1. Differentiating to Meet the Learning Needs of Boys Steph Wilson swilson@waukee.k12.ia.us

2. 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

3. Guiding Question What do you we do in our classrooms that may disadvantage boys? And what can we do about it?

4. Disclaimer Be careful about accepting absolutes for either gender Educational best practices apply to both genders

5. Picture a student… That is restless That is often disorganized That is aggressive That loves hands-on work Anyone picture a girl?

6. 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

7. 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

8. More Boys Than Girls… Are left handed Are hyperactive Have behavior problems  For every 100 women in correctional facilities (15-17) 837 men are behind bars

9. More Boys Than Girls… Commit Suicide  For every 100 girls (15-19) who commit suicide 549 boys commit suicide  For every 100 girls (20-24) who commit suicide 624 men commit suicide

10. More Girls than Boys… Are skin cutters Have eating disorders

11. Brain Development Over 100 structural differences between the male and female brain Development of the Frontal Lobe  Impulse control, judgment  Planning and controlling behavior  Develops earlier in girls Implications in the classroom…

12. 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

13. Implications for the classroom…

14. 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 down  10% of the female brain shuts down Boys NEED downtime Boys must be hooked at the beginning Implications for the classroom…

15. 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…

16. Movement Boys use movement to stimulate their brain and stay on task Movement can “kick start” their brains Implications for the classroom…

17. Please…Please whom? Girls aim to please adults Boys aim to please peers Implications in the classroom…

18. 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

19. So What Can We Do? Look at the Differentiating for Boys sheet for strategies to use in the classroom.