1. Thinking back to your school years, or even now as you take college classes, what are some forms of curriculum bias you have experienced?
2. What can/should a teacher do to circumvent different types of bias?
3. Identifying Bias in Instructional Materials
Let’s look at bias and discuss here. For each one,
1. Determine whether bias is present.
2. Identify the form (invisibility, stereotyping, fragmentation, linguistic bias, unreality, imbalance, or cosmetic).
3. Develop an alternative statement that would eliminate the bias.
1. “The Iroquois were a fierce and warlike people.” (America: Its People and Values)
Is bias present? ___________ What form(s) of bias? ______________________________
Suggested revision:
2. “The conservative nineteenth-century diplomat, Klemens von Metternich, is described as a man whose ‘charm’ worked well with ‘elegant ladies.’” (World History: Patterns of Interaction)
Is bias present? ___________ What form(s) of bias? ______________________________
Suggested revision:
3. “The contemporary farmer is radically different from the frontiersman of the past. He is knowledgeable in a complex, scientific endeavor, and his livelihood is dependent upon his efficiency.”
Is bias present? ___________ What form(s) of bias? ______________________________
Suggested revision:
4. “In general, handicapped people are slow learners, but with assistance they can achieve a normal life.”
Is bias present? ___________ What form(s) of bias? ______________________________
Suggested revision:
5. The last chapter of a social studies textbook is devoted to American life during the 1970s. It includes the following topics: the Economy, New Space, Contributions of Black Americans, and the Energy Crisis.
Is bias present? ___________ What form(s) of bias? ______________________________
Suggested revision:
6. The district’s language arts textbook adoption committee has flipped through many possibilities and has becomes enthralled with a new edition that has wonderful multicultural photos of students.
Is bias present? ___________ What form(s) of bias? ______________________________
