Teaching to the Minds of Boys

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311-1714. Tel: 800-933-2723; Tel: 703-578-9600; Fax: 703-575-5400; Web site: http://www.ascd.org.

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Males; Brain; Experiential Learning; Educational Environment; Role Models; Elementary Schools; Discipline Problems; Gender Differences; Educational Strategies; Spatial Ability; Elementary School Students; Classroom Techniques; Teaching Methods; School Policy; Homework; Single Sex Classes; Literacy Education; Achievement Gains; Academic Achievement; Reading Skills; Writing Skills

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Using brain-based research, Douglass Elementary School in Boulder, Colorado, looked at the natural assets that both girls and boys bring to school and realized that its classrooms were generally a better fit for the verbal-emotive, sit-still, take-notes, listen-carefully, multitasking girl. Teachers tended to see the natural assets that boys bring to learning--impulsivity, single-task focus, spatial-kinesthetic learning, and physical aggression--as problems. By altering strategies to accommodate the male assets, Douglass helped its students succeed. Teachers increased experiential and kinesthetic learning opportunities, supported literacy learning through spatial-visual representations, incorporated topics that appeal to boys, developed policies that would encourage boys to complete homework, offered single-gender learning environments, made reading and writing purposeful, and sought out male role models in literacy. As a result, on the Colorado State Assessment Program (CSAP), Douglass Elementary students experienced an overall net percentage gain of 21.9, which was the highest achievement gain of any school in the Boulder Valley School District. Moreover, Douglass reversed the typical trend of girls outperforming boys in reading and writing.

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2006

EJ745636