Teaching and Learning Issues

1. What strategies can be used by a casual teacher to keep boys motivated in order to remain on task?

2. Teaching and Learning Issues • Misconception of boys • Biological Factors • Lack of recognition of varied learning styles • Tendency for boys to be seemingly ‘off-task’ or disconnected • Casual Teacher’s are ill-equipped in basic education of gender differences

3. Literature Findings • Biological factors: that there are real genetic differences, which affect boys’ temperament and learning approach. • Social factors: lack of male role models, ambiguous male social identity, the “Boy code”, all of which combine to aggravate finding their identity in the classroom. • Educational factors: physical set-up of classrooms, language-based learning, Teacher expectations, explanations and language (often stemming from the feminisation of education and the perspectives many teachers come from in their planning), and learning groups.

4. Literature Findings • Boy centred: the idea that boys are not to be moulded to fit the favoured educational style, but changes need to be made by others to educate in a way that suits their male disposition. • Teacher / Parent change: That there are a huge range of simple changes and strategies that can be implemented around the child to foster learning and motivation.

5. Survey

6. Survey

7. Survey

8. Survey

9. Interesting Survey Comments • “I like Sport because I like physical activity and Maths because I like difficult challenges.” • “I like Science most because I love doing exciting experiments.” • “I think the least interesting type of lesson is reading groups.” • “Maths because Maths is in everything.” • “Maths because I like to solve puzzles.”

10. Educational Context • Holy Innocents, Croydon • There are currently 300 students and 14 classes. • 3 full-time male teachers in comparison with 11 full-time female teachers • All executive staff are female • Male students – 57% • Female students – 43%

11. Intervention Strategies • Intervention strategies to keep boys on task need to be quick and reflective of the need at the time. When presented with a male student off-task the simple course of action occurs as follows: • Step 1: Identify the off-task male student • Step 2: Obtain reason from male student • Step 3: Select appropriate strategy based on reason given • Step 4: Facilitate strategy • Step 5: Re-assess effectiveness of strategy and alter if needed. • Our intervention strategy, based on these steps is called the Five Finger Approach or CIEGA. Using Steps 1-5, at Step 3 the teacher will use the Five Finger Memory Trigger to determine which factor and possible strategy can be altered to return student to the task. The Five Finger factors are: • Challenge • Explanation • Interests • Groups • Activeness

12. C E I G A at Work!

13. Putting it into Practice

15. Future Recommendations • CEIGA can be used in the moment, with individuals or small groups when motivation is identified as lacking. • Teachers need to be aware of the attributes that are brought to the classroom by boys should be fostered instead of disciplined. • This approach can also be used as reference when planning long-term programs in a full-time teaching capacity.