Boys and Girls Learn Differently By Trisha-Ann Matthew Education Seminar in Applied Theory and Research 1 Spring 2010

Introduction Statement of the Problem Review of Literature Research Hypothesis Participants Instruments References Appendices

The underachievement of elementary boys in literacy is a problem. The majority of boys at P.S. X are unengaged during literacy instruction. What is the cause of this problem? Do we blame nature, nurture, teachers and parents expectations or the boys themselves. This research will attempt to answer the questions: Does gender matters in teaching? Should boys and girls be taught differently in order to better engage boys?

 “Boys are achieving less because boys are resistant to the curriculum that is being taught, whereas the girls are compliant (Hodgetts, 2007).  “If you turn up the heat, the boys go to sleep, they get sluggish and their eyelids get heavy. If you keep it just a little chilly, the boys learn better”(Sax, 2006, p. 193).

 “regarding learning, the most effective teacher-pupil combination is female-female and the least effective is a female instructor and a male pupil”(Klein, 2004, p. 185).  The Gurian institute believes, “Schools are run counter to how boys learn and how their brains operate. The language of girls’ brains develop earlier, so reading and writing comes easier to them, while boys’ brains are better at spatial-mechanical tasks and males learn better when they are active”(Delisio, 2006).

 “Girls are born with a sense of hearing significantly more sensitive than boys’, particularly at higher frequencies”(Sax, 2006, p. 191).  “Male and female eyes are not organized in the same way. The composition of the male eye makes it attuned to motion and direction. Boys interpret the world as objects in space. The teacher should move around the classroom” (Chadwell, n.d.).

 “Boys in poor and working-class populations are at an immediate disadvantage in school”(Wiens, 2006, p. 17).  “ There is a danger ahead for boys because many do not see men in their homes, their early childhood schools, or even their primary schools”(Lingard & Mills,2009).

 “Boys are punished for homework and grades are lower because of behavior unrelated to learning and knowledge “(Coates & Draves, 2006, p.6).  “Girls are perceived as better-behaved, which gives them an advantage when teachers evaluate their achievement ”(Extrom, 1994).

 South Carolina second grade teachers Garneau and Gamble are convinced that segregating elementary-age boys and girls produces immediate academic improvement-in both genders(Kaufman, n.d.).  “Boys need to play an active role in the learning process or else their loose interest. Learning through action and involvement, rather than through traditional academic tasks such as reading, listening and copying”(Hodgetts, 2008, p. 468).  Twelve-year old Brett Landsberger, “ We can express ourselves better”(Rivera, 2006).

 “Children taught by women-both boys and girls alike-were more inclined to show positive attitudes towards school than their peers taught by men” (Tymms, Merrell &Carrington, 2006, p. 317).  “We can all learn together: Single-sex classes are trendy, but there's scant evidence that they improve academic achievement”(Rivers & Barnett 2006).

 “Being with more girls is good for everybody. Boys and girls do better when there are more girls in the class”(Science Daily, 2008).  “No significant difference in mathematics achievement that can be attributed to gender or class composition. However, scores in school-based English improved for students in single-gender classes. Improvement for girls in single-gender classes was greater than that for boys in single-gender classes” (Mulholland & Kaminski, 2004, p. 31).

The students selected for this action research attend fourth-grade in P.S. X in Brooklyn New York. P.S. X is a Title 1 school in Brooklyn New York.

