Gender Differences in Learning
American schools are facing a huge dilemma: boys and girls are statistically doing different in school, with girls having the upper hand. For example, in some states, boys have the average of an entire letter grade below girls according to the article “Gender-Friendly Schools.” The article adds that roughly 70% of the D’s and F’s in school grades are given to boys and more than half of the A’s are given to girls. With evidence of a gender difference in learning, scientists and educators are looking for the source, namely nature or nurture, and if the learning difference is gender based or individual orientated. Based on the evidence surrounding learning, suggestions are given to teachers to ensure that all students are able to learn.
Although there is sufficient evidence of a difference between male and female brains, the controversy pertains whether this contrast is a fact of nature or a magnification based upon nurture. Kelley King, Michael Gurian, and Kathy Stevens argue that the difference in learning is a product of nature, thus advocating for a teaching style accommodating gender differences, in an article titled “Gender-Friendly Schools.” They offer many examples of gender brain differences that can have a great effect on the classroom. Girls tend to be good at “deskbound” learning, mainly because their prefrontal cortex is more active allowing them to sit still, have better decision making, and better at learning verbally. Boys on the other hand tend to be quite the opposite. They often are graphic and kinesthetic learners, and are easily bored if the classroom information is not prevalent to survival. Neurologist, Lise Eliot, adds that baby boys tend to be more...
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...f preferences across the learning styles are fairly spread out, with nearly an equal percentage for every learning style. This is just one more reason for educators to teach in a variety of styles to ensure that all students will learn and also to challenge every child’s learning styles with variety.
The gender learning difference is an enormous issue surrounding our school systems. Debates have taken place to determine the source of this learning difference and if it is even based on gender or if it is individually based. Nevertheless, new suggestions are being made to promote the educational growth in every child. By better understanding gender differences in learning, America’s worries about not giving every child the education he/she needs can be put to rest as precautions are taken to ensure students of all learning styles have the ability to succeed in school.
It is a common phenomenon in coed schools that when an instructor asks a girl to answer a question in a science or math class, some boys always interrupt and answer that question correctly. Many girls at that moment may feel embarrassed, frightened, and even want to be invisible. In many cases, instructors do not punish the boys for their rude behaviors. As The learning environment and teachers’ attitude make girls feel pressure and decrease their Learning enthusiasm. As a result, girls and boys receive a different education even though they have the same class. In the U.S., the discrepancy in academic performance persists across gender. In order to close the gap and provide an equitable and quality education
Do humans let their gender define their capability to learn? In the “The Gender Gap at School,” David Brooks talks about how “Male reading rates are falling three times as fast as among young women’s” (Brooks 391), because teachers are not providing equal reading interest in both genders. However, gender does not play a role in males capability to succeed in their education for reading. “The problem with gender is that it prescribes how we should be, rather than recognizing how we are” (Adichie).
Sadker, Myra, David Sadker, and Susan Klein. "The Issue of Gender in Elementary and Secondary Education." Review of Research in Education 17 (1991): 269. JSTOR. Web. 14 Mar. 2012.
Brooks argues that male and female brains work and experience things differently. He suggests that this theory is also the reason as to why young girls are surpassing their male counterparts in school settings. He incorrectly assumes that by separating males and females, males will be allowed to break free from gender stereotypes. Brooks strengthens his argument with results of brain research on sex differences. But, Brook’s argument is unpersuasive. He categorizes all young males, and suggest that single sex-schools are the best solution for them. He wants to apply a black-and-white solution to something that is just not that simple. While Brooks uses comparisons and surveys to convince the reader, his argument simply does
Sending a child to a gender based school, is a very big decision to make. The decision is so big, that looking at what research has to say about the topic could alter one’s decision to send their child to a gender based school. “Educators must apply different approaches in teaching make, and female students” (Gurian). This is said by Gurian, because he also believes that boys and girls learn differently. “Social pressures can be gentler and your child can learn at his own pace” (Kennedy).
Girls and boys performances in school are much different. The girls get the high grades and the boys leave. Why? Is it just because their brains are different? David Thomas argues that there has to be other factors involved. It can't just be brain function. He suggests that the social aspect in these studies must also be looked at and considered.
Communication is an essential part of human life. People perceive things in a different way because of ethnic background differences, attitudes and beliefs, etc. These differences may affect our ability to communicate with our counterpart. Therefore, it is necessary to keep our mind open so that we can reduce the risk of communication breakdown. Men and women are different as everyone knows that. However, their differences are no just physiological and anatomical. Recent researches have concluded that there are remarkable differences between the two genders in the way their brains process information, language, emotion, cognition etc. Scientists have discovered the differences in the way men and women carry out mental functions like judging speed, estimating time, spatial visualization and positioning, mental calculation. Men and women are strikingly different not only in these tasks but also in the way their brains process language. This could account for the reason why there are overwhelmingly more male mathematicians, pilots, mechanical engineers, race car drivers and space scientists than females. On the other hand, there are areas in which women outperform men. Women are naturally endowed with better communication and verbal abilities. They are also effective than men in some of the tasks like emotional empathy, establishing human relations, carrying out pre-planned tasks and creative expressions (Kimura 1999).
