Strategies+for+Boys+Learning


 * Strategies and ideas for the classroom to help boys learn **

Primary School Age:
 * Support teacher training in male-brain development and the male learning pace, which is often different than the female's.
 * Use boy-only groups when needed
 * Encourage close bonding between teacher and student
 * Enjoy and navigate normal male energy toward academic focus and good character
 * Pay special attention to the more sensitive, less competitive or aggressive males in the classroom
 * Advocate for boys' issues in the school and community
 * Allow physical movement, as well as engaging in physical activity, from hugs and touch when appropriate to getting down and dirty at recess once in a while
 * Be sure there are men in the boy's educational life, especially from fifth grade onward
 * Before third grade, never allow chairs to be kept in a row or nailed down, and always make available as much space as possible
 * Offer lots of story telling and myth making in the classroom to help the male brain develop its imaginative and verbal skills through story making
 * Give boys lots of things to touch and otherwise sense, especially when reading and writing are being taught.

(Taken from Boys and Girls Learn Differently! by Michael Gurian)

TEN THINGS TEACHERS CAN DO TO HELP BOYS LEARN PETER WEST* 1. TALK LESS.  Boys are not terribly good listeners. Cut the words you use down to the absolute minimum. Get boys active early in the lesson. Avoid a long preamble.

2. GET BOYS DOING.  Focus on – what will boys DO in this lesson? Most males are focused on action. It comes partly from their biology. And partly from what we expect of boys.

3. USE HUMOUR  Use a joke now and then. It really helps to get boys on side and it discourages trouble from appearing because they are bored.

4. GET HELP.  Use a teacher buddy to help you watch underachievers who slide under the radar. Tell the class someone is coming in to give you a hand.

5. "CAN YOU DO IT?"  Challenge boys more. Boys say school doesn’t challenge them enough.

6. COMPETITION WORKS.  Get boys competing-against others, against themselves, against teachers. "I bet I can do this faster than you…". Many boys will do it, and enjoy proving the teacher wrong.

7. HELP WITH WRITING  Cut down writing tasks to what is absolutely necessary. Show boys how to write assessment items. Use guidelines, rubrics, models. Work on what interests the boy in front of you. And don’t imagine that boys are all the same.  8. BEING A MAN MEANS…  Get boys talking about what it means to be male. Women have a useful role to play because they have experience of men as husbands, partners, sons; don’t be afraid to give boys some help in getting on with other people. Men have a role, too. Guys, don’t try to be a big he-man. Show boys by example – read books, be gracious and thoughtful to female teachers. Look at examples of men in the media and help boys question them.

9. KEEP IT CLEAR  Explain tasks simply, step by step. Put the steps up somewhere and refer boys to them.

10. BE BRIEF - BE POSITIVE - BE GONE  Go around and encourage boys with a quick word of praise. And move on to the next student. We all like some praise! Don’t you? []

SO HOW DO WE GET BOYS MORE INVOLVED? • Share reading between strong boy readers and other boy readers • Give boys responsibility for : running tuckshop, badges, almost any job • Peer tutoring and paired writing • Break down bullying and harassment • Pair boys and girls for mutual learning • Bring in older males to read and mentor • Check that what boys read reflect their interests as well as girls • Ask girls to help ensure that school reflects boys and girls’ needs • Present work as a challenge • Make learning manageable by ‘chunking’ • Keep parents involved all the time • Build up boys confidence in themselves as learners • Listen to boys’ ideas and use them

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Strategies For Reading • Ensure that there are appropriate male and female reading role models • Use active learning strategies • Make appropriate use of computer technology • Relate reading to the concept of vocational preparation and life-long learning • Relate reading to self-esteem raising strategies • Encourage proficiency in the first language of NESB students • Encourage parents, through school support programs, to increase their proficiency so that they do not become alienated from their child ’s learning because of language • Develop a whole-school literacy policy based upon functional grammar and text-type approaches

Strategies To Overcome Cultural Stereotyping • Teaching staffs need to be aware of, and respond to, the cultural influences affecting their children. There should also be a commitment to expose students to alternatives. • Appropriate male and female role models must be provided in the school environment to reduce the effects of stereotypical images e.g. male readers, males in welfare roles, males as K – 6 and pre-school teachers. • Learning experiences must cover all learning styles and move away from totally traditional instruction methods which reinforce sex-role stereotypes and perpetuate the educational disadvantage of boys. • Parents need to be aware of the school directions in areas of gender specific education and should have input into the development of those directions. • There should be a greater use of cooperative learning techniques to encourage cooperation rather than competition. This will also assist in the development of appropriate social skills. • The use of drama as a method of developing appropriate responses to social situations. • Teachers must model appropriate behaviours at all times. • Racial stereotyping must be avoided and actively discouraged.

Strategies • Increase the level of teacher social skills training so that teachers are able to understand behaviour patterns rather than simply responding to behaviours • Provide students with personal development in understanding their values and behaviour responses • Provide access to appropriate adult role models who emphasize learning, cooperation and empathy E.g. male readers, male welfare personnel, female authority figures, male / female teams. • Teachers must be prepared to work in ways other than confrontational power plays that reinforce the concept of control through power. Teachers must be able to reflect on their own behaviour and the messages they are sending to students. • Bullying, harassment and name-calling must consistently be treated as unacceptable forms of behaviour at all times • Non-violence should be introduced into classroom teaching in all subject areas at appropriate times, in addition to Personal Development lessons that specifically target issues such as violence and homophobia. Strategies • Create an environment that avoids the notion of failure • Accept student contributions to learning activities without judgement • Maintain a ‘you can do it’ attitude • Do not assume the ‘font of all knowledge’ teacher role as the usual delivery method in class • Build a personal relationship with each student • Cultivate a sense of humour, and use it readily • Avoid confrontation with individual students in front of other students • Avoid ‘killer’ statements such as ‘you can’t’ • Avoid ultimatums • Encourage student responsibility in individual and group learning • Provide the inspiration for learning in a positive climate • Make special efforts to engage ‘quiet’ students in esteem raising activities • Refer individual students for specialist counselling when you feel that they have major social / interpersonal problems. The classroom teacher is not a social worker / counsellor but is a point of initial contact and referral for students with major problems • Identify students who are using bullying and aggression as compensation for low self-esteem and develop support strategies which include referral • Make use of visitors with similar backgrounds to those of the students who have been successful in life.

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