MAY 2011 Newsletter 

   Dr. Edmond J. Dixon 

NEXT MONTH:

FINDING BOYS

WHERE 

THE "GAME" 

IS....

ENGAGING MALES IN CLASSROOM LEARNING

An ongoing series sharing with you exciting findings from the research on my new book to help you get the boys in your class to reach their true potential!

"What do I do with those guys!?! "

This is the refrain from many teachers when confronted with disengaged, underachieving males in their classrooms.  How can we reach them? 

By going to the places they go to learn. There are six "places" boys have gone to learn since the earliest times. While not physical locations they are just as real, because they influence how boys' brains have been wired to learn. Teachers who meet boys' minds in these places find eager learners who are engaged and enthusiastic about meeting the teacher's expectations.  All you need to travel there is an open mind! So let's get started this month with the first one.

BOYS ARE:

           Why Movement is so powerful for the male brain...

What We See...

He can't sit still in class, has always got something in his hands, is easily distracted and distracts others. He puts far more effort into recess than class, and always seems to be into something he shouldn't be.

He sits there like a bump on a log, is clearly disengaged and does as little class work as possible. He comes alive when he leaves the class for the washroom, to wander the halls, or to get into trouble.

He does OK in class, but his parents and teacher know he could do better. He seems content to just coast along. His true passion is basketball and he would eat nails for his coach. But his coach doesn't teach his class...

Why Movement Helps Boys Learn

Believe it or not, all of the boys above need movement connected to their learning. To reach them it is important to know that...

 Movement is the way all children first explore the world.

It provides for an enduring understanding of how the world works. In particular, Kinesthetic/Experiential Learners rely far more on this understanding than others. The vast majority of these learners are boys, and so are are the vast majority of students who struggle in class and drop out of school.

 The right side of the male brain develops a tremendous amount of neural wiring to facilitate movement and the perception of movement

. 

 This is one of the reasons that all of the boys described above will sit still and focus for hours on video games. It also means they are easily drawn towards visual movement and demonstrate this tendency as newborns when studies show boys prefer to look at a moving plastic mobile rather than a real human face!

Male brains at rest have far less brain activity than female brains. 

- From Michael Gurian's BookThe Minds of Boys

Sitting in a desk for long periods of time puts the male brain in a static state and many boys use movement to re-engage their brains. That's why the fidgety kid in class can be good news--he's trying to keep his brain active! It also explains why some other boys look so disengaged and uninspired in class; their brains are literally going to sleep.

 How to Use Movement in the Classroom

Educators have understood the connection between movement and learning for a long time and recent school pilot projects and programs like Brain Gym focus on this. This is an important start to keep male brains alert, but we have found it possible to take the learning power of movement further and connect it with the curriculum in any class! Here are three things to do:

1. Allow Boys to Physically Illustrate Curriculum 

Having three boys use their bodies to illustrate an isosceles triangle will re-engage their brains, give them a an experiential understanding of the concept and force them to think more deeply about why this type of triangle is different from others.

2.  Permit Boys to Move When They Learn in Class 

Try something as simple as a pair walk, where they can walk around the class with a partner together and practice their spelling words, order of operation, or the steps in the water cycle. This will facilitate oral language which is the prelude to understanding and reading/writing skills.

3. Use KEEN Strategies to Easily Engage Boys in Class

Here is an example of a  KEEN Strategy for primary grades.  Notice how tightly the movement is connected to the curriculum goal of having students write. This is an important aspect of KEEN Learning.