Everyone has an opinion on the learning styles of girls and boys. Lawmakers, educators, parents, and community leaders all desire to see students succeed in the academic arena and gender schooling is on the rise in public, private, charter and magnet schools. Consequently, many parents believe single-sex classes are beneficial to learning because students are free of distractions from members of the opposite sex. Single sex classes enhance opportunities for the development and refinement of leadership skills. Students are free to compete more aggressively on a single gender competitive playing field with an abandonment of prejudice and disregard for traditional stereotypical male/female identity roles. Will the implementation of
It is proven that the male and female brains differ, but can one prove that it affects the behavior? Many scientists would agree that ones behavior is determined by his/her gender. Although others are convinced that social conditioning is the cause for the differences between the male and female, it is very unlikely that biological differences play no role in behavior. The male and female brains differ not only by how they work, but also on the size. For example, Natalie Angier and Kenneth Chang, neuroscientists, have shown that the women’s brain is about 10 percent smaller than the male’s, on average, even after accounting for women’s comparatively smaller body size. Three brain differences that affect ones behavior are the limbic size, the corpus collosum size, and the amount of gray and white matter.
As you’re reading this right now, your brain is arranging twenty-six letters into words, which become sentences, and may eventually turn into research papers. Inside every human being’s skull lies a three-pound pile of mush that controls everything you do. From the way you breathe to the way you sleep, your brain is doing all the work. Scientists have studied the brain for hundreds of years, but have only understood a small amount on how it works. But, scientists have found a few differences and similarities between the average male and female brain. The question is, whose brain is more superior? On average, women’s brains are more superior than men’s brains.
Brain activity and blood flow are in a category together. Male brains tend to have less connectivity between the word centers and their memories and feelings. Women have advantages when it comes to discussing feelings, emotions, and sense. Females also are more likely to be interested in discussing feelings and emotions. There
Same sex classes make it possible for teachers to cater to student needs in a more efficient way. In general boys benefit from hands on learning, but girls benefit from calm discussions (Mullins 3). Girls tend to doubt themselves while boys think they can do anything. Boys need to be brought down from the clouds while girls need to be dug out of a hole (Mullins 3). David Chadwell says, "Structure and connection are two key concepts when examining gender in the classroom. All students certainly need both, but it seems that teachers need to consider the issue of structure more with boys and the issue of connection more with girls" (7), and Kristen Stanberry’s research has shown, "Some research indicates that girls learn better when classroom temperature is warm, while boys perform better in cooler classrooms. If that's true, then the temperature in a single-sex classroom could be set to optimize the learning of either male or female students" (1). These observations further support the idea that same sex classrooms can cater to student’s...
Women, Girls, Boys and Men today face a variety of different issues in contemporary american society. Many of the problems that they face are regarding gender and cultural issues. Today we say that both genders are equal but in reality they are really not. We have both girls and both falling behind in school because of these cultural issues. According to David Brooks article titled “Honor Code,” the reason why boys especially, are falling behind in education is because of the way the education system is set-up. He states that schools today proclaim that they are diverse, but in fact they have become “homogeneous,” they only cater to students who are “nurturing, collaborative, disciplined, neat, studious, industrious and ambitious.” He says that those who do not fit in with those categories are left behind, they become disconnected and eventually withdraw completely from their education. It has become a huge problem in the U.S, where colleges are lowering their admission standards just so they can admit more men. Mr. Brooks says the problems with boys is that they are naturally aggres...
However, the major findings are in the purpose rather than the size. One of these results is that women have many of the segments of their brains connected together, while men’s are separated. This allows women to multi-task, while men have much more specialized thinking. It is thought this is why women tend to see things from various angles and men are more straightforward. It is also thought that this is the reason behind the higher numbers of ADHD, autism and dyslexia in men and also why women can recover quicker after strokes, as their activity can be transferred to other parts of the brain.
The reality that boys are failing, especially through elementary, middle, and high school, strikes many as news. Richard Whitmire, author of Why Boys Fail, cites teachers’ experience that have noticed distinct differences between boys and girls. He presents multiple witnesses of boys’ and girls’ education, one of which is Kenneth Dragseth, the superintendent of schools in Edina, MN. In 2001, He noticed the disparity between the participation of girls and boys in education. He first noted the recipients of almost all academic achievements and scholarship awards were girls. Dragseth initiated specific research into the disparity between boys and girls, and discovered even more details. In a study, he further discovered that girls earned honors awards far more than men, while boys earned suspensions far more than ...