1. Effective Instructional Strategies for Callie Bambenek & Mead Ploszay
Teaching Boys
Callie Bambenek & Mead Ploszay
"Boys in a classroom should be one of the most fun things in life. Boy energy can be contagious, after all. But in my school, we talk mostly about difficulties we're having with boys. We need help understanding and teaching them.”
Teaching boys requires knowing that the male brain is better suited for symbols, abstractions, diagrams, pictures and objects moving through space.

2. Session Overview Boy Culture The Male Brain Teaching Boys
Dynamics and Interactions
The Male Brain
Architecture
Processing
Chemistry
Neural Activity
Teaching Boys
Management & Culture
Effective practices for male instruction

3. Boy Culture “Standards of Masculinity”
10%
Conform to what’s “cool”
Good at one “Boy World Sport”
Parents highly invested in their social status
75%
Social image is not a constant worry
Have plenty of peers to hang out with
Parents not concerned about social status
Aware of their social position; fine if they have one friend
Little pressure to prove themselves to anyone
Adults tend to worry about this group being lonely, depressed and the subject of bullying
Boy Culture “Standards of Masculinity”
Understanding social dynamics of boy culture is critical--- social dynamics set the stage for the classroom
Gender rules are set by culture, media, etc…
10%- afraid to be individuals; same hair cut, same dress, at times same bad boy behavior--- self-conscious about socializing outside of their group
5% that are outside the box are boys who see no value in the social system- noncomformists

4. Roles in “boy culture” - As defined by Rosalind Wiseman
“The Mastermind”- typically charismatic; makes/upholds the social rules
“The Associate”- helps the mastermind determine what he has to gain from others
“The Bouncer”- has physical presence; can be convinced to take the blame for something the mastermind or associate insist on
“The Entertainer”- makes others feel comfortable with humor; makes fun of himself to divert attention/tone
First three roles--- everyone is aware of their presence; can be intimidating and difficult to manage for female teachers and administrators
Once you know your players, you can be strategic about grouping- never put Mastermind, Associate, Bouncer- Always Mastermind and Champion together; Never entertainer and Punching Bag, put associate and Fly together

5. “The Conscience”- follows the rules; at risk for “doing the work;” often the front man for adult interaction
“The Punching Bag”- the butt of jokes; protected by his social group
“The Fly”- the individual who hovers outside the group; brags out of desperation to fit in; does not realize how annoying he is
“The Champion”- the individual who is not controlled by social norms/rules but is respected by others
Roles Continued

6. Strategic Grouping Champion Success Associate Fly Success Entertainer
Mastermind
Champion
Success
Strategic Grouping
Associate
Fly
Success
Entertainer
Punching Bag
Disaster

7. The Male Brain Architecture
Parietal Lobe
The Male Brain
Architecture
• Males form more connections from back to front
• Male brains activate gray matter (localization) while female brains use white matter (networking)
• Males dedicate more cortical area to spatial-mechanical functioning; less to verbal-emotive functioning
Lateralize/compartmentalize connectivity= spatial perception and gross motor control
Mono task activity often leads to challenge with task transition
Because male brains dedicate more cortical areas to spatial-mechanical functioning they use half the brain space that females use for verbal-emotive functioning
--- Result- emotional/episodic memories are not as salient
Although early theories of brain size and inter- ; male and female brains are anatomically similar and have the same circuits- how that circuitry is developed (particularly during adolescence is what appears to be known as sex specific. Males form more connections from the front of the brain to the back-- using gray matter (in the same hemisphere) while females develop neural connections between hemispheres--- using white matter-

8. The Male Brain Development & Processing
Somatosensory cortex and occipital lobe develop earlier than other areas of the brain!
⇾ visual spatial processing and gross motor skills come first
Language development comes later
Verbal-emotive connections mature later
Executive function- frontal lobe development comes later
The Male Brain
Development & Processing
In general males speak half as many words a day; use half as many gestures
Wernicke’s Area
Prefrontal cortex- girls prefrontal love is more active than boys and EF develops at an earlier age- decision making areas of the brain that are involved in reading, writing, word production- females better at literacy
Wernicke’s area develops a bit later- language and reading
Neural density in hippocampus(in temporal lobe) is greater in females- more emotive/stronger emotional memories
Males analyze they do not generally emote

