UK: When teaching boys, actions speak louder than words

Posted Dec 28th 2005 3:08PM
by Karen Walrond
Filed under: Child Development, Lifestyle, Media

From the Telegraph: the underachievement of boys in state-run schools has been acknowledged by the British government, which has now set up programs to address the issue. According to the article, currently, boys lag 17% behind girls for writing at the age of 11 and in examination results where they are 8% less likely than girls to get good grades.

Senior teachers at Hampton school at West London tested the boys at their single-sex school, and found a large percentage of them learned most effectively through actively doing things rather than the traditional "talk and chalk" method. Paul Smith, the teacher coordinating the program, stated "We have found that boys work most effectively when they know how the lesson is to be organised and when there is a wide range of activities appealing to the full range of learning styles. Where possible we get them out of their seats and when that is not appropriate give them opportunities to compete with each other on active tasks and to 'beat the clock.'"

I love it when teachers get innovative with educating children. Now the students are writing rap songs describing the circulation of blood through the body, and actually acting out scenes from Shakespeare. While it's apparently too early to tell whether their new methods are working, the teachers believe the students are learning more easily, and remembering what they've done.