SINGLE-GENDER EDUCATION A review of what we have learned over the past year. “ Accommodating the...
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Transcript of SINGLE-GENDER EDUCATION A review of what we have learned over the past year. “ Accommodating the...
SINGLE-GENDER EDUCATION
A review of what we have learned over the
past year.
“Accommodating the Educational Needs of All Students.”
Bell Ringer
Complete a concept map on one single-gender strategy you have used with your class.
Strategy Used Gender strategy used with
Brief description of strategy and outcome
Evidence of success
Today’s Agenda
Bell Ringer School Goal Fall MAP- Single-gender data Reviewing Single-Gender Education Connections to the TAP Rubric Closure
Our Goal
By Spring 2011, 60% of students in grades 6-8 will achieve their NWEA math RIT target growth.
The notion that boys and girls are different is not new.
Documentation as far back as the 1800’s concludes that boys and girls learn differently
yet, traditionally boys and girls have been placed in the same classroom, side by side, to receive their education.
(1800s: Science for the Ladies, Classics for Gentlemen)
Did You Know For every 100 girls suspended from public elementary and
secondary schools 250 boys are suspended.
For every 100 girls expelled from public elementary and secondary schools 335 boys are expelled.
For every 100 girls diagnosed with a learning disability 276 boys are diagnosed with a learning disability.
For every 100 girls diagnosed with a special education disability 217 boys are diagnosed with a special education disability
T. Morrison; Post Secondary OPPORTUNITY. (Oct. 2007)
Why Single Gender?
0.0%
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30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
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% Met&Exemp % Exemplary % Not Met
Fall 2010 Math MAP by GenderFemales (6)
Males (6)
Females (7)
Males (7)
Females (8)
Males (8)
Merely separating boys and girls into single-sex classes is not a “magic bullet” for increased achievement.
We know that the brain is organized differently in boys than in girls;
We understand that different sections of boys’ and girls’ brains develop at different times and at different rates;
We realize that these differences are “hard wired” so that…
Girls and Boys…
Play differently; Fight differently; Hear differently; See the world differently; Learn differently…
We can, by grouping students by gender for instruction,
•provide learning experiences appropriate for each gender, helping both boys and girls have more success in meeting the academic and social objectives of the school system.
Play
Boys and girls play differently—boys are far more likely to engage in risky behaviors than are girls.
Boys enjoy taking risks, because they are dangerous.
Generally, girls don’t take the same kinds of risks, and need frequent support from other girls to try new things.
(Miller, 1997; Pickett, 1998; Olafsdottir, 1996).
Aggression“The surface of a girl fight can be as silent and smooth as a marble.” Rachel Simmons, 2002.
Boys tend to fight a lot, in physical scraps, but often end up as good friends afterwards.
Girls tend not to fight much, but when they do, it is more often with words, and the bad feelings last. Aggression between girls destroys friendships.
(Lever, 1976, 1978; Blum, 1998)
BOYS Choose violent stories
and fairy tales Often feel excited and
energized when exposed to threat and confrontation
Prefer rough and tumble play
Use teasing and aggressive behaviors to make or confirm friendship.
GIRLS Choose warm and
fuzzy fairy tales May experience
nausea when exposed to threat and confrontation
Prefer nurturing play Do not appreciate
teasing behaviors as part of making friends.
Hearing:
Researchers have discovered that girls of all ages hear better than boys do, sometimes significantly so, “especially in the 1000 to 4000Hz range, which is so important for speech recognition.”
(Cassidy and Ditty, 2001; Cone-Wesson, et. al., 1997)
In the classroom situation, this means:In the classroom situation, this means: Boys may not actually hear the teacher if she is
speaking at a level comfortable for girls; Girls may perceive the teacher to be yelling at them
if the teacher is speaking at a level comfortable for boys;
Girls “are distracted by noise levels about ten times softer than noise levels that boys find distracting”
(Elliot, 1971)
Sight Differences:
There are differences in the anatomy of male and female vision systems that lead to differences in how boys and girls “see” the world. As a result:
BOYS Respond to movement—
location, direction, and speed;
Draw ‘verbs’—pictures full of action;
Prefer “cool” colors such as black, gray, silver, and blue;
Use few colors in their drawings—typically fewer than 6
Use third person perspective in art—looking at the action from outside the picture
GIRLS Respond to color and
texture—”what is it?” Draw ‘nouns’—pictures of
people facing the viewer; Prefer “warm” colors such
as reds, browns, oranges, flesh tones;
Use many colors in their work—typically 10 or more;
Use first person perspective, placing themselves in their pictures
Geometry and Navigation
Researchers have found that males and females use different parts of their brains for work involving geometry and navigation. (Saucier, et.al., 2002; Kersker, 2003; Gron, 2000)
BOYS Use the
hippocampus, which processes spatial information;
Use absolute directions (north, south, etc.) when navigating.
