gender differneces

Its undeniable.. There are significant differences between the male and female brain. For example, the picture above shows a humorous diagram about what most males and most females think about in their spare time. Could this have an impact on school? Do males and females think differently? It seems that over the past few years American students are failing to live up to their educational expectations. Recent research has focused on gender-based performance. We should have single gender classrooms because the differences in performance between the male and female gender are so different. In education, males and females are observed in a number of different studies which have produced many to find the reason why..

Kirner 2013:
Interviews done by Hubbard and Datnow of students and staff in California schools offering single-sex classes showed that both groups felt that a major contribution to student success was the lack of distraction from the opposite sex. In 2008, a U.S. Department of Education study found that “both principals and teachers believed that the main benefits of single-sex schooling are decreasing distractions to learning and improving student achievement.” (Hutchison & Mikulski, 2012). As part of a long-term study of Australian secondary schools, which had been single-sex schools and then converted to co-ed schools over a two-year period. Interviews with teachers and students showed that girls appeared to do better socially in a single-sex class (Jackson & Smith, 2000). Teachers who worked in single-sex classes and schools reported fewer discipline problems to Gurian and Henley (2001), and administrators and teachers in Florida single-sex schools reported dramatic improvement in student performance (Isensee & Vasquez, 2012).

But even if you doubt the expert opinions of the educators and administrators who work with students and witness first-hand their social and intellectual development, then consider the work of Hyunjoon Park,park works at the University of Pennsylvania. She undertook a balanced study of same-sex classrooms in Seoul, Korea. The Park study had a unique way of assessing the educational development. students were randomly chosen to attend either same-sex or coeducational classes with no option to oppose.

Park 2012:
In this study,Park assessed causal effects of single-sex schools on college entrance exam scores, and college attendance rates by using a un-common feature of education in Seoul, Korea in which students are randomly assigned to single-sex or coeducational high schools. Thier study is the first to assess causal links between single-sex schools and educational outcomes rather than associations that may in significant part reflect student selection of school types. They investigated the nature of student assignment and found a socioeconomic background and prior academic achievement of students attending single-sex high schools and coeducational high schools. This shows that single-sex schools are usually linked with both college entrance exam scores and college-attendance rates for both boys and girls. Attending all-boys schools or all-girls schools rather than attending coeducational schools is significantly associated with higher average scores on test scores. Single-sex schools have a higher percentage of graduates who moved to four-year colleges (over 76% of single gender schools, where as coeducational schools have 65%) and a lower percentage of graduates who moved to two-year junior colleges than coeducational schools. Dr. Marianne Kirner does tons of research from the U.S. which support the benefits of same-sex education.

There is undeniable evidence of differences between males and females in the development of the human brain. many of the differences are found in areas of the brain with sexual hormone receptors. For example, females tend to have higher concentration in the regions of the brain responsible for language cognition and some studies suggest these differences may account for learning differences between the sexes at different stages of maturity.

Novotney 2011:
According to a 2007 pediatric neuroimaging study led by a team of neuroscientists from the National Institute of Mental Health, various brain areas develop in a different sequence and pace in girls compared to boys. Using 829 brain scans gathered over two years from 387 people from 3 to 27 years old, researchers found several differences. The occipital lobe (the one most associated with visual processing) shows rapid development in girls 6 to 10 years old, while boys show the largest growth in this area after 14 years old. Other studies have also shown differences in language processing between the sexes, concluding that the language areas of the brain in many 5-year-old boys look similar to that of many 3-year-old girls “Timing is everything, in education as in many other fields,” says Sax, author of several books on the science of sex differences, such as “Girls on the Edge: The Four Factors Driving the New Crisis for Girls” “It’s not enough to teach well; you have to teach well to kids who are developmentally ripe for learning.” states sax. To me, this is like asking a 5-year-old boys to sit still, be quiet, and read. But this is often not developmentally appropriate for them, but there are other ways to teach boys to read that don’t require boys to sit still and be quiet.

