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Learning Style
Differences
What are some differences in how girls and boys LEARN?
Girls and boys differ fundamentally in the learning style they feel most comfortable with. These differences derive both from basic physiological differences, such as differences in the ability to hear, and from differences in higher-level cortical functions.
Let's begin with the innate difference in the ability to hear. Suppose you test the hearing of a seven-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy, in a soundproof booth with high-quality equipment. Scientists who do this work have found that the girl can hear sounds much softer than the faintest sounds audible to the boy. Girls have a sense of hearing which is two to four times better than boys (depending on the frequency tested). This difference is present as early as children can be reliably tested.
Sources: Every systematic evaluation of children's hearing has confirmed that girls hear significantly better than boys. The first such evaluation was published by psychologist John F. Corso over 40 years ago. See Dr. Corso's paper, "Age and sex differences in thresholds", Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 31:489-507, 1959. This finding -- that young girls hear at least twice as well as boys, especially in the frequencies most important for speech discrimination (around 4 kHz), has been confirmed by more recent studies using more sophisticated technology. See for example Dr. Jane Cassidy's study of 350 newborns: Jane Cassidy and Karen Ditty, "Gender differences among newborns on a transient otoacoustic emissions test for hearing." Journal of Music Therapy, 38:28-35, 2001.
Barbara Cone-Wesson and Glendy Ramirez estimated the hearing sensitivity of newborn girls and boys by measuring the acoustic brain response (ABR) to bone-conducted sounds. For a 4 kHz tone, these investigators found that the average girl baby could hear a tone 10 decibels softer than the softest 4 kHz tone audible to the average boy. See their paper, "Hearing sensitivity in newborns estimated from ABRs to bone-conducted sounds," Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 8:299-307, 1997.
For a list of scholarly references demonstrating gender differences in hearing, please click on this link.
That basic difference in the ability to hear has major implications for best practices for teaching girls vs. teaching boys. If you have a classroom with a female teacher who is speaking in a tone of voice which seems normal to the teacher, it's a good bet that the boys at the back of the classroom aren't paying much attention, in part because they can barely hear what she's saying. Conversely, if you have a male teacher speaking in a tone of voice which seems normal to him, a girl in the front row may feel that the teacher is practically yelling at her. Remember that she is experiencing a sound four times louder than what the male teacher is experiencing. The simplest way to accommodate these differences in a coed classroom is to put all the boys in the front and the girls in the back -- just the opposite of the usual seating pattern that the children themselves will choose. In more "modern" classroom arrangements which don't have a "front" -- e.g. all the seats arranged in a circle -- there is no solution to this problem for the coed classroom. If you want a classroom with seats arranged in small groups or in a circle, you need a single-sex classroom (unless you choose simply to ignore the difference in hearing acuity).
The next level of difference has to do with gender-specific personality traits which affect how children learn. First, a word about gender-specific personality traits. In the 1960's and 1970's, it was fashionable to assume that gender differences in personality were "culturally constructed." Back then, psychologists thought that if we raised children differently -- if we raised Johnny to play with dolls and Sally to play with trucks -- then many of these gender differences would vanish. However, cross-cultural studies over the past 30 years have provided little support for this hypothesis. On the contrary, a recent report from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that gender differences in personality were remarkably robust across all cultures studied, including China, sub-Saharan Africa, Malaysia, India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Peru, the United States, and Europe (including specific studies in Croatia, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Yugoslavia and western Russia). "Contrary to predictions from the social role model, gender differences were most pronounced in European and American cultures in which traditional sex roles are minimized," the authors concluded.
Source: Paul Costa, Antonio Terracciano, & Robert McCrae, "Gender differences in personality traits across cultures: robust and surprising findings," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, volume 81, number 2, pp. 322-331, 2001.
Educational psychologists have consistently found that girls tend to have higher standards in the classroom, and evaluate their own performance more critically. Girls also outperform boys in school (as measured by students' grades), in all subjects and in all age groups.
Sources: Alan Feingold, "Gender differences in personality: a meta-analysis," Psychological Bulletin, volume 116, pages 429-456, 1994. See also the important paper by Diane Ruble and her associates, "The role of gender-related processes in the development of sex differences in self-evaluation and depression, Journal of Affective Disorders, volume 29, pages 97-128, 1993. For documentation of the fact that girls now outperform boys (as measured by report card grades) in all subjects and age groups, see the chapter by Dwyer and Johnson entitled "Grades, accomplishments, and correlates" in the book Gender and Fair Assessment edited by Willingham & Cole, published by Laurence Erlbaum (Mahwah, NJ), 1997, pp. 127-156.
Because girls do better in school (as measured by report card grades), one might imagine that girls would be more self-confident about their academic abilities and have higher academic self-esteem. But that's not the case. Paradoxically, girls are more likely to be excessively critical in evaluating their own academic performance. Conversely, boys tend to have unrealistically high estimates of their own academic abilities and accomplishments.
