Single gender education has existed in the United States for quite some time, but up until recently it was mostly found in private and parochial schools. Public schools in the form of single gender classrooms did not emerge until 2001 with the "No Child Left Behind Act," which allowed for a handful of single gender public schools and programs. Over the last 14 years or so, single gender education has made its way to the forefront of education debates, with many education theorists hotly contesting both sides of the issue.

Single gender education exists in a variety of ways, including the traditional context of all boys schools or all girls schools as well as coeducational settings, with boys and girls learning in the same school but split into separate classrooms. In 2011, 506 public schools were reported to offer some form of single gender education.

In this module, you will take some time to learn and reflect on single gender education. It is important to understand why we have these models of learning as well as to understand the pros and cons of placing students in single sex environments. You will then be asked to reflect on your experience as an educator and to take some time thinking about what it means to teach in single gender environments and what it would mean for you as an educator.

To start this course, you will be asked to read a short article giving a brief overview of single gender education along with watching a couple of videos. One video is a short news report by the Today Show questioning the value of single gender education. The other video is a quick snippet into a single gender classroom in a pilot program in Alabama. Next, you will be asked to participate in a discussion.