ENGAGING MALE LEARNERS

A SYNTHESIS of CURRENT RESEARCH AND CLASSROOM PRACTICE

Jen Barsky – Cariboo Hill Secondary

What the research says / what I have observed in my classes:

  • Traditional classroom structures do not work for most males: desks, quiet individual work, prolonged seating, narrative text
  • We do not value the kind of reading that males value outside the classroom

Strategies / Structures that worked:

1. Provide opportunities that allow boys to achieve a sense of competence

  • boys don’t want to do thing they aren’t good at
  • becoming member of a community and becoming knowledgeably skilful are part of the same process
  • boys want to feel like a teacher knows him personally and he/she attends to his interests
  • facilitate reading of difficult text with activities boys feel competence in – acting, art, music, dance
  • Vygotsky approach to instruction – provide assistance (teacher / peer mentor) until skill is internalized
  • use the “think-aloud” to help boys access the language skills, strategies to use

2. Expect boys to complete tasks that are neither too easy, nor too difficult

  • often, feeling of self-efficacy do not transfer from one context to another
  • structure activities clearly, provide criteria/step-by-step instructions, check in periodically to asses for understanding
  • competition is always popular!

3. Provide clear goals and immediate feedback

  • when these are not present, boys often lack motivation and find no need to complete homework
  • plan with an end in mind, and make that end transparent to all learners (learning outcomes / intentions or objectives stated at beginning of lesson)
  • inquiry-based learning where students seek out and find ‘answers’ to questions

4. Create mentorship opportunities with males as role models

  • countering the ‘men don’t read’ stereotype
  • pair up males in class / buddy with another class
  • use Socratic dialogue instead of lecture / discipline

5. Value texts of all genres and allow boys to choose what they read / how they demonstrate understanding

  • boys like non-fiction, internet sites, graphic novels, newspapers, magazines, humorous stories, sci-fi and fantasy, manuals (provide choice)
  • use films as stories to explore similar learning goals as written text
  • provide choice with respect to demonstration of understanding
  • allow for oral assessment

6. Be aware of, and attend to, boys’ learning styles

  • consider physical space of classroom
  • most boys are kinaesthetic, social, hands-on and/or visual learners
  • provide opportunitiesfor movement (switching partners, post a sticky note on the board, groups rotate from pod to pod, etc.)
  • be aware of behaviours related to learning styles – allow for water breaks, standing at back of class, if necessary
  • provide opportunities for purposeful talk (pairs, small group, large group)
  • incorporate technology into content acquisition and demo of learning

Resources:

Boy Smarts: Mentoring Boys for Success at School

Barry MacDonald

Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys: Literacy in the Lives of Young Men

Jeffrey Wilhelm

Going With the Flow: How to Engage Boys (and Girls) in Their Literacy Learning Jeffrey Wilhelm

Creating a Literacy Environment for Boys

Christopher Spence