single-gender education margaret m. ferrara, phd peter j. ferrara, edd and you

SINGLE

-GEN

DER

EDUCAT

ION

Margaret M. Ferrara, PhD

Peter J. Ferrara, EdD

AND You

BUILDING ON THE RESEARCH

What Happens When a Teacher’s Teaching Style Matches Students’ Learning Styles?

Students Acquire More Knowledge

Students Remember More Content

Students Learn Skills More Effectively

WHAT DOES THIS MATCH MEAN?There is a “Goodness of Fit”Students Become “In Sync”If the Goal is Immediate Change, Then the Fit Needs to be More Closely MatchedGood Fit = Comfortable Learning Environment

ANOTHER HURDLE -- MATCHING

• Matching Students’ Learning Styles with Teachers’ Teaching Styles

• Teaching Style with Specific Course

• Gender of Teacher with Gender of Students

STEREOTYPING Is it Really Boys’ Preferences?

Four Year Olds Prefer Male Teachers Because Their Teachers are Usually Involved in Sports and Physical Games – Male Stereotype

African American Women Teachers Seem To Be More Effective in All Boys’ Classroom – Racial and Gender Stereotype

ANOTHER OBSTACLE • More Difficult in Elementary and Middle

SchoolsFew Male Teachers (2010: 19%)

• Fewer Male English Teachers in Secondary Schools

• Few Female Math & Science Teachers in High Schools

• Changing - Last Census

6.2 Million Teachers – 81% Women

QUESTION: HOW CHOOSE SINGLE-GENDER

TEACHERS? We Developed a Survey Instrument 26 Questions

Survey Takes into Account Three Variables:Learning EnvironmentSocial SupportInstructional Strategies

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT QUESTIONS

• Engagement Between Teacher & Students

• Students’ Learning Noise and Other Noise Levels

• Students’ Energy Levels

• Movement of Students and Teacher

SOCIAL SUPPORT QUESTIONSPositive Teacher Comments

Teacher Asking Students Personal Questions

The Use of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Rewards

The Teacher’s Use of Humor

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY QUESTIONS

Directed LearningQuestioning StrategiesCooperative and Competitive

LearningTimed Learning ActivitiesGroup Work

YOU TOOK A TEACHING STYLES SURVEY

26 Statements

Scale: 1 = Least likely reflects your preference.

Scale: 6 = Most likely reflects your preference.

AND YOU CIRCLED ONLY ONE NUMBER

THE SURVEY26 Statements

o13 “Boy” Statements

o13 “Girl” Statements

SURVEY RESULTSAs of March 1, 2012

Responding: 711 – 16 Different Groups

Males 22.4% -- 159

Females 77.6% -- 552

RESPONDENTS 711Elementary : 417

Secondary: 220

University: 74

Administrator: 89

Teacher: 565

Teacher Aide: 18

University Students: 28

None Given: 10

OUR FINDINGS (March 2012)

Returned Surveys (711) Indicated These Preferences:

Mixed Gender: 328 (46.1%)Boys’ Classroom : 203 (28.6%)Girls’ Classroom: 180 (25.3%)

Most Respondents Indicated a Choice for Mixed Gender Classroom

As Their Intuitive Preference as Corroborated by the Survey Results

Learning EnvironmentTotal Survey Scores

1. Boys Resourceful Completing Assignments 3425 (80.3%)

2. Boys Assignments that Involve Creative Projects 3305 (77.5%)

3. Boys High Energy in Classroom 3184 (74.6%)4. Girls Comfortable Using Longer Wait Time 3116 (73%)

5. Girls Quiet Student Discussion 2792 (65.4%)6. Boys High Student Noise Level Acceptable 2603 (61.%)

7. Girls Often Change Configuration of Classroom 2601 (61%)

8. Girls Groups in Equal Numbers 2577 (59.9%)

LET’S LOOK AT YOUR ANALYSIS SHEET

Teacher Preference BOTH

Results of Survey Analysis LEARNING ENVIRONMENT – BOYS

SOCIAL PRAISE – GIRLS

TEACHING - BOYS

YOUR DATARespondents:

Males – 14

Females – 27

School Experience

1-10 Years: 32

11+ Years: 9

Respondents’ Gender Preference: Gender Survey:

Boys: 7 Boys: 14

Girls: 8 Girls: 27

Mixed Gender: 26

VARIABLE ANALYSIS – RIGHT SIDE

Boy Statements LE 16

Girl G/B Boy SS 10

Scored 1, 2 Scored 3 Scored 4 Scored 5, 6 TS 24

Totals 1 3 7 2 TTL 50

Girl Statements LE 13

Boy B/G Girl SS 13

Scored 1, 2 Scored 3 Scored 4 Scored 5, 6TS

25Totals

1 3 6 3 TTL 51

LEXIMANCEREntities:

LOOK AT PERCENTAGE BAR BELOW

NOTE HOW GIRL TS COMPARES TO BOY TS – IS THERE A DIFFERENCE?

NOTE HOW GIRL LE COMPARES TO BOY LE – IS THERE A DIFFERENCE?

NOTE HOW GIRL SS COMPARES TO BOY SS – IS THERE A DIFFERENCE?

