Middle School Classes Utilize Gender-Based Teaching Techniques
February 25th, 2019
In the 2007-2008 school year, Wesleyan began separating boys and girls in both English and math classes in the middle school. Research indicates that there are sound reasons to separate boys and girls to some degree in middle school, and there is a trend to do so both nationally and locally.
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In the 2007-2008 school year, Wesleyan began separating boys and girls in both English and math classes in the middle school. Research indicates that there are sound reasons to separate boys and girls to some degree in middle school, and there is a trend to do so both nationally and locally.
The primary reason for separating English and math classes by gender is that boys and girls learn differently, especially in middle school. Boys are higher risk-takers than girls. Boys will answer a question when there is a 15% probability of being correct; girls will volunteer an answer with an 85% probability of answering correctly. This results in boys being called on more frequently than girls in a co-ed environment, thus having more practice. In a single gender classroom, this self-corrects.
Boys like to tackle a task as soon as it is presented, while girls tend to want multiple explanations and examples before beginning the tasks. When the middle school faculty know this and have separate gender classes, they can make conscious efforts to have more of a variety of activities that cater to the learning styles of both boys and girls. These techniques apply to classes that are mixed gender as well, where teachers can provide a balanced approach to both learning styles.
The vision for Wesleyan is to see an increase in performance by the boys in the verbal areas and an increase in performance by our girls in the quantitative areas. In addition to looking at standardized test scores through the gender lens, we also surveyed both students and teachers annually to get qualitative data about the progress and success of this initiative.
Faculty have noticed that discipline problems have decreased, both boys and girls seem more motivated and confident, and both boys and girls are participating more in separate gender classes. Several teachers mentioned that academically, both boys and girls are pushed harder and demand more of themselves; they choose perseverance instead of giving up.
Separate gender classes in the middle school allow for boys and girls to develop their own "voice" that they will take into their high school years. In an effort to help with the transition to high school, and due to the number of different math courses, 8th grade English and math classes were combined for the first time this year.
