especially in our current political climate, it is extremely valuable and necessary to talk about gender in psychology. And not only is it listed in our high school psychology standards, but the Multiculturalism and Gender unit is one of the units the APA recommends when cover even when short on time.
It you'd like to cover gender, but need some guidance on what to cover and how, these presentation slides for the entire Multiculturalism and Gender/Sociocultural Diversity unit will guide you through the need-to-know vocabulary with tons of images and examples.
There are also guided notes designed to accompany the slides for students to follow along through the whole presentation.
Find resources and lots more to help with teaching this unit under the Sociocultural Diversity and Gender category in The Adventurous Classroom store.
Even if you can't cover the entire unit, make sure you bring up connections to gender throughout the rest of the class when appropriate. All of our units are constantly connecting naturally to each other and gender can definitely fit into other units without seeming forced.
For example, when covering stereotypes in the Social Psychology unit, you can use gender stereotypes as examples.
For an activity focused on stereotypes, have students watch The Little Mermaid and complete this viewing guide that will help them take note of gender stereotypes in the movie.
This can also lead to great discussions after the movie, as students will see this classic animated movie in a whole new light.
For another example, when covering research populations and representative samples in the Scientific Inquiry and Research Methods unit, discuss how gender is a common demographic to consider.
I hope these suggestions and resources help you add a little pizzazz to your Women's History Month line-up! Cram in all that you can to make the most of this month, but remember that you can highlight women and explore the impact of gender throughout the year and in all topics of psychology.
How do you include women in the teaching of psychology? Share in the comments!
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