9. Vision and Hearing Implications of Processing
Male vision systems activate and rely more heavily on M cells
M cells detect movement, not color (connected to rods)
Males process visual information at a higher level using spatial relational analysis
Males can localize sounds well but they have weak auditory acuity
Vision and Hearing
Implications of Processing
Males rely on motion and physical discovery; they have an easier time verbalizing when doing
Human color vision is based on three light sensing proteins one of which is on the X chromosome- thus they rely more on M cells to process what they are seeing- see fewer contrasts in color- which means that teachers should create visual presentations with greater contrast.
Echolocation

10. The Male Brain Chemical/ Behavioral Implications
Serotonin-
Self-Regulation
Testosterone- Aggression
The Male Brain
Chemical/
Behavioral
Implications
Oxytocin-
Bonding
Hormone
Male response to stress- fight or flight instinct-
shut down or become argumentative
Less serotonin - sit still
Oxytocin- human bonding chemical = more physically impulsive, less likely to fight natural impulses to sit still
Higher frequency of physical impulsiveness
Response to stress is different- competition raises level of stress to healthy space

11. “Male brains are set to Renew, Recharge and Reorient
“Male brains are set to Renew, Recharge and Reorient. They do so by entering a rest state.”
When a male brain gets bored, it shuts down
Managing neural rest states can involve fidgeting, tapping a pencil, physically touching something/someone else
Teachers see this behavior as disruptive when in fact it is the male brain trying to stay awake in a classroom that is not suited for their kind of learning.
When designing your lessons include strategies to manage the 3R’s: Renew, Recharge, Reorient
The more words that a teachers uses the higher the likelihood of entering a rest state--- be spatial and diagrammatic
Male brains enter a “rest state” when they need to be recharged or reoriented- purpose of learning
Managing neural rest states can involve fidgeting or acting out- student tapping pencil, touching neighbor, staring out window- why manipulatives and fidget cubes can be helpful

12. Effective Strategies Designed for Male Learners - Management and Culture
Mixed-gender classrooms: offer grouping as boys-only and girls-only
Teacher moves around classroom as they teach during transitional points
Use boys’ energy bursts in between their “rest states” - this is where impulsivity can be a plus EXAMPLE- strategy for studying for assessments should be in short chunks before their brain goes into a “rest state”
2. Different than traditional strategy of “proximity” for behavior. When you use proximity, students know you are standing by them to correct behavior. If you move around during key transitional points in the lesson, you help the male brain eliminate too many rest states, help them reorient their brain to pay attention in the lesson. This strategy is vital during your note-taking time. Plan ahead, think about then you want your boys to naturally have that brain break into your next chunk of lesson, or connecting between two important details which helps them get to the main idea. STORY- about survey and moving around too much

13. Effective Strategies Designed for Male Learners - Management and Culture
Chunking: Lesson is always broken down so that there isn’t anything
longer than a minute chunk.
Aids in single-task focus, impulsivity.
EXAMPLE- break main contents of lesson in half and offer a formative
assessment in between OR partner debriefing or summarizing activity, BUT
begin planning with the end of your lesson (product)
Directions: fewer directions given or more condensed. Always use four or
less directions at any one time.
*when you can, put them in list/numbered format as it helps the brain
single out each step.
Time limits. Use a timer. Last team back can give 5 push-ups.
4. (you have to interrupt yourself to allow your boys to check their neural rest state and allow them a subject-specific interaction) . Plan ahead.
5. Brain chemistry connection- motivation and competition.

