differentiating to meet the learning needs of boys steph wilson [email protected]
TRANSCRIPT
Objectives
Learn how boys and girls brains are different
Learn some general (and surprising) characteristics of boys
Learn ways to differentiate to meet the needs of boys in the classroom
Guiding Question
What do you we do in our classrooms that may disadvantage boys?
And what can we do about it?
Disclaimer
Be careful about accepting absolutes for either gender
Educational best practices apply to both genders
Picture a student…
That is restless That is often disorganized That is aggressive That loves hands-on work
Anyone picture a girl?
More Boys Than Girls… Drop out of school
For every 100 girls enrolled in Kindergarten 116 boys are enrolled
For every 100 girls graduating from grade 12 96 boys graduate
For every 100 girls enrolled in college 77 men are enrolled
Repeat a grade Are color blind
More Boys Than Girls… Are diagnosed with learning disabilities
For every 100 girls diagnosed 276 boys are diagnosed
Are Autistic Have Tourettes syndrome Have Asperger syndrome Stutter Are late readers Have ADD/ADHD
More Boys Than Girls…
Are left handed Are hyperactive
Have behavior problemsFor every 100 women in correctional facilities
(15-17) 837 men are behind bars
More Boys Than Girls…
Commit SuicideFor every 100 girls (15-19) who commit
suicide549 boys commit suicide
For every 100 girls (20-24) who commit suicide624 men commit suicide
More Girls than Boys…
Are skin cutters Have eating disorders
Brain Development
Over 100 structural differences between the male and female brain
Development of the Frontal LobeImpulse control, judgmentPlanning and controlling behaviorDevelops earlier in girls
Implications in the classroom…
Centralized or Compartmentalized Brains Perform better with one activity at a
time Need time to transition Takes longer to pull up information Have a hard time multi-tasking Male brains are compartmentalized
Implications for the classroom…
Neural Rest States
Boys’ brains go into a rest state many times during the day (“Nothing Box”)
The male brain renews itself by zoning out 70% of the male brain shuts down10% of the female brain shuts down
Boys NEED downtime Boys must be hooked at the beginning
Implications for the classroom…
Hearing
Girls hear 2 to 4 times better than males Boys hear better out of 1 ear while girls hear
equally out of both Both process information with only the left
hemisphere of the brain (keep sound source to the right side)
If boys are doing something else – they don’t hear you
Implications for the classroom…
Movement
Boys use movement to stimulate their brain and stay on task
Movement can “kick start” their brains
Implications for the classroom…
Please…Please whom?
Girls aim to please adults Boys aim to please peers
Implications in the classroom…
So, what are we doing wrong?
Not letting boys be boys – naturally aggressive and competitive
Asking boys to behave in ways that are not developmentally appropriate (sit still, be quiet, look at me, use fine motor skills)
Expecting boys to learn by listening and watching
Mistaking high energy as ADHD Not allowing enough processing time
So What Can We Do?
Look at the Differentiating for Boyssheet for strategies to use in the
classroom.