[Guest Blog by Shetal Shah, a teacher from Atlanta Girls School, Atlanta, Ga. Shetal is a member of the Edward E. Ford Fellowship Program. She participates in a yearlong cohort of Atlanta Public School and independent school teachers studying what we know about teaching and learning from a neuroscience perspective.]
I think I just completed most of my research for my topic…finally! It took me longer than expected. I should be able to catch up, however, before I roll out and implement some of these strategies in my classroom after spring break.
My action research project is to identify and determine the effectiveness of gender-based pedagogical strategies aimed to improve memory, recall, and engagement of students in an all-girls classroom environment.
In order to identify gender-based pedagogical strategies, I read various articles and books written by experts in the field. The most helpful pieces of research came from those who observed single-gender classrooms to identify the most effective strategies (motivation and engagement seem to be the key indicators). The brain-based rationale was interesting for each pedagogical strategy, as well.
Some of the most common trends of strategies I found were:
For Boys:
- Incorporate abstract arguments, philosophical conundrums, and moral debates
- Use movement (this one came up the most frequently)
- Use symbolic texts, diagrams, and graphs instead of sentences/texts
- Have them do three quick activities versus a long-term project
- Traditional tests
- Competitive games (this one also came up frequently)
- When giving directions, use less words and get to the point quickly
- Classroom Environment:
- Horseshoe arrangement
- More space between students so they can spread out
- Natural and bright light
- Less cluttered and organized
- Mix up seating arrangements and a variety of a seating arrangements (tables, desks, an easy chair, rug area, etc.)
- 69 degrees
- use outdoors
- can be loud (teacher should be loud)
For Girls:
- Incorporate cooperative learning
- Assign long-term projects
- Allow for verbal expression (written/spoken)
- Assign projects and writing stories
- Provide opportunities to discuss what’s been taught
- Note-taking and reading
- Provide opportunities to read fiction
- Mind-mapping
- Encouragement
- Classroom Environment:
- Cozy, comfortable room
- Tables for collaborative work
- Cozy nooks for reading
- Loving and supportive (put up signs of motivation and encouragement)
- Quiet, calm, organized
- 74 degrees
Since it would be unrealistic to test every strategy, my initial thought is to try the following strategies in my action research project:
| Boy-Friendly Strategies | Girl-Friendly Strategies |
| Activities that require movement (i.e. tossing a ball, walk & talk) | Less movement (i.e. stretch breaks) |
| Quick activities that can be done within one or two lessons | Long-term project |
| Diagrams/graphic organizers when presenting content | Text and note-taking when presenting content |
| Non-fiction (reading and reporting)- can be tied into activities | Fiction (reading and writing)- can be tied into activities |
| Environment: rearrange seating, bring a rug, 69 degrees and lots of bright light | Environment: warm, cozy, 74 degrees, natural and warm lighting, signs of motivation |
Do you think this is too much? Should I pair it down even more? I would love your input on this research study or any thoughts you might have.
My next step is to plan my next units with these strategies in mind. I will teach Latin American Revolutions using Girl-Friendly Strategies and the Industrial Revolution with Boy-Friendly Strategies in all-girl classes and use data collection tools to uncover how girls respond to the effectiveness of these different pedagogical strategies to engage them as learners.