WHAT IF THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE?

DIFFERENCES AND SO WHAT?LET’S SAY YOUR CHART SHOWS YOU ARE HIGHER WITH YOUR

PREFERENCES FOR GIRLS GIVING SOCIAL PRAISE AS COMPARED TO SOCIAL PRAISE FOR BOYS

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

IT MAY MEAN THAT YOU USE MORE REFERENCES THAT ARE LINKED TO THE STUDENT – MORE PERSONAL COMMENTS

IT MAY MEAN THAT YOU USE MORE FREQUENT COMMENTS

IT MAY MEAN THAT YOU USE PRAISE FOR STEPS IN THE TASK

SO, DO YOU NEED TO CHANGE?

FIRST POINT IS TO JUST RAISE YOUR AWARENESS

SECOND POINT IS TO LISTEN TO HOW ABIGAIL JAMES GIVES A MORE

THOROUGH PERSPECTIVE OF BOYS AND GIRLS AND THEIR LEARNING

STYLES

THIRD POINT IS TO KEEP EVERYTHING IN PERSPECTIVE

ABOVE ALL – AVOID STEREOTYPED THINKING

LET’S LOOK AT THE LITERATURE

Valerie Lee (1990) reports that in many all-girls’ classrooms

there is a high level of sexist behavior on the part of the teacher

(comments about hand-holding for girls)

AND WHAT ABOUT THE BOYS?

Lee found boys in all–male schools

engaging in serious sexist comments

about women.

OVERALL…Overall, research findings

that are available show that girls are more successful academically and socially in single gender learning arrangements.

A GOOD QUESTION YOU SHOULD ASK ME?

Why are our teachers not prepared to

teach boys AND girls more awareness about gender?

WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND IF YOU WERE GOING TO SELECT TEACHERS FOR SINGLE GENDER CLASSROOMS?

Why?

IN TEACHER PREPARATION COURSES, PRESERVICE TEACHERS READ:

Joel Spring, 2009 in American Education

“The academic gains made by women might mean little in a world dominated by sexist males.”

Or the issue of Spring (2010):

“In a classroom of only girls, teachers would not tend to push girls aside and focus their instructional efforts on boys.”

SO WHAT ARE NEXT STEPS?• What not to do – use the gender survey

as another gimmick – like what has happened to learning styles

• Understand that teaching styles are not fixed entities

• Understand that teachers are powerful teachers for each other in terms of understanding teaching styles

• Embrace the reality that teaching is a contact learning process about self – situated learning

SITUATED LEARNING We know that professional development is not

always effective

Teachers learn and implement what is important to them and what works in their classroom

So…if a teacher studies self through a systematic way, the teacher can gain a self- ah-ha

And if a teacher uses a peer to gain more information (triangulation), the teacher gains a deeper ah-ha

YOUR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS

There are the generalized "boy" learning styles. What about

the few boys who are more like the "girl" learning styles? I

find those boys struggle with the motion, noise level, and

interaction of the more "boy" friendly classroom.

At what age are single gender classes most beneficial to

students? (High School, Middle School, Elementary) Does

the research support elementary gender specific

classrooms?

In an all-girls’ school, do male teachers treat their students differently than female teachers?

Boys tend to be more "active" in their learning and girls tend to be more "passive." If you have single gender classrooms that cater to those styles how do we make sure that "active" girls and "passive" boys are not overlooked or considered troublesome?


What's the research

indicate about the

benefits of cross

gender classrooms?

RESEARCH

I've seen articles citing

research that supports

and research that

undermines the value

of single-sex education

Is there any scientific

consensus out there?

RESEARCH

What learning styles tend to be successful or best practices when teaching only females?

What learning styles tend to be successful or best practices when teaching only males?

What are some "blind spots" to keep in mind when teaching mixed-gender classes?


So much of education seems to be more passive than active. Students sit back and take it in.

How do we break that pattern and encourage students to take a more active role in their education?

How would this be different for males and females?


How would we use technology to engage student learning and how would that be different for males or females provided there is a difference?

We all have assumptions that we unconsciously allow to impact our judgments and actions. Identifying assumptions, like a student of Asian descent being "white-washed," changes one's understanding of self and society.

How do we identify and challenge these assumptions in students and would this process be different for males and females?


Is it really best to teach to a certain style if the real world will not always support that style? Would it not be best to provide varying experiences "of style" so that a student may learn best how they will adjust themselves to the experience? At what age group does our priority shift from meeting them where they are and helping them adjust to what may be?

I struggle a lot with teaching boys (we have single sex classes at my school) and really understanding what works best for them in terms of learning style and what their needs are in order to learn. I'm pretty sure that I should be teaching the boys classes differently than the girls, but how to do that is the challenge.


Best strategies for teachers to employ in teaching the same curriculum in single gender classrooms.

Strategies to use for discipline in single gender classrooms.

The dynamics between male teachers and female students; female teachers and male students.

What are the social impacts of single-gender education? I've observed girls to be more "catty" in single sex schools.


THANK YOU!

single-gender education margaret m. ferrara, phd peter j. ferrara, edd and you

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