Source: Eva Pomerantz, Ellen Altermatt, & Jill Saxon, "Making the grade but feeling distressed: gender differences in academic performance and internal distress," Journal of Educational Psychology, volume 94, number 2, pages 396-404, 2002.
We arrive at one of the most robust paradoxes teachers face: the girl who gets straight A's but thinks she's stupid and feels discouraged; the boy who's barely getting B's but thinks he's brilliant. Consequently, the most basic difference in teaching style for girls vs. boys is that you want to encourage the girls, build them up, while you give the boys a reality check: make them realize they're not as brilliant as they think they are, and challenge them to do better.
Educational psychologists have found fundamental differences in the factors motivating girls vs. factors motivating boys. Researchers have consistently found that "girls are more concerned than boys are with pleasing adults, such as parents and teachers" (Pomerantz, Altermatt, & Saxon, 2002, p. 397). Most boys, on the other hand, will be less motivated to study unless the material itself interests them.
Source: E. T. Higgins, "Development of self-regulatory and self-evaluative processes: costs, benefits, and trade-offs." In M. R. Gunnar & L. A. Sroufe (editors), Self processes and development, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1991, pp. 125-165. See also the more recent paper by Eva Pomerantz and Jill Saxon, "Conceptions of ability as stable and self-evaluative processes: a longitudinal examination," Child Development, volume 72, pages 152-173, 2001.
Girls and boys experience academic difficulties very differently. Here are the findings of Eva Pomerantz, Ellen Alterman, and Jill Saxon (2002, p. 402):
"Girls generalize the meaning of their failures because they interpret them as indicating that they have disappointed adults, and thus they are of little worth. Boys, in contrast, appear to see their failures as relevant only to the specific subject area in which they have failed; this may be due to their relative lack of concern with pleasing adults. In addition, because girls view evaluative feedback as diagnostic of their abilities, failure may lead them to incorporate this information into their more general view of themselves. Boys, in contrast, may be relatively protected from such generalization because they see such feedback as limited in its diagnosticity."
Girls tend to look on the teacher as an ally. Given a little encouragement, they will welcome the teacher's help. A girl-friendly classroom is a safe, comfortable, welcoming place. Forget hard plastic chairs: put in a sofa and some comfortable bean bags. Let the girls address their teacher by her (or his) first name.
Context enhances learning for most girls, but often just bores the boys. The choir director of the National Cathedral School for Girls and the St. Alban's School for Boys told us that when he's teaching the high school girls a new song, he'll start by sharing a story about why the composer wrote this piece, who it was written for, or maybe how the choir director himself felt 20 years ago when he goofed the solo part. "Giving the girls some context, telling them a story about the piece, gets them interested. The boys are just the opposite," he said. "If you start talking like that with the boys, they'll start looking at their watches, they'll start getting restless. Then one of them will say, ‘Can we please just get on with it already? Can we please just learn the song already?'"
Confrontation works well with most boys, although this technique is seldom taught in today's schools of education. Get in their face. Raise your voice. Stand right in front of your student, nose-to-nose, and say to him: "How do you know that, Mr. Miller? Prove it to me!" This kind of direct challenge will motivate boys to work harder and to be prepared. Remember that boys' hearing is only about half as acute as girls' hearing. A well-run boys' classroom is LOUD compared with a girls' classroom. Avoid sofas or soft chairs: boys will go to sleep. Keep the class LOUD and keep the class MOVING. In particular, the teacher should be moving at all times. A class in which the teacher sits at the front of the class and talks in a soft voice is a class in which at least two-thirds of the boys will have tuned out. The boy should never know where the teacher will be 20 seconds from now. Keep them guessing.
Source: Shelley Taylor, professor of psychology at UCLA, has published important work demonstrating the reality of gender differences in the response to threat and confrontation. See Shelley E. Taylor, Laura Cousino Klein, et al., "Biobehavioral responses to stress in females: tend-and-befriend, not fight-or-flight." Psychological Review, 107:411-429, 2000.
See also Professor Taylor's recent book The Tending Instinct, New York: Henry Holt, 2002.
Small-group learning works well for girls. Girls will naturally break up in groups of three and four to work on problems. Let them. If you're assigning class presentations, let two girls give a joint presentation. The format of one student giving a presentation to an entire class doesn't work as well (for girls) as two students giving a joint presentation to a smaller group.
Formal terms of address work well for boys. Boys' classes work best when teachers and students address each other as "Mr." That kind of formality enhances class discipline. If you treat boys like men, they are more likely to act like men.
