Dear Martins - All,
Thanks for interesting discussion.
I blame a lot of this on the mental framework about education - and
stages - set up by Piaget.
Piaget proposed that we move up through enactive, then iconic and then
symbolic modes of learning (apologies to Piaget fans who may think
this very basic summary itself traduces the great man).
Having this as an hierarchy rather than a side-by-side model of useful
ways to think about how we learn - or indeed that we may learn through
all modes simultaneously - has, I would argue, in similarly
hierarchical and elitist countries/education systems led to the
devaluing of learning by doing and by being immersed in a subject.
Indeed herein England we only seem to value learning by reading and
writing about a subject.
Thus all of us - of any gender - who really prefer and enjoy the
immersive/doing stuff are not only not accommodated in the education
system - but are actually reviled as somehow lesser beings who have
never progressed up from the enactive stage.
Viz. debates in England about Academic versus Vocational education -
and the ignored lament that the vocational is not a lesser mode for a
lesser being - but a different mode...
Anyway - just a thought!
Best,
Sandra

On 24 October 2012 22:09, McMorrow, Martin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Thanks for that, Martin H. I think most of us will recognise that
> consultation as heartsinkingly familiar. I guess at least you can say: he
> turned up! A few years ago we had a presentation at our Learning Advisors
> Conference here in NZ about the topic of working with male students. The
> presenter was a local Education Professor (actually at the place where I
> work) who has made this something of a specialisation. I’ve pasted in below
> my notes on a book he wrote, which focused on boys in primary and secondary
> schools – he has a particular viewpoint (i.e. more activity / less language
> etc – something like ‘Scouting for Boys’ for the classroom) which not
> everyone might agree with, particularly as his suggestions do seem to depend
> on a fairly stereotypical categorisation of what males / females are
> like/need/want etc.
>
>
>
> Martin McMorrow, Massey Uni, NZ
>
>
>
>
>
> The Problem
>
> boys are at least 4 times more likely [than girls] to be disciplined at
> school, to be referred to special learning programmes, to be diagnosed with
> learning/ behaviour disorders, to participate in drugs, to commit crimes, to
> be jailed, to commit suicide, to be involved in a fatal car accident etc (p.
> 25)
>
>
>  in the UK, the gender gap between boys and girls at O levels/GCSE was only
> 0.8% in the 1970's   – now it’s 10.6% and rising
>
>
> “The average adolescent boy spends more than 13 hours a week playing
> electronic games, compared to just five hours a week for girls” (p. 102)
>
>
>
> “At the moment, huge numbers of our boys need rescuing ... However, I have
> also met so many gutsy, talented and inspiring boys and young men .. why
> have they succeeded? The answer, quite simply, is they were not alone” (p.
> 224 - last sentence of the book)
>
>
>
> Possible factors explaining declining achievement of boys
>
>
>
> ·         masculine bravado and a boys’ code that places restrictions on how
> boys express themselves and behave
>
> ·         changing employment opportunities which have seen the demise of
> many semi-skilled and skilled traditional occupations
>
> ·         the requirement of a new set of employment skills that
> traditionally boys do not possess
>
> ·         changing family structures which have resulted in a third of
> children being brought up in single-parent families
>
> ·         families where both parents are working full-employment hours
>
> ·         lack of male role models to guide young males from boyhood to
> manhood
>
> ·         an over-feminisation of the school system resulting in teaching,
> curriculum and assessment more suitable for girls
>
> ·         change in school policies which has seen the abolishing of
> physical contact sports at school and less sports competitions and physical
> activity
>
> ·         a greater use of electronic entertainment and a reduction in
> family activities and outdoor play (p. 30)
>
> ·         biological differences, which may give girls an advantage / early
> start: e.g. language areas of the brain develop faster in girls; by year 1
> (five years of age), girls can be approximately one year ahead of boys
>
> hearing is slightly better in girls. Auditory processing develops earlier in
> girls. Girls then to interpret facial expressions better than boys. Boys’
> need for physical activity may also be related to the fact that
>
> they  develop up to a third more muscle mass during puberty than girls (p.
