25th January 2010 9:00
By Blue Tutors
Recent research in America suggests that boys learn better when there is movement involved in their lessons, the BBC has reported. The report, published by the University of Virginia says that boys respond better to visually presented concepts and ideas, and when lessons are ‘high-activity’. There was also call for more competition within schools, claiming that it helps to motivate boys.
The author of the report, Dr. Abigail Norfleet James presented her findings in London on Tuesday at the International Boys’ Schools Coalition (IBSC). She identified that boys and girls have different skills, and react differently to different lessons. Boys are said to be less verbal, have less acute hearing, slower perception, and less likely to control their impulses than their female classmates.
Dr. James said that teachers need to keep moving, and that if they don’t, within ten minutes, most boys will have lost focus. The problem from a boy’s point of view is that he could be labelled remedial simply for not responding to a particular lesson, and needing extra help as a result. This has highlighted the call for single sex education.
Another result of the research was that boys appear to work better in large groups, with ten year old boys completing more work in a group than when working in pairs. Dr. James said that “Boys identify themselves as members of the group, not as an individual in a group.“