Teaching math and science
Best practices for teaching math differ fundamentally for girls and boys. Recall what you learned on the navigation section of our "brain page": navigational tasks are handled by completely different areas of the brain in girls and boys. In girls, navigational tasks are assigned to the cerebral cortex, the same general section of the brain which is responsible for language. In boys, the same tasks are handled by the hippocampus, an ancient nucleus buried deep in the brain, with few direct connections to the cortex.
These anatomical differences have major implications for teaching mathematical topics, especially geometry, algebra, and number theory. With boys, you can stimulate their interest by focussing on the properties of numbers per se. With girls, you want to tie what you're teaching into the real world. Keep it real and keep it relevant. Let's consider how you would teach the same topic -- Fibonacci series as an introduction to number theory -- to girls and to boys.
Teaching Fibonacci numbers to boys:
Pose this question:
"I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 2. The reciprocal of that number is equal to that same number minus 1. We can write that statement in equation form, like this:
1/x = x - 1
Can you tell me what number I'm thinking of?"
After a couple minutes, one of the boys will figure out that the equation above can be simplified if you multiply both sides by x, yielding:
1 = x2 - x
Subtracting 1 from both sides yields:
x2 - x - 1 = 0
You can then use the quadratic formula to solve for x:
x = (1 +/- [squroot of 5])/2
We're looking for a number between 1 and 2, so we choose the positive solution:
= (1 + [squroot of 5])/2
= 0.5 + 1.11803398874989. . .
= 1.61803398874989 . . .
Tell the boys that mathematicians refer to this number as Phi. Sure enough, this number Phi has the characteristic we were looking for: the reciprocal of this number exactly equals this number minus 1:
1/1.61803398874989. . . = 0.61803398874989. . .
Now, you change the subject (or appear to change the subject). You tell them about the Fibonacci series. Recall that a Fibonacci series is formed by adding two numbers to yield a third number, and reiterating the process to form a sequence. The simplest Fibonacci sequence is:
1 + 1 = 2
1 + 2 = 3
2 + 3 = 5
3 + 5 = 8
5 + 8 = 13
8 + 13 = 21
13 + 21 = 34
This yields the series: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144 . . .
Now, ask your boys to take each number in the Fibonacci series and divide it by the number before it, starting with 3, and list their answers.
3/2 = 1.5
5/3 = 1.666. . .
8/5 = 1.6
13/8 = 1.625
21/13 = 1.61538 . . .
34/21 = 1.61905. . .
55/34 = 1.61764 . . .
89/55 = 1.61818 . . .
144/89 = 1.617977 . . .
233/144 = 1.61805. . .
Now you can point out to the boys (if they haven't noticed already) that this process seems to be converging on Phi. Why is that? you ask them.
 While they're thinking about that, draw a circle. Inscribe a pentagon within the circle. Then draw an isosceles triangle within the pentagon. The hypotenuse of the triangle (line AB in the figure at left) is exactly equal to the base of the triangle (line BC) multiplied by Phi. Why is that?
While the boys are pondering this question, you can step over to the girls' classroom to cover the same material.
Teaching Fibonacci numbers to girls
In order to get girls the same age excited about "pure" math and geometry, you need to connect it with the real world. Remember that in girls, geometry and "pure" math appear to be instantiated in the cerebral cortex, the same division of the brain which mediates language and higher cognitive function. So you need to tie the math into other higher cognitive functions. Here's how you might teach the same lesson about Phi and Fibonacci numbers to girls. You'd begin by explaining how a Fibonacci series is formed:
1 + 1 = 2
1 + 2 = 3
2 + 3 = 5
3 + 5 = 8
5 + 8 = 13
8 + 13 = 21
13 + 21 = 34
And so forth. You write down the first twelve numbers in the Fibonacci series: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144 . . . In preparation for this session, you've asked your girls to bring in any of the following: artichokes, sunflowers, pineapples, pinecones, delphiniums, black eyed susans, field daisies, African daisies, and Michaelmas daisies.
Start with the flowers. (We start with flowers not because flowers are "feminine" but because it's easier to count the number of petals on a flower than it is to count the rows of bracts on a pinecone.) Count the number of petals. You'll find that the number of petals is almost always a number in the Fibonacci series: 8 petals for delphiniums, 13 for double delphiniums, 21 for black eyed susans, 34 for field daisies, 55 for African daisies and Michaelmas daisies.
Then you can move on to the artichokes, sunflowers, pinecones, and pineapples. These are more complicated. In these, you're studying the number of rows, or bracts, rather than the number of petals. The number of rows counted vertically or obliquely will, again, be a number in the Fibonacci series. You can get more examples like these from the book Fascinating Fibonacci by Trudi Hammel Garland. Older girls may enjoy The Golden Ratio: the story of Phi, the world's most astonishing number by Mario Livio. Or you might even let them read Dan Brown's suspense thriller The DaVinci Code, and challenge them to verify or invalidate each of the many claims made in that book about Phi and the Fibonacci series. Show them examples of natural phenomena which manifest Phi, phenomena such as a dying leaf or a spiral nebula. At this point, you might also mention the fact that
Phi - 1 = 1/Phi
But don't expect the girls to ooh and aah over that fact the way the boys do. 12-year-old girls are likely to be more interested in the real-world applications of number theory than in remote abstractions. The girls are also more likely than the boys to be interested in the beliefs of the ancient Pythagoreans regarding the magical and mystical properties of Phi.
