Top Teaching Strategies for Boys

There is a almost as much variation between boys as there is between boys and girls, but the following teaching strategies have been found to facilitate learning for boys:

1. The teacher is seldom standing still, but usually moving - from the front to the very back of the classroom, and side to side.¹
2. The teacher is speaking in a louder tone of voice (but NOT shouting or yelling; the classroom must always be a safe and nurturing place). 
   • Research shows that girls can hear sounds which are softer than boys.
3. The teacher is frequently interrupting herself or himself to ask questions of students, to make sure they are on the same page.
   • For example: "Jason, can you please summarize what we've been talking about here? No? Ok, Richard, can you help him out? Summarize what I've just been saying the past few minutes."
4. The teacher provides instructions that are clear to the point with fewer words.²
5. Choose non-fiction literature with boy friendly themes, including strong main characters and real life events.
   • Boys enjoy accounts about the way things work, slimy and dangerous things, battles, and adventures.
6. Provide opportunities for students to move and be flexible with increased physical activity.
   • For example: Using boys' common interest in music, allow boys to choose a song and dance online and recreate the dance, working as a group.
7. If a serious conference is necessary, teachers may choose to put a game or model in front of the boy in order to engage them in conversation.
8. Boys tend to respond positively to team competition in academics.³
   • For example: Active academic games, such as Spelling Baseball, Math Basketball, and Reading for Football Yards. In Math Basketball, students solve problem individually in order to get to shoot for team points.
9. Recognize that feeling-based questions will challenge boys and increase their discomfort.
   • Teenage boys tend to process emotion in the amygdala, just as younger boys do. The amygdala is a "primitive" portion of the brain with limited direct connections to the cerebral cortex.
   • Teenage girls tend to process emotion primarily in the cerebral cortex, where we also do our analyzing. So, it's easier for teenage girls to be analytical about emotions.

1. Sax, L. (2008). Boys and Elementary School, Education.com.
2. Duncan, A. & Schmidt, A. (2009). Exploring instructional strategies in single-sex second grade classrooms. Education.com Special Edition.
3. Miller, K. (2009). Less is more: Reduce rules and structure to free the minds of boys. Education.com Special Edition.
4. National Association for Single Sex Public Education. What are some differences in how girls and boys learn? Retrieved February 19, 2009 at http://www.singlesexschools.org/research-learning.htm