Reaching Boys, Teaching Boys

February 2015
CARS Convention
Ginna Guiang-Myers
Ginna Guiang-Myers
-20 years of teaching
-2 years teaching an all-boys class
-10 years in the Philippines and 8
years in the U.S.
-Mother of 1 boy and aunt to 14
nephews
• Academic performance:
Boy Crisis?
• Brain Differences: Do they exist?
• Effects of culture and societal
expectations
• Classroom Implications: Are there
boy-friendly ways of teaching?
1. Science is a dynamic field and scientific evidence is
cumulative in nature. Educators must always be
cognizant of the limitations of Science.
2. The debate about nature vs. nurture is alive and
well! Biological and environmental factors
synergistically influence the development of the child.
What is being argued is the relative degree of
influence.
3. Differences are averages.
I am more likely to dislike school and to believe that school
dislikes me. I am more likely to be below grade level in
reading and to never catch up. I am more likely to be labeled
mentally delayed and less likely to be labeled gifted. I am
more likely to be on medication to get me to sit still. I am
more likely to be checked out, dropped out or kicked out. My
literacy scores are depressing the rankings of every school
where I attend. You will find me in every racial, linguistic and
economic subgroup. Who am I?
1.Sex
2.Gender
3.Gender
Identity
4.Sexual
orientation
A. Refers to the sex of those to whom one
is sexually and romantically attracted.
B. The attitudes, feelings, and behaviors
that a given culture bestows, it is a social
construct
C. Biological status, XX or XY, external
genitalia
D. “one’s sense of oneself as male, female,
or transgender.”
APA, 2011
Males and females are
equal in common
membership of the same
species, humankind, but to
maintain that they are the
same in aptitude, skill, or
behavior is to build a
society based on a
biological and scientific
lie.”
-Anne Moir and David Jussell
“Our actual ability differences
are quite small. Although
psychologists can measure
statistically significant
distinctions between large
groups of men and women or
boys and girls, there is much
more overlap in the academic
and even social-emotional
abilities of the genders than
there are differences.”
-Lise Elliott
1. Read the
message.
2. Add your
thoughts.
• Biological sex is highly
predictive of gender
(Mikhalevich & Powell,
2016).
• Gender is an outcome
resulting from
psychobiosocial
processess.
 Boys get the majority of Ds and Fs in
most schools- in some, as high as 70
percent.
 Boys make up 80% of our discipline
problems.
 Of children diagnosed with behavior
disorders, 80 percent are boys.
 Over 80% of school children on
Ritalin or similar medications are
boys. As of 2004, the number of boys
on Ritalin approached five million.
From: Gurian and Stevens (2005)
 According to the U.S. Department of
Education, our sons are an average a
year to a year and a half behind girls in
reading and writing skills. (Girls are
behind boys in math and science but to
a lesser degree).
 Of high school dropouts, 80 percent
are young males.
 Young men now make up less than
44% of our college population.
From: Gurian and Stevens (2005)
In Special Education (NEA, NASP, 2007):
• Nearly 75 percent of students with specific
learning disabilities are male.
• Seventy-six percent of students receiving
special education services under the category
of emotionally disturbed are male.
• More than 50 percent of students receiving
speech/language therapy services are male.
60
55
50
Males
45
Females
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Grade 2 ELA Grade 3 ELA Grade 4 ELA Grade 5 ELA Grade 6 ELA Grade 7 ELA Grade 8 ELA Grade 9 ELA Grade 10 ELA Grade 11 ELA
2012 ELA CST-% A and P MALES
2012 ELA CST-% A and P FEMALES
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Grade 9
Grade 10
Grade 11
2011 ELA CST-% A and P MALES
2011 ELA CST-% A and P FEMALES
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Grade 9
Grade 10
Grade 11
SBAC Results: M x F
100
88
90
81
80
83
75
70
65
61
63
60
50
40
49
38
38
33
34
30
28
30
24
24
21
21
22
20
10
0
State
LAUSD
TRUSD
ELA- F
ELA- M
Math - F
Davis JUSD
Math - M
Piedmont USD
81
Biological
Sex
GENDERRelated
Behavior
Blakemore et al. (2008), Ngun et al. (2011)
Image source: www.ucsf.edu
BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS
Proximal
causes
Distal causes
Blakemore et al. (2008)
Sex chromosomes
Genes
Hormones
Evolutionary
processes
Image source: www.phys.org
• Berenbaum and Beltz (2016) argue for
the critical role of prenatal androgens
on certain aspects of gender
development.
• Early developmental exposure to
androgens have been linked to gendertyped toy preferences and certain
cognitive abilities (spatial reasoning).
• Evidence from OS and SS twins
-Gender developed as a function of
adaptive pressures. Gender-related
behaviors that increased chances of
survival and reproduction are selected
for.
-Sexual selection allowed for human
males and females to evolve to
facilitate reproductive success
(Blakemore et al.,2008).
Image source: www.hngn.com
1. Prefrontal cortex – larger in females, mature faster in
females.
2. Anterior cingulate cortex – smaller in men than in
women (“worry wart” center, fear of punishment area)
3. Ventral tagmental area – more active in the male brain
(intiates movement, motivation, and receptive to
rewards).
