Janet Yellen: The Progress of Women and Minorities in the Field of Economics

By Robert Bonner
Description

This Lesson Plan is an overview of student learning objectives, presentation, lecture notes, instruction for various classroom and other activities, such as, library research assignments. Also included are suggestions for differentiation of student learning abilities and provides for interdisciplinary connections. Further, inclusive is a methodology for formative and summative assessment, integration of technology and relative research resources. This Lesson Plan encourages self-facilitated Exploration learning because the primary responsibility of the students is to determine the perspective, they feel the strongest connection to, and research compelling questions and primary and secondary sources they need to address the questions. In this way, learning occurs across different learning modalities (perceptual, cognitive, and personality learning styles), because diverse types of knowledge are acquired through first-hand experience with complex, real-life problems. This Lesson Plan serves as a conceptual and practical social studies tool and offers a practical usage of Inquiry-based learning, and direct instructional guidance to teachers with correlations to a diverse number of state and national standards.

Supporting Questions:

  • What is human capital and why does it matter?
  • Why is the progression of gender equality and narrowing the gender gap in the workplace, not only a pressing social issue but also central to America’s economic growth?
  • How important is gender equality to the well-being of our country and economy?
  • How did the Equal Pay Act of 1963 address the issue of all women having equal access to employment free from gender discrimination - including discrimination based on gender stereotypes, pregnancy, and parenting; barriers to working in jobs that historically excluded women; and the historic undervaluing of work traditionally performed by women?
Time

30 - 50 minutes, 1 - 2 days

Objective

The students will discuss diversity within the economics profession and in the federal government, and the functions of the Federal Reserve System and U. S. monetary policy, by reviewing a historic timeline of Janet Yellen, and analyzing her acts as former Federal Reserve chair, and now as the U. S. Treasury Secretary. This lesson plan supports student mastery of the understanding and awareness of gender equality by reviewing the accomplishments of Janet Yellen.

Following the learning segment’s activities, and class discussion, students will be able to demonstrate with a minimum 85% proficiency level, the ability to evaluate primary and secondary sources to present an argument that Janet Yellen’s belief in investing in human capital is worth emulating to produce more effective and active global citizenship and a higher gross domestic product (GDP per capita).

Prerequisites

None

Materials

Materials:

  • Associated printed resources
  • primary sources choice wall
  • poster paper
  • markers
  • research articles
  • primary sources
  • computer with internet with YouTube access

Associated Resources:

Note: all of these resources are also linked below in the lesson plan according to when they are used

Primary Sources:

Research Articles

Procedures

Warm Up:

  1. Distribute and have students review the ‘Activating Prior Knowledge Notes Sheet’;  and come up with the Activating Prior Knowledge Notes Sheet.
  2. Review the Targets and Essential Questions, instructing students to use any background references, memories, or their own deductions to engage in a brief class discussion.
  3. Instruct the students to write 3 questions that they would like answered in regard to either the objective and/or essential question.

 

Activity:

Activity: Conversing

  1. Bring the class together for a whole group discussion based on any one (or more) of these videos:
  2. Ask the students one of the following questions for each video that you choose to watch (ask a different question for each different video): Who do you think is the intended audience? How do you think the creator wanted the audience to respond? What other documents or historical evidence could you use to help you understand this event or topic?
  3. Then ask the students to volunteer and read some of the compelling questions they came up with from the Activating Prior Knowledge Notes Sheet. Allow enough time for students to share their responses with each other and as a whole class.

Structured Practice and Application:

Formative Assessment #1

  1. Explain to students that they will be conducting a short mini-research project to gather information on Janet Yellen’s role in the progress of women and minorities in the field of economics, with a particular focus on trends in the federal government.
  2. Introduce to the students the text-dependent question by asking students, "How important is gender equality to the well-being of our country and economy?"
  3. Allow the students time to login to their Google Drive & Classroom account to access the digital copies of the Mini-Research Paper Graphic Organizer provided.
  4. Pass out the Mini-Research Paper Graphic Organizer for students to record written notes or have the students to click on the graphic organizer link in Google Classroom
  5. Have the students to click on the article, ‘In praise of Janet Yellen’
  6. Explain to the students that we are going to annotate the text as we read. That you as the teacher will model how to annotate the text by looking for key details in the text that correspond to the prompts in the graphic organizer.
  7. Allow time for students to ask questions about this task.
  8. Have the students choose one of the remaining articles for their second article in Google Classroom.
  9. Explain to the students that they will read the text while annotating key ideas. After they read the text, they will record some of their annotated notes on their graphic organizer.
  10. The teacher will check in with the students while providing feedback on reading and annotating the text. Monitor how students annotate the text and what key ideas they record on their graphic organizer.
  11. The teacher will direct the students to login to their Google Drive & Classroom account to access the digital copies of the Primary Sources Formative Assessment Graphic Organizer.
  12. Pass out the Primary Sources Formative Assessment Graphic Organizer for students to record written notes or have the students to click on the graphic organizer link in Google Classroom.
  13. The teacher will refer back to the text dependent question(s).

