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GenderDifferencesinLearning
Dr.LindaSasser

InthedaythatGodcreatedman,inthelikenessofGodmadehehim; Maleandfemalecreatedhethem;andblessedthemGenesis5:12

BrainDifferencesbetweenGenders
StructuralDifferences CorpusCallosum(densebundleofnervesconnectingtwohemispheres) o Denserandlargerinfemales,resultinginincreasedcrosstalkbetweenhemispheres o Girlsgenerallybetteratmultitaskingthanboys(suchaswatching,listening,and takingnotessimultaneously) BrainStem(responsibleforfightorflightresponses) o Malesgreateramountofspinalfluidallowmessagestomovemorequicklyfrom braintobody) o Boystendtobemorepoisedforfightorflightandforaphysicalresponsewhen theyfeelthreatenedoremotionallycharged LimbicSystem(amygdalaprocessesemotionsandhippocampusconvertsinformationfrom workingmemoryintolongtermmemory) o Hippocampustendstobelargerinfemales,resultinginincreasedmemorystorage o Amygdalatendstobelargerinmales,helpsmakemalesmoreaggressive CerebralCortex(controlsthinking,decisionmaking,andhigherintellectualfunctions) o Maleshavelaterfrontallobedevelopment,sotendtobemoreimpulsive o Femalebrainhasabout20%morebloodflowandmoreneuralconnections o Girlsmayprocessandrespondtoclassroominformationfaster o Girlsmayfinditeasierthanboystotransitionbetweenlessons Cerebellum(doingcenterofbraincontrolsmessagesbetweenbrainandbody) o Boysoftenlearnbetterwhentheirbodiesareinmotion o Sittingcanfrustrateboys;makethemfidget ProcessingDifferences LanguageProcessingAreas o Femalesprocesslanguageinbothhemispheres;malesonlyinone o Girlshavemoreaccesstoverbalresources,andarebetterabletoverbalizefeelings o Girlsdeveloplanguageearlierthanboys,andaregenerallymoreinterestedthan boysinverbaltasks o Femalesusetwicethenumberofwords(onaverage)thanboys o Girlslearntoreadandwriteearlier,creatinggendergapsthatsometimespersist throughoutschool

SpatialProcessingAreas o Maleshaveincreasedresourcesforspatialreasoning o Malesarebetterat: mentalmanipulationofobjects grossmotorskills mathematicalandabstractreasoning processingsymbolsandpictures navigation o Boysneedmorespaceinwhichtofunctionwhilelearning o Boysaregenerallymoreinterestedthangirlsinspatialtasks SensorySystems o Girlsgenerallyseebetterindimlight,hearbetter,haveabettersenseofsmell,and takeininformationtactilely. o Girlshavestrongerneuralconnectorsintemporallobes,sotendto takeinandrecallmoresensoryinformation includemoresensorydetailintheirwritingandconversation o Boysmayhavemoredifficultyhearingcertainrangesofsound,especiallyfromthe backoftheroom(suchasahigherpitchedteachersvoice)

ChemicalDifferences Testosterone(malesexandaggressionhormone) o Boyshaveincreasedaggression,competitiveness,selfassertion o Boysaremotivatedbycompetitionintheclassroom,evengamesthatallowallto succeedbyhavingstudentscompeteagainstthemselves Estrogen(femalesexhormone) o Levelsmaybeaffectedbyseasonalvariations,suchaslengthofdaylighthours o Pubertycanbringvolatilemoodswingsandmoreaggressivebehavior Serotonin(feelgoodchemicalthataffectsmood,anxiety,relaxation) o Girlslevelsareabout30%morethanboys,sotheyarelesslikelytoreactwitha fightresponse o Boyshavelessserotonintohelpthembackoffandcalmdown Dopamine(neurotransmitterthatstimulatesmotivationandpleasurecircuits) o Boysneedadopaminerushforlearning,butinastructuredenvironmentsotheir enthusiasmcanbemanaged Oxytocin(tendandbefriendhormonerelatedtosocialrecognition,trust,andbonding) o Femaleshavehigherlevelsthanmalesthroughoutlife o Girlsaremoremotivatedtoestablishrelationshipswithteachersandpeers,will oftentrytopleasetheteacher o Boysmaynotseeconnectionbetweentheirbehaviorandrelationships

2010 Linda Sasser, Ph.D.

StrategiestoHelpBoys(andGirls)withLearning
IncorporateMoreMovement Makelessonsexperientialandkinesthetic,andusemanipulatives. Putwordsandpunctuationonlargecards,havestudentsarrangealongfloororchalkboard ledgetoformsentences. Havechildreneachholdaletterandarrangethemselvestospellwords. Fourcorners:havestudentswalktoeachcornerofroomtodiscussdifferentquestionsor completedifferentmathproblems. Allowstudents,especiallyboys,towalkfreelyaroundtheroom,squeezestressballs, deliverpaperstotheprincipalsoffice,orbuildareportinsteadofwriteone. Incorporatefrequentstretchbreaksand/or60secondmovementbreaks.

MakeUseofSpatialandVisualRepresentations Havestudentsdrawpicturesfirst,likestoryboards,andthenwrite stories. Duringprewritingbrainstorming,allowthestudents(iftheychoose) to usecoloredpencilstodrawwhattheyaregoingtowriteabout,sotheywillhavemore sensorydetailwhentheybeginwriting.