14. Effective Strategies Designed for Male Learners- Instructional
Design your lesson so that it ends in an actual product: colored Post-It, summary paragraph, 3-D Design
Draw It First! : male learners often struggle with communicating written thoughts. I give my male learners a space for the written response questions to draw out what they want to say first. Creating pictures help activate vocabulary or key events in male brains. Helps learners brainstorm their thoughts.
1. What type of learning/knowledge should be produced from your lesson?

15. Effective Strategies Designed for Male Learners- Instructional
Draw it First! Example:
First:

16. Effective Strategies Designed for Male Learners- Instructional
Draw it First! Example:
Second:

17. Effective Strategies Designed for Male Learners- Instructional
Draw it First! Example:

18. Effective Strategies Designed for Male Learners- Instructional
Draw it First! Example:

19. Effective Strategies Designed for Male Learners- Instructional
3. Focus on Visual Cues: pictures in text to help with retrieval
3. Assessments and transfer-level questions have lots of visuals to cue learners comprehension, can also use Draw it First! Strategy here

20. Effective Strategies Designed for Male Learners- Instructional
Frontloading a key idea: helps limit their impulsivity because they are on a
hunt for the answer or the parts to make the solution.
EXAMPLE- with video in the classroom, give them words to look for or give them the question ahead of time.
Addresses body movement and a strong substitution for lecture/listening/note-taking/plain whole class discussion
Addresses retention

21. Effective Strategies Designed for Male Learners- Instructional
Prove a statement false- helps channel natural boy aggression
6. Vocabulary Comprehension Challenges: index cards of vocabulary or key
words (7-10) and students work in teams to:
A) put the cards in themes for the lesson.
B) Write about the theme or use a guided essential question on the board.
C) Give vocab words and ask students to develop a question that would include those words as answers.
7. ABC: Activity Before Content for increasing engagement (another strategy
that is similar to “frontloading a key idea”)
6. Males verbalize better when they are engaged in a task
7. - elaborate on the importance of loading vocabulary and making verbal associations; goal is to coaching connectivity between word centers and enhance retention
8. Different than flipped classroom b/c activity is still done in classroom space not outside of it.
8.. Labs, demos, engineering challenges BEFORE content

22. Effective Strategies Designed for Male Learners- Instructional
Think Pair Share: pretty standard strategy, but for my boys:
Think (sitting down)
Pair (walk to partner and remain standing),
Share (return to seats and then stand to share)
9. Language Arts specific- Teachers should de-emphasize detail. Why?
First- focus on action in the reading material,
Second- conflict development (plot before theme? Battles before politics?)
General affinity towards novels with strong male characters who take action
Addresses body movement and a strong substitution for lecture/listening/note-taking/plain whole class discussion
9. 3 Rs : recharge & reorient , most importantly allows brains to reflect
10. In written expression boys will use more verbs/adverbs; lack fine detail

23. Effective Strategies Designed for Male Learners- Instructional
10. Timed Relays: Time is optional, especially with high-anxiety students.
(use this strategy any time we are working on something with multiple steps or formulas) -helps with single-task focus
Put the question or task in a sealed envelope
EXAMPLE- multiple-step math, writing evidence-based or summary paragraph
*key is that you give multiple turns and positions rotate (4-5 students in group)
11. Brain Breaks: one or two minutes, staying the classroom, just enough for
the 3 Rs -helps males manage their “rest state”
12. Importance of Graphic Organizers
Addresses body movement and a strong substitution for lecture/listening/note-taking/plain whole class discussion
Can I use smartart to show how I do this?

26. Works Cited
“Brain Differences Between Genders: Do you ever wonder why men and women think so differently?” Psychology Today, February 2014.
Gurian, M & Stevens, K. “With Boys and Girls in Mind.” Educational Leadership, Volume 62, 3. Nov,
Jensen, F.E. “The Teenage Brain.” Harper Collins, New York, NY, 2015.
Sax, L. “Why Gender Matters.” Random House, New York, NY, 2005.
Wiseman, R. “Masterminds & Wingmen.” Random House, New York, NY (2013)