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?

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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