Formative Assessment #2

Primary Sources Activity

  1. Have students to individually review the primary source menu and find one primary source that resonates with them (they find interesting) or connects with theirs in some way.
  2. Connecting to Primary Sources. Distribute copies of the ‘Analyzing Gender Equality Primary Sources’ (Primary Source Formative Assessment Organizer) handout and ask students how the primary source document they chose relates to them in some way.
  3. Instruct them to use any background references, research annotations, or their own deductions to complete the graphic organizer.
  4. Extending Connecting Primary Sources. Ask students to find one classmate whose primary source connects to theirs in some way – topic, event, time period, cause and effect, and so on. Have them to complete the Brainstorming activity.

Supplies: You’ll need poster paper and markers for each sub-group, and a sheet of paper and pencil or pen for each individual.

  1. Post the central issue, in the form of a question, where everyone can see it. “How did the Equal Pay Act of 1963 address the issue of all women having equal access to employment free from gender discrimination - including discrimination based on gender stereotypes, pregnancy, and parenting; barriers to working in jobs that historically excluded women; and the historic undervaluing of work traditionally performed by women?"

Now begin the process:

  1. Think. Ask students to work individually by writing all the questions they came up with from the Brainstorming activity on a sheet of paper
  2. Pair. Ask each individual to ask for all their partner’s ideas and write them on their own sheet of paper. Inform the group that the goal is that each pair will end up with a composite list that includes their own original questions and their partner’s original list of questions.
  3. Square. Instruct the group to choose a recorder (a person to write the group’s questions). Then instruct the sub-groups to make a composite list of their members’ complete questions lists, record the list on a poster, and choose their top 3 questions.
  4. Have the groups of 2, pair up with another group of 2 (making groups of 4)
  5. Now instruct the group of 4 to choose a recorder (a person to write the group’s questions). Then instruct the 4-student-groups to make a composite list of their members’ top 3 questions lists (will have 6 questions total); record the list on a poster and choose their top 4 questions from the list of 6.
  6. Share. Call on a representative from one 4-student group to share its first top idea and record it on a poster visible to everyone. Do the same for the next 4-student group p, continuing to rotate through all the groups until all of the top ideas are listed.
  7. Repeat the process until your poster contains all the top ideas from all the sub-groups’ lists.

Summative assessment

  1. The teacher could say the following (or some form thereof): “Our positive intentions often contain hidden invitations for action. Choose anyone of the summative assessments that you prefer”.
  2. Review the rubric with the students beforehand for this summative assessment.
  3. Allow time for students to complete their summative assessment.
  4. After completion, assist students with printing, performing, or acting out their assessment.
  5. Have students conduct an evaluation of their assessment using the provided rubric.

 

Modifications:

  • This lesson can be modified to fit one class period, or utilized to teach an entire unit covering multiple state and national standards
  • ELLs - Learning Stations - students will rotate; Task cards - breaking up; individual interviews (pull-outs) while in learning stations; Providing visual aids during instruction — Model the lesson specifically to ELL
  • ​​​​​​​Multisensory activities where students touch learning resources; — Model the lesson specifically to visual and physical impairment, ELL and different cultural diversity
Assessment / Homework

Distribute a copy of the ‘Before You Leave - Exit Ticket’ to the class, instructing them to complete it as quickly as possible; and that they only need to answer the competition questions using 1 to 2 sentences.

Future Research / Resources

Resources:

References:

Standard
  • D2.Civ.10.6-8. Explain the relevance of personal interests and perspectives, civic virtues, and democratic principles when people address issues and problems in government and civil society.
  • D2.Eco.10.6-8. Explain the influence of changes in interest rates on borrowing and investing.
  • D2.Eco.11.6-8. Use appropriate data to evaluate the state of employment, unemployment, inflation, total production, income, and economic growth in the economy.
  • D2.Eco.12.6-8. Explain how inflation, deflation, and unemployment affect different groups.
  • D2.Eco.13.6-8. Explain why standards of living increase as productivity improves.
  • D2.Eco.10.9-12. Use current data to explain the influence of changes in spending, production, and the money supply on various economic conditions.
  • D2.Eco.11.9-12. Use economic indicators to analyze the current and future state of the economy.
  • D2.Eco.12.9-12. Evaluate the selection of monetary and fiscal policies in a variety of economic conditions.
  • D2.Eco.13.9-12. Explain why advancements in technology and investments in capital goods andhuman capital increase economic growth and standards of living.
  • D2.Eco.1.6-8. Explain how economic decisions affect the well-being of individuals, businesses, and society.