> 35)
>
>
> Boys problems with language - especially reading and writing - and some
> recommendations
>
> “Boys are twice as likely to dislike English as to like it” (p. 123)
>
>
> “Boys in schools are now more than ever surrounded with the blah, blah, blah
> of language. The increase in language-rich learning tasks and the loss of
> activity from our curriculum has greatly affected them” (p. 40)
>
>
>
> “Many young boys are set for failure from day one. Boys begin school with
> literacy skills one to two years behind girls on average.” (p. 43)
>
>
>
> “Pressure is being put on boys from parents and teachers to read and write
> before they are ready, and this pressure, I believe, is one of the root
> causes for later failure at school” (p. 44)
>
>
>
> “me dad doesn’t read. Me big brother doesn’t read. They work (Jarrod, age 6)
> p. 90
>
>
>
> “a disproportionate amount of the education dollar goes on reading and
> writing, to the detriment of other areas of schooling” (p. 91)
>
>
>
> “In a non-talking home, a boy hears 3m words by the age of five, but in a
> talking home, he will have heard 10m” p. 93
>
>
>
> “Many of the books used in schools are about animals, friends, kindness and
> feelings; many do not have a lot of boy appeal” (p. 97)
>
>
>
> “Build individual competition and challenge into a boy’s reading programme”
> (p. 97)
>
>
>
> “Handwriting is tough, complicated work and many boys are not physically or
> developmentally ready at five years old to write ... Indeed, handwriting is
> not an essential requirement in today’s society” (p. 99)
>
>
>
> “Boys have preferred topics for writing. The topics that appeal usually
> include a little action, violence or gross factor. Let it happen – most
> great novels have descriptive scenes of war or violence” (p. 101)
>
>
>
> What boys think about school and learning
>
>
>
> A survey of 400 NZ boys found they preferred these ways of learning:
>
>
>
> 1. practical, hands-on, interactive approaches
>
> 2. relevant tasks, examples and practice
>
> 3. visually, using diagrams, models, templates
>
> 4. working cooperatively
>
> 5 clear explanations and expectations
>
>
>
> girls are gooder at reading. they sit up quickly on the mat (Nathan, 6)
>
> girls like reading. I like drawing and playing rugby with Josh and Sam
> (Brian, age 7)
>
> girls are usually more focused. We are usually a bit lost .. we don’t have
> very long attention spans – one little thing will get you off topic for the
> rest of the period (Pat, age 15)
>
> I think boys have a tendency to play up, they act around and when they are
> doing that they’re not actually learning. Girls just get on with it (Jack,
> age 14)
>
>
>
> Recommendations for educating boys better
>
>
>
> ·         play is at the core of all learning. The making and the doing are
> key to the learning process
>
> ·         challenge and making mistakes are crucial to developing awareness,
> creativity and understanding
>
> ·         stimulation of and using the five senses creates powerful learning
>
> ·         outdoor activities and experiences are crucial for developing
> awareness of self and others
>
> ·         children learn in many ways, so activities must be geared to these
> differences
>
> ·         experiencing success is crucial to future learning: acknowledging
> a child’s personal bests
>
> ·         physical and creative activities are crucial components for
> optimising learning
>
>
>
> Goethe: Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and help them
> become what they are capable of being (pp. 11-12)
>
>
>
> “Boys can persist and concentrate for long periods. Ever watched a boy
> trying to solve a car problem or reach the next level of a video game ....
> You need to first ‘hook’ the boy into the learning, state clearly what is
> expected and, if possible, add a little competition” (p. 64)
>
>
>
> Recommended homework = 10 minutes per year level – so by year 13 “Two hours
> of quality homework and study should be sufficient on top of the five hours
> of learning received at school” (p. 78)
>
>
>
> “incorporate physical activity into teaching periods. Boys’ brains after
> five to ten minutes of vigorous activity are more ‘switched on’ to learning,
> more focused” (p. 113)
>
>
>
> “Powerful learning includes the factors found on the sports field: mates,
> activity, competition, challenge, fun” (p. 114)
>
>
>
> “Boys like rules, boundaries, firmness and consistency” (p. 200)
>
>
>
> What makes a good teacher?
>
>
>
> A good teacher has a balance of relationship and pedagogical qualities:
>
>
>
> relationship qualities: knows, cares and relates to students; enjoys humour
> and a laugh; energetic and enthusiastic; willing to assist individuals;
> approachable
>
>
>
> pedagogic qualities: explains learning tasks clearly; listens, allows
> students to contribute; knowledgeable on curriculum; firm, fair control;
> makes learning relevant and interesting
>
>
>
> “Teachers were identified by over 90% of the boys as being the single most
> important factor in improving their academic success and attitude to school”
> (p. 114)
>
>
>
> “ .. masculinity is about strength, loyalty, pride, belonging, service,
> respect, commitment, hard work and success. A community of men should
> provide direction that will develop such masculine virtues ..” (p. 190)
>
>
>
> Irwin, M. (2009). Educating boys: Helping Kiwi boys to succeed at school.
> Auckland, New Zealand: Harper Collins
>
>
>
>



-- 
Sandra Sinfield
University Teaching Fellow
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