Cameron, C., Ponitz, S E., Rimm-Kaufman & Laura L.Brock. (2009). Early Adjustment,Gender Differences, and Classroom Organizational Climate in First Grade. The Elementary School Journal 110 (2), Eric Document Reproduction Service No. EJ Carrington, B., Tymms, P & Merrell, C. (2008). Role models, school improvement and the ‘gender gap’-do men bring out the best in boys and women the girls? British Educational Research Journal, 34 (3), Eric Document Reproduction Service No. EJ Coates, J., Draves., & William, A (2006). Smart Boys; Bad Grades. Retrieved February 2010 from Delisio, E.R. (2006). Helping Boys Learn. Education World. Retrieved February 2010 from Dee, T.S (2006). Teachers and the Gender Gaps in Student Achievement. The Journal of Human Resources. The Journal of Human Resources, XL11(3). Eric Document Reproduction Service No. EJ Driessen, G. (2007). The Feminization of Primary Education: Effects of Teachers’ Sex on Pupil Achievement, Attitudes and Behavior. Review of Education 53(2), Eric Document Reproduction Service No. EJ Dunn, R. (1990). Rita Dunn Answers Questions on Learning Styles. How Valid is the Research on learning styles? Is it really necessary for teachers to diagnose styles and match instruction to individual differences? : Educational Leadership. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ416423). Hodgetts, K. (2007). Underperformance or ‘getting it right’? Constructions of gender and achievement in the Australian inquiry into boys’ education. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 29 (5), Eric Document Reproduction EJ Jones, S & Myhill, D. (2004). Seeing Things Differently: Teachers Constructions of Underachievement. Gender and Education, 16 (4). EDocument Reproduction Service No. EJ Joseph, K. (2004). Who is most responsible for gender differences in scholastic Achievements: Pupils or Teachers? Educational Research 46 (2). Eric Document Reproduction Service No. EJ68629.

Kaufmann, C. (n.d.) How Boys and Girls Learn Differently. Readers Digest. Retrieved February 2010, from King, K. & Gurian, M. (2006 ). Teaching to the Minds of Boys: Is something wrong With the way we're teaching boys? One elementary school thought so and decided to implement boy-friendly strategies that produced remarkable results. Kuhn, J.T. & Hoing, H. (2008). Gender, reasoning ability, and scholastic Achievement a multilevel mediation analysis. Learning and Individual Differences, 19(2), Eric Document Reproduction Service No. EJ Kurtz, S. (2005). Can We Make Boys and Girls Alike? City Journal.Retrieved February, 2010, from Lingard, B & Mills, M. (2009). Possibilities in the Boy Turn: Comparative Lesson from Australia and Iceland. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 53(4) Eric Document Reproduction Service No. EJ And calls for a more equal policies in dealing with educating the genders. Mulholland, J.H & Kaminski, E. (2004). Do Single-Gender Classrooms in Coeducational Settings Address Boys' Underachievement D. & Jones, S. (2006). ‘She doesn’t shout at no girls’: pupils’ perceptions of gender equity in the classroom Newquist, C. The Yin and Yang of Learning Educators Seek Solutions in Single- Sex Education (1997). Education World. Retrieved February 2010, from Ringrose, J. (2007). Successful girls? Complicating post-feminist, neoliberal discourses of educational achievement and gender equality. Gender and Education, 19 (4), Eric Document Reproduction Service No. EJ Rivera, C (2006). Single-sex classes on a forward course: More schools in L.A. and across the nation separate boys and girls. New federal guidelines extend the leeway. singlesex20

Rivers, C & Barnett,R.C. (2006). Caryl rivers we can learn together: Single- sex Classes are trendy, but there’s scant evidence that they improve academic Achievement Sax, L (2006). Six Degrees of Separation: What Teachers Need to Know about the Emerging Science of Sex Differences. Retrieved March 15, 2010 from Shaughnessy, M. F. (1998). An Interview with Rita Dunn About Learning Styles. Clearing House, 71, 3. Eric Document Reproduction. Tel Aviv University ( 2008). Keep Boys and Girls Together in Classrooms to Optimize Learning. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 2010, from leases/2008/04/ htm Wiens, K. (2006). The New Gender Gap: What Went Wrong? The Journal of Education. 186(3). (Eric Document Reproduction Service No. EJ750050) Wood, D., Kaplan, R & McLoyd, V. (2006). Gender Differences in the Educational Expectations of Urban, Low-Income African American Youth: The Role of Parents and School. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36 (4), Eric Document Reproduction EJ