OfferChoiceofTopics Allowstudentsmorechoiceinwhattheyhavetoreadandwrite;boystendtolikenon fiction,sciencefiction,escapism,humor,sports,andliteraturewithaction,aggression, competition,andsuperheroes.

IncludeSingleGenderLearningActivities Allowboystoworkwithboysandgirlswithgirlsoncertainprojects,andletthemchoose theirpreferredmethodforassessment.

ProvideAudiencesforReadingandWritingAssignments Encouragestudentstoreadwhattheywritetoparents,extendedfamily members,peopletheylookupto. Provideopportunitiesforstudentstoreadtheirwritingatschoolassemblies,orfor recordingandplacingontheschoolswebsite(podcasts).

IntroduceMaleRoleModels Invitespeakerstovisityourclass,especiallythosewhosecareers involve readingandwriting,suchasjournalists,authors,lyricists,orlawyers. Involveparents,grandparents,andvolunteersfromthecommunityinyourclassroom activities;oneavenueofinvolvementisreadingtoandwiththeyoungerstudents.

2010 Linda Sasser, Ph.D.

TimeChallenges Challengestudentstodoataskinacertainamountoftime;forexample,askthemiftheycando fivemathproblemsintwominutes.Boystendtobemorecompetitiveandrespondwellto challenges.

Drawing Allowstudentstodrawasyoureadtothem.

RollerDerby Playmusicandallowstudentstowalkaroundtheclassroomwhiletheyrecallthree tofiveconcepts/ideasjusttaughtandtellthesetoapartner.Thiskeepsthebrain primedforlearning(bloodflowtobrain),andkeepsdeclarativeknowledge connectedtoproceduralknowledge(brainbodyconnection).

MinglingScrabble(vocabularyorspelling) Putstudentsingroupsandgiveeachacardwithaletterofthealphabetprintedonit.Tellthe grouptheirtaskistoarrangethemselvestocreatewordsandtotrytouseeveryletterinthe group. Foryoungerstudents,youmaywishtogivethemalistofwordstheycantrytomakewith theircards. Forolderstudents,requirethateveryletterbeused,butletthemcomeupwitheither moreshortwordsorafewlongerwords. Makesuretoincludeaproportionatenumberofvowelstoconsonants,andeitherdonot use,oruseveryfew,Xs,QsandZs. ContentIntegratedMovement Ball(orKoosh)TossReview Thestudenttossingtheballasksaquestion;thestudentcatchingitanswers,andthenthe processisrepeated. BeachBallReview Writemathproblemsorphonicssoundsonthepanelsofabeachball(orpurchaseata teachingstore).Studentstosstheballandmuststatethesolutionorawordusingthe soundasindicatedontheball. ContinentScramble Designatedifferentpartsofroomascontinents,presidents,etc.Providecluesandask studentstofigureoutwheretogo. VotewithYourFeet Askstudentstostandalonganimaginarylineaccordingtowhethertheyagree,disagree,or areneutralregardingacontroversialtopic,andtostatewhytheytookthatposition. WalkaboutReview Studentswalkaroundwithapartnerwhilediscussingcontentorreviewingforatest.

2010 Linda Sasser, Ph.D.

ResourcesforBrain,Gender,Movement,andBoysLiteracy
Gurian,M.,Stevens,K.,&King,K.(2008).StrategiesforteachingboysandgirlsElementarylevel. SanFrancisco:JosseyBass. James,A.N.(2007).Teachingthemalebrain:Howboysthink,feel,andlearninschool.Thousand Oaks,CA:CorwinPress. Jensen,E.(2000).Learningwiththebodyinmind.ThousandOaks,CA:Corwin. LearningStation.(1997).TonyChestnut&FunTimeActionSongs.Melbourne,FL:Kaladon Publishing. OMalley,K.(2005).Onceuponacoolmotorcycledude.NY:WalkerPublishingCo. Sax,L.(2006).Whygendermatters:Whatparentsandteachersneedtoknowabouttheemerging scienceofsexdifferences.NewYork:Broadway. Smith,M.W.&Wilhelm,J.(2006).Goingwiththeflow:Howtoengageboys(andgirls)intheir literacylearning.Portsmouth,NH:Heinemann. Smith,M.W.&Wilhelm,J.(2002).ReadingdontfixnoChevys:Literacyinthelivesofyoung men.Portsmouth,NH:Heinemann. Summerford,C.(2005).Actionpackedclassrooms:MovementstrategiestoinvigorateK5learners. SanDiego,CA:TheBrainStore,Inc. Tyre,P.(2008).Thetroublewithboys:Asurprisingreportcardonoursons,theirproblemsat school,andwhatparentsandeducatorsmustdo.NY:Crown. BrainArticles,Research,andResourceswww.dana.org BrainBreakshttp://www.emc.cmich.edu/BrainBreaks/ Energizershttp://www.ncpe4me.com/pdf_files/K5Energizers.pdf LiteracyforBoyswww.guysread.com NeuroscienceforKidshttp://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/works.html PBSSiteonRaisingBoyshttp://www.pbs.org/parents/raisingboys/ SingleSexEducationwww.singlesexschools.org
2010 Linda Sasser, Ph.D.