GIRLS Use the cerebral
cortex, which processes visual information;
Use landmark directions (stores, gas stations, color of buildings along the way, etc.) when navigating.
Feelings:In adolescence, brain activity associated with
feelings moves up to the cerebral cortex…“BUT ONLY IN GIRLS — in boys the locus of
brain activity associated with negative emotion remains stuck in the amygdale.” (Kilgore, 2001)
So asking two teenage boys to talk or write about their feelings will make them feel very uncomfortable.
Typical Learning Differences
Because of the ways in which young female and male brains differ, both structurally, and developmentally, boys and girls tend to learn in different ways.
Reasoning
BOYS: tend to start their
reasoning from a general principle and apply it to an individual case such as fast multiple choice questions.
GIRLS: tend to favor specific
concrete examples and build to a general theory.
Abstract and Concrete Thinking
BOYS: tend to be better at
calculating something without seeing or touching it; they often excel when math is taught abstractly on the board.
GIRLS: find math easier with
manipulatives and objects. They prefer to begin from the concrete, then move to the abstract.
Use of Language
BOYS: will often work silently
and use fewer words during the learning process.
“side by side” work and play
GIRLS: tend to use more
words than boys; tend to understand
concepts by using them in everyday language.
“face to face” work and play
Logic and Evidence
BOYS: tend to hear less and
need clear evidence to support a claim.
GIRLS: tend to be better
listeners than boys and able to work through things that might not have a logical sequence.
Boredom
BOYS: are bored more easily
than girls; often require more variety to stimulate their learning.
may exhibit problem behaviors.
GIRLS: are able to tolerate
less variety in learning tasks.
Use of Space
BOYS: tend to need more
space than girls when they learn;
tend to spread their work out more, appearing messy, and quite often intruding into someone else’s space.
GIRLS: are generally tidier
with their work, and manage to work within their own spaces.
Movement
BOYS: tend to need more
movement to stimulate their brains; movement to boys is natural.
GIRLS: do not need to move
around as much while learning.
Sensitivity in a Group
BOYS: tend to focus on
individual performance and are more task oriented, preferring simply to “get the job done” well.
GIRLS: tend to work more
cooperatively in a group and are generally concerned with the dynamics and relationships, as well as the overall group outcome.
Use of Symbols
BOYS: often rely on pictures
in their learning because pictures stimulate the right hemisphere of the brain, which is often more developed in boys.
GIRLS: tend to prefer to read
written text rather than to use diagrams and graphs.
Geosynchronousorbit
low Earthorbit
Polar Orbit
eccentricorbit
Use of Learning Teams
BOYS: tend to create more
structured teams pick leaders quickly
and focus on the goal thrive when the task
is competitive.
GIRLS: form looser
organizations spend a lot of time
managing the process before working toward the goal
Thrive when the task involves positive, cooperative relationships.
Motivation
BOYS Will complete school
work and homework only if it is intrinsically motivating interesting to the boy himself;
Overestimate competence
GIRLS Will complete school
work and homework because it will please the teacher or other adults;
Underestimate competence.
Characteristics conducive to teaching in a Single-Gender boys or girls classroom.
BOYS Strong, firm tone of voice Active, fast pace Noisy classroom Discovery Learning Cooperative Learning Structured movement Games & competition Strong classroom
management skills Team building
Girls Softer, caring voice Steady paced instruction Quieter learning
environment Hands-on learning Cooperative learning Strong Math & Science
skills Leadership skill-building Fair minded
So What Strategies Have We Tried?
With Our Boys Ball Toss Competitions Whole to Part
Presentations Clozed Notes Relay Race Jeopardy Review
With Our Girls Foldables Colored Notes Part to Whole
Presentations Reciprocal Teaching Peer Coaching Team Competitions
How Does Single-Gender Impact How Does Single-Gender Impact TAP?TAP?
Lesson Structure and Pacing Motivation Content Implementation Teacher Knowledge of StudentsTeacher Knowledge of Students ActivitiesActivities
As with anything else in education, adequate adequate preparationpreparation in proven, evidence-based strategies is key.
Your Assignment – Bring Backs
Implement one single-gender strategy with your class this week.
Supply evidence to show how using this strategy impacts student achievement.Student EngagementMotivationLesson Pacing and Structure