4. Rostral cingulate zone – larger in males than females
(registers social approval and disapproval).
5. Amygdala – larger in males than females (emotioncenter of the brain)
6. Temporal parietal junction – more active in the male
brain (“problem solving, take charge” center)
Male monkeys, like boys,
showed consistent and
strong preferences for
wheeled toys, while
female monkeys, like girls,
showed greater variability
in preferences. Thus, the
magnitude of preference
for wheeled over plush
toys differed significantly
between males and
females (Hassett, Siebert
& Wallen, 2008).
"One of the largest and most persistent differences between the sexes are
children's play preferences (Geary, 2012)."
Plays with Girls’ Toys
Girls with CAH
Girls Unaffected
Plays with Boys’ Toys
Boys with CAH
Boys Unaffected
Sex-Typed Childhood
Activities and Interests
• Boys show higher levels of
‘rough and tumble’ play
across species- humans,
primates, goats, puppies,
colts, rats, etc.
• Dependent on hormone
• Prediction, not a
determination of behavior.
98% of the girls
drew people and
flowers.
Boys drew a
moving object.
Boys, had no
horizon, lots of
kinetic energy.
Girls used flesh
colored palette.
One-day old infant boys
also show greater attention
to mechanical crib mobiles
than girls do (Connellan et
al. 2000).
Girls show greater
attention to faces by 12
months old (Lutchmaya &
Baron-Cohen 2002, 2004).
Mutual gazing
Spatial Ability
• Ability to see patterns and
abstract relationships
• Males find it easier to
disentangle a hidden geometric
figure from a larger pattern.
This ability is astonishingly
hormone-mediated.
•
Testosterone
Mental
Rotation
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
The average male is better at these tasks than
80% of females.
 Verbal fluency
 Communication skills
 Girls learn to speak earlier
 Girls are better at mastering the
subtleties of sophisticated grammar
 At the age of three, 99% of the
speech of girls is comprehensible
 Girls and women hear better than
men
Females of all ages outperform
males on tests requiring the
recognition of emotion or
relationships among other
people.
Sex differences in empathy
emerge in infancy and persist
throughout development.
On Average:
Men are better than women at rotating images
mentally…
While women are quicker at spotting when 2 images
are alike…
Women are better at generating words…
Men are more accurate at targeting tasks…
Women can recognize missing objects…
Spotting when a particular object is embedded in a
more complex pattern is done more easily by men…
1. Each member reads a
section.
2. Each member distills main
idea.
3. From main idea, all
members identify a
teaching take-away.
In humans, the 2D: 4D ratio, or the ratio of
the second digit to the fourth is a sexually
dimorphic trait?
Males, on average, exhibit lower 2D:4D ratios
than do women. It is hypothesized that this
ratio is a reflection of prenatal androgen
exposure (Hone & McCullough, 2012).
…Now you know!
Image source: www.buffalo.edu
Reflective Walk.
Find a walking buddy.
Reflect on what you have
just learned.
Walk twice around the
room.
Strategies
1. Make movement a regular
part of your instructional
routine.
e.g. outdoor activities,
games
How about stand
up note-taking and
reading?
Movement +
Content =
Engagement
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/graphing-linearequations-lesson
Teachers should also
move around their
classrooms too as they
teach.
-Use quick classroom
energizers.
https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=g4ea2G
mBqFo
From: http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol6/604-gurian.aspx
2. Integrate more projects into
units of study.
Products that go
Products that have a purpose
Products that illustrate
Products that engage
3. Teachers increase the use of
graphics, pictures, and storyboards in
literacy-related classes and
assignments. When teachers use
pictures and graphics more often (even
well into high school), boys write with
more detail, retain more information, and
get better grades on written work across
the curriculum.
From: http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol6/604-gurian.aspx
4. Approximately 50 percent of reading
and writing choices in a classroom are
left up to the students
themselves. Regularly including
nontraditional materials, such as graphic
novels, magazines, and comic books,
increases boys' engagement in reading and
improves both creative and expository
writing.
From: http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol6/604-gurian.aspx
Reconsider reading lists! Think “non-traditional.”
-fiction, non-fiction
-graphic novels, comics
-music lyrics
-texts with pop culture appeal
-action-oriented books
-sports cards
-superhero themes
-newspapers
-magazines of high interest
5. Teachers provide competitive
learning opportunities, even while
holding to cooperative learning
frameworks. Competitive learning
includes classroom debates, contentrelated games, and goal-oriented
activities; these are often essential for
boy-learning and highly useful for the
life success of girls, too.
From: http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol6/604-gurian.aspx
6. Classroom curricula include skills
training in time, homework, and
classroom management. In order to feel
competent, engaged, and motivated,
many boys need help learning how to do
homework, follow directions, and succeed
in school and life; classrooms are the
primary place these boys come for that
training.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Appreciate the range of skills and talents
Strengthen spatial awareness
Add movement to your instruction
Engage boys with words
Build on the visual
Incorporate student interests and choices
Avoid stereotyping and be aware of
stereotype threat
Ginna Myers
[email protected]