While the evidence is clear, the interpretation of the evidence is controversial. Advocates of coeducation will claim the evidence is inconclusive about whether observable physical differences between the brains of males and females proves there are differences in their ability to learn the same. For example.. The differences in cognitive ability (for example, females tend to be more language capable and males tend to be spatially capable) “As a whole, girls outperform boys in the use of language and fine motor skills until puberty” notes Denckla. Boys are also more prone to learning disabilities than girls. "Clinics see a preponderance of boys with dyslexia," Denckla tells WebMD. ADHD also strikes more boys than girls. The symptoms displayed by girls and boys with ADHD differ too. Girls with ADHD usually have inattention, while boys are prone to lack of impulsive control. But not all differences favor girls. Boys generally show superiority over females in areas of the brain involved in math and geometry. These areas of the brain mature about four years earlier in boys than in girls, according to a recent study that measured brain development in more than 500 children. Researchers concluded that when it comes to math, the brain of a 12-year-old girl resembles that of an 8-year-old boy. The same researchers found that areas of the brain involved in language and fine motor skills (such as handwriting) mature about six years earlier in girls than in boys.

While it may be claimed that in the long-run the differences in brain development have minimal effect on the ability of males and females to learn the same things, the way they learn are driven by developmental differences. In addition, the brain continues to develop throughout life. It seems intuitive that if educators can design curriculum which leverage the differences between the sexes at the appropriate ages in which certain kinds of skills start to show, the Pro side has validity. The quality of education, it seems can be effected by so many things besides the students learning ability. For example, schools like our amazing school AKA Compass Academy, has a different style of education so that kids can explore what works best for them. Or schools which have more money can provide a better quality of education than schools which are on the verge of bankruptcy and which have few educational resources and tools. For the purposes of this paper, we must focus on those educational and neurological aspects. This means, if a poor school system measures student progress in a coeducational environment and the same poor school system measures student progress in a single gender environment and notes improvement, then we must affirm. Pro will find it very difficult to refer to good studies showing direct correlations between student outcomes and same-sex education. Obviously, Con will have counter-evidence for most evidence which claims improvement in standardized tests. In 1999, Diane Pollard looked at many of the extant studies and isolated several important indicators which can point to an overall improvement in the "quality" of education.

Pollard 1999:
“In spite of the shortcomings of the existing research on single-sex classes, some common threads seem to permeate current studies that suggest some possible positive effects of these classes for girls. Three of these threads are described here.
First, one finding across studies suggests that single-sex classes are useful for girls because they establish comfortable places in which girls can learn and explore the world. This benefit is evident from the self-reports in the literature about single-sex classes in math and science, and the same finding emerges from our study of the after-school programs.
Second, single-sex classes provide an opportunity for girls to consider issues of gender identity and the variety of roles girls and women can consider in today’s and tomorrow’s society. Evidence from both the literature and our research in the African-centered schools suggest that girls in single-sex classrooms can be more easily encouraged to explore a range of roles and options.
Third, single-sex classes may be particularly helpful to girls at the developmental level of early adolescence. This suggestion must be interpreted with caution, however, since it could be an artifact of the large number of studies conducted with middle school students. Fewer studies appear to have involved secondary or elementary school students. However, consideration of the developmental changes associated with early adolescence suggests that this is a time when girls become particularly concerned about their sexual identity as they deal with the changes of puberty. Since girls tend to mature earlier than boys, single-sex classes at the sixth- or seventh-grade level offer a particularly salient advantage for girls. At the seventh- and eighth-grade levels, such classes may help both boys and girls cope with the developmental changes of early adolescence. Finally, there may be an indirect positive effect for girls that could emanate from some single-sex classes for boys. In particular, one relatively important component of the classes for boys in the African-centered school Cheryl Ajirotutu and I studied has been an explicit consideration of issues of gender bias and "the roles that boys and men play in contributing to the social and psychological oppression of women and girls.”-Diane Pollard We do not know yet how widespread these types of considerations are in other classes for African American boys.”

Thus, I think the quality of education will be measured in more abstract terms and other ways than standardized tests and start looking in to the difference in the way males and females learn.. Considering the reasons I have given you above I think that there should be single gender classrooms to accommodate the different ways males and females learn.

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. 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.
(2011, 10). Gender Differences in Learning Styles. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 10, 2011, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Gender-Differences-In-Learning-Styles-808102.html
(2011, 10). Gender Differences in Learning Styles. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 10, 2011, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Gender-Differences-In-Learning-Styles-808102.html Leonard Sax, M.D., Ph.D. — Gender Differences Special Edition Contributor Updated on May 17, 2010