“Issues of Gender in Teaching and Learning”

When I ask myself-Does gender matter in college teaching and learning?-I come up with two mutually contradictory answers. One is, I don't know. The other is yes. Because it's hard to frame an argument around two contradictory propositions, I shall tell you a story instead of presenting an argument. In stories, conflicts and contradictions are allowable and even desirable. The story I'd like to tell is about the ways in which my thinking about gender and teaching and learning has evolved over the years.