1. The Gendered Classroom
Abigail Norfleet James, Ph.D
Sacred Heart Schools
St. Charles
March 16, 2012

2. Abigail Norfleet James, Ph.D. 2012 ajames@anj-online.com
Accepted Knowledge
Girls are more verbal
Fluency not intelligence
Boys are better at spatial relations
Connection to some math skills
Boys are more active
Expectations not biology early
Puberty brings activity
Boys are more aggressive
true cross-culturally
Need to roughhouse
Abigail Norfleet James, Ph.D

3. Do Male and Female Brains Differ?
Male brain is larger, but has fewer connections
Differential development, R vs L
Amygdala vs. hippocampus
Pre-frontal lobes develop more slowly in males
Left
(girls first)
Right
(boys first)
Hippocampus
Amygdala
Memory of pictures/gist
Memory of Nouns/details
Spelling, reading words, verbal intellect, vocabulary
Performance – “Watch me!”
Abigail Norfleet James, Ph.D

4. Verbal Differences between girls and boys
Acquisition
Earlier for girls both grammar and vocabulary
Fluency
Girls more fluent than boys
Intelligence
No difference in adults?
Spelling and grammar
Boys continue to have problems so need exposure later than girls
Abigail Norfleet James, Ph.D

5. Sensory differences between girls and boys
Hearing
Girls more sensitive to sound than boys
Boys have problems with phonemic awareness – may be source of reading difficulties
Vision
Boys have more acute vision than girls and see objects in motion better – reading issues/saccades
Girls see objects close up, better perceptual speed
Touch
For learning, boys are hands-on, girls may be content to observe, boys need to move for memory
Abigail Norfleet James, Ph.D

6. Other cognitive differences
Spatial – boys better at rotation and spatial-temporal
May supply boys’ advantage in mathematical problem solving
Traditionally little training in early school
Girls need exposure to practical applications
Learning Modalities
Verbal/auditory
Kinesthetic/iconic
Abigail Norfleet James, Ph.D

7. Differences in Learning Issues
ADHD
More males due to social bias?
Cause of inattention may be something other than learning problem
Dyslexia
More males – but is it a developmental problem?
Dysgraphia/Dyspraxia
more males – but is it due to social expectations?
Dyscalculia
Actually a problem with memory/no gender difference
Girls give up too easily because of social beliefs
Boys will avoid math
Abigail Norfleet James, Ph.D

8. Emotional Differences
Fight or Flight – adrenalin
Increase in heart rate, breathing, blood sugar, blood floods muscles and brain, pupils dilate movement
Tend and Befriend – oxytocin
Decrease in heart rate, breathing, blood sugar, blood goes to core, pupils constrict freezing
May be cause of academic anxiety
The problems of global praise or discipline
Without specific references, failure results in boys getting angry and girls becoming anxious
What is seen as bad behavior in boys may be impulsive not purposeful
Abigail Norfleet James, Ph.D

9. Classroom Behavior Differences
Boys don’t ask for help, girls ask too soon
Girls responsive to the teacher, boys not responsive enough
Boys believe that ability is all that is needed to achieve and girls believe that effort is more important than ability
Girls learn different study and test taking strategies from others, boys will persist even if their strategies don’t work
Abigail Norfleet James, Ph.D

10. Girls’ Academic Attitudes
Girls are obsessed with their grades
What is the right answer? What is on the test?
Methods to insure success
Emphasis on success can lead to school anxiety
Test anxiety/math anxiety
Girls may downplay academic success
Especially if friends or boys aren’t doing as well
Abigail Norfleet James, Ph.D

11. What characteristics of girls should make school easy?
Planning
Managing and regulating behavior (deciding what you are going to do before you do it)
Attention
Resisting distractions
Alert to environment
Successive processing
Accepting, evaluating, and retaining information
Self-disciplined
Can motivate themselves to complete material they are not interested in
Abigail Norfleet James, Ph.D

12. How single gender classes help girls
Learn to deal with stress
Supportive environment helps girls cope with need to have the right answer
Focus can be on content and not on appearance
Content of coursework can be tailored for girls’ interests
Learn to work with peers with whom they may not get along
Abigail Norfleet James, Ph.D

13. Boys’ academic attitudes
Ability is more important than effort, image is the most important
Motivation suffers as a result – “too cool for school”
Boys overestimate their academic competence
Even in the face of failure
Probably due to drive for competition
Math, science, and sports are male domains
In spite of gains for women in STEM areas
Influence of home environment
Parents support boys in education perhaps too much
Abigail Norfleet James, Ph.D

14. What characteristics of boys should make school easy?
Natural inquisitiveness
Need to know how things work
Emphasis on details/facts
Boys know lots about subjects they like
Geography bee winners
Competitive nature
Need to focus on indirect and cooperative and not on direct competition
Ability to work in groups
Boys very peer oriented, what one does, his mates will do
Abigail Norfleet James, Ph.D

15. How single gender classes help boys
Class content is more interesting to boys
Movement and noise tolerated
Focus on acquiring study strategies aimed at kinesthetic and iconic learners
Develop verbal skills in supportive environment
Become part of school-oriented peer group and identify selves as students
Abigail Norfleet James, Ph.D

16. Abigail Norfleet James, Ph.D. 2012 ajames@anj-online.com
Conclusion
There are cognitive differences between boys and girls which are brain based
Adapting teaching strategies for those differences improves learning
Accommodating for learning differences allows students to make use of their learning strengths to compensate
Remember, equality is achieved not when all are the same, but when all are allowed to learn the way that best suits them
Abigail Norfleet James, Ph.D