Now these girls will start asking questions. Why do numbers in the Fibonacci series keep showing up when you count the petals on a delphinium, or the bracts on a pinecone? Why is it the case that a dying poinsettia leaf and a spiral nebula share similar structural features? How can abstract number theory explain these similarities? And you will have accomplished something really worthwhile: you've got a classroom of 12-year-old girls excited about number theory.
This example illustrates an important point. There are no differences in what girls and boys can learn. But there are big differences in the best way to teach them. At the end of the day, you will have taught both girls and boys about the properties of Phi, using the Fibonacci series as an introduction to number theory. Girls and boys are equally capable of learning that material. But if you teach that material the way it's usually taught (the way we taught it to the boys in my example above), then many of the girls will tune out and be bored. Conversely, if you bring in pinecones for the boys, many of the boys will snicker and start throwing the pinecones around like hand grenades. "Incoming!"
Regarding "story problems": "Story problems" are a good way to teach algebra to girls. Putting the question in story format makes it easier for girls to understand, and more interesting as well. "Story problems" are a complete flop with boys. For boys, embedding the algebra question in a linguistic context makes the problem more difficult. The boy has to use the cerebral cortex to decode the story; then he must translate the question into a format suitable for processing by the hippocampus; and then re-translate the solution back into the format required by the question. ("Story problems" became popular in the 1960's and 1970's, at a time when educational research was being transformed from a male-dominated field to a female-dominated field. It took researchers only about 20 more years to ascertain that the teaching technique which seemed so obviously superior to them -- and to their female students -- was a total dud for most of their male students.)
Teaching Literature
Recall again what you learned on our "brain page": emotional activity is processed in completely different areas of the brain in older girls compared to older boys. In older girls, brain activity associated with emotion is localized primarily in the cerebral cortex, the same part of the brain involved in reasoning, language, and higher cognitive skills. So, the older girl is typically able to articulate her emotions fairly well, to explain what she is feeling and why. In boys, on the other hand, the locus of emotional control remains stuck in the amygdala, a phylogenetically "ancient" nucleus with no direct connections to the cerebral cortex. So, asking a teenage boy to talk about how a particular book makes him feel, or how he would feel if he were in the same position as a character in the book, is a question guaranteed to make most boys uncomfortable.
We also know that boys tend to prefer non-fiction over fiction. Boys like to read descriptions of real events -- battles or adventures -- or illustrated accounts of the way things work, like spaceships, bombs, or volcanoes. "Gross," slimy, dangerous or poisonous things are also a hit with most boys, especially younger boys. Girls, on the other hand, usually prefer books which focus on dyadic or triadic relationships (relationships among two or three individuals). "Girls tend to prefer books where they can be analytical about a character's motives and behaviors. Boys tend to prefer action," says Victoria Ehrhardt, an English teacher in Louis County, New York. "Boys and girls have different reading interests," agrees Judy Hayn, professor of education at Loyola University in Chicago. She adds that "Girls like stories about experiences that might happen over one summer and the emotional agonies that a character endures. Boys want stories with male protagonists that are exciting."
Role-playing exercises work well for girls. Consider having the girls create little skits, in which girls act out scenes from the book. Or, assign each girl to be one of the characters in the book, and have them discuss an issue "in character." For example, if you're teaching Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret, one girl could be Margaret, another could be Margaret's mother, another girl could be Margaret's father, another could be Margaret's grandmother. They could then discuss the pros and cons of moving from Manhattan to New Jersey, each girl talking in the voice of the assigned character.
Role-playing exercises do not work well for boys. Keep your assignments objective and fact-oriented. For example: If you're teaching Lord of the Flies, tell the boys to create a three-dimensional map of the island, showing the location of the lagoon, the beach, the mountain etc. The book contains all the necessary clues to construct such a map . . . although you have to read the text very carefully to find the clues. "The sun was setting behind Ralph's head as he stood on the beach" is a clue that the beach is on the west side of the island. Most boys will warm up to this kind of assignment much better than to a more traditional (and more girl-oriented) assignment for this text such as "How would you feel if you were stranded on an island and all the other boys were picking on you?" General rule for boys: avoid questions which begin with the phrase, "How would you feel if . . ." Remember: in boys, the amygdala (where the feelings are) makes no direct connection with the cerebral cortex (where the words are)!
If you're not familiar with this research, please go to our page on gender differences in the organization of the brain.
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