PED 1140 F, Session 11, Dec. 21st 2011Final Thoughts

EQAOWhat?Education Quality and Accountability Office

Gr.3Gr.6

Math Language

Pencil and paper tests lasting over 5 days.One session per day.

ReadingWritingMath

Delivered to school in sealed packagesEach child identified by number (anonymity for marking)Returned to EQAO for markingClassroom teachers invigilate but do NOT read, prompt or assist with the testing

Tests are curriculum based

Reading questions are similar to those found in the CASI assessment

Students need to be prepared for the format of the tests and for test conditions

You can not help them! They need to experience that on a regular basis.The classroom has to be set up for exam conditions – they need to experience that too!

EQAO | OQRE

CASI

ComprehensionAttitudeStrategiesInterests

Grades 3 – 8

Assesses the 4 categories of the achievement chart.

Does NOT have to be administered in its entirety every time

Overall score tells you nothing!

Use the scoring guide (exemplars and rationale) and if at all possible do collaborative scoring with colleagues.

Let’s try ;)

Oh boy!

Is there a gender gap?

Does it matter?

What can we do?

Statement #1:

School favours girls.

Statement #2:

Gender is not a good predictor of academic achievement. Other factors such as family background and socio-

economic status are much better predictors.

Statement #3:

The way we teach boys should be different from the way we

teach girls.

the debate

A boy crisis in education?

What have you:–observed?–heard?–read?

Two sides to every coin

The Myth of 'The Boy Crisis'

Caryl Rivers, Rosalind Chait Barnett

April 9, 2006 Washington Post

Evidence Suggests Otherwise: The Truth About Boys and GirlsSara MeadJune 27, 2006 Education Sector

Where the Girls Are: The

Facts About Gender

Equity in Education

Christianne Corbett,

Catherine Hill, Ph.D.,

Andresse St. Rose

May 2008

AAUW

Research tells us:

• Not all boys are underachieving or at risk.• Socio-economic status, geographical location, and

poverty affect the educational performance and participation of specific groups of both boys and girls.

• A “which boys / which girls” approach can help educators determine the most productive kinds of intervention for struggling readers and at-risk students.

Wayne Martino, 2008

Gender Differences - a caveat

“… cognitive differences within gender – girls compared to girls and boys to boys – are far greater than differences between the two genders.”

(Halpern, 2000 cited in James 2007)

Gender Differences - another caveat

“… differences between genders can be magnified in a school setting. Stereotyping, peer pressure, social expectations, and environmental influences from families, peers, and teachers, as well as the media and entertainment industry, all work together to intensify the importance placed on gender differences...

… Students enter your classroom with beliefs about gender-appropriate behavior for them and for their classmates and for you. Understanding those beliefs and helping children cope with how those beliefs affect classroom performance is preferable to pretending that the beliefs don’t exist.”

(James, 2007)

What are the differences?

Sex and gender differences

• Brain-based differences• Sensory differences• Physical differences• Cognitive differences• Social and emotional differences

Brain-based differences

• corpus callosum• Wernicke’s area / Broca’s area• amygdala• hippocampus• prefrontal cortex

Sensory differences

• vision• hearing• touch• learning modalities

Physical differences

• activity levels• gross motor vs. fine motor development• targeting• handedness and dexterity• growth patterns

Cognitive differences

• verbal and language skills• spatial abilities• learning modalities• strategy development

Are boys really behind in literacy?

What do the numbers say?

Province over time:

Gr.3

Gr.3

Gr.3

Gr.6

Gr.6

How to Teach Boys

Boys respond best when:

– Work is assigned in bite-sized, digestible pieces and is time-limited;

– Lessons are broken down into a variety of activities that include more “active” learning opportunities, such as drama, investigation, research, or the use of information technology;

– The work seems relevant to them – that is, when it has a purpose they can understand;

How to Teach Boys (continued)

Boys respond best when:– Lessons are delivered in a brisk, well-paced format, with an

obvious direction, so that they can tell that progress is occurring;

– The work includes an element of competition and/or involves short-term goals;

– Time is allowed for review and reflection following a lesson or assignment;

– An analysis of concrete aspects of a text precedes an analysis of one’s emotional response to it;

– They receive regular, positive feedback.

(source: “Me Read? No Way!”)

How to Teach Boys

Boys need to move

Incorporate movement into your lessons

How to Teach Boys

Texts need to be relevant

Ask “essential questions”

Essential Questions

Grade 6 ScienceUnderstanding Life

Systems: Biodiversity

“How will life be different for you when you are 20 years old and there is no oil left in the world?”

“A good book for a boy is one he wants to read.”

“The problem for many reluctant readers is that they are not being offered and encouraged to read the books and other reading material that they want to read. In short, the corner store is not stocking its shelves with what the customer wants to buy.”

James Moloney Boys and Books (2000)

What do boys like to read?

• Non-fiction texts such as newspapers, magazines, instruction manuals, collections of facts and trivia, etc.

• Fiction texts that – focus on action more than on emotion– are in the genre of science fiction or fantasy– feature characters with which they can identify– appeal to their sense of humour– form part of a series

(adapted from Moloney, 2002)

“Get off their backs! Let them read what they choose to read. Offer other options if you can, but suspend judgement. Model what you value, shame no one. Text choice is personal.”

David BoothReading Doesn’t Matter Anymore: Shattering the Myths of

Literacy

“Tommy, the Jealous Guy”Janey

Janey is a really nice woman, but she is married to a very jealous guy named Tommy. Someone makes Tommy believe that Janey was unfaithful. Tommy gets so angry that he chokes Janey to death.

Patricia Patricia is married to Ben. Ben makes up this story about Janey being unfaithful. When Patricia finds out about what Ben did, she tells the truth. Ben is so mad that he stabs Patricia to death.

Tommy When Tommy figures out that his wife, Janey, was not unfaithful, he commits suicide by shooting himself in the head.

OthelloJaney

Janey is a really nice woman, but she is married to a very jealous guy named Tommy. Someone makes Tommy believe that Janey was unfaithful. Tommy gets so angry that he chokes Janey to death.

Patricia Patricia is married to Ben. Ben makes up this story about Janey being unfaithful. When Patricia finds out about what Ben did, she tells the truth. Ben is so mad that he stabs Patricia to death.

Tommy When Tommy figures out that his wife, Janey, was not unfaithful, he commits suicide by shooting himself in the head.

OthelloDesdemona

Unjustly accused of adultery, Desdemona is smothered to death by her jealous husband, Othello.

Emilia Emilia is stabbed by her husband, Iago, when she reveals his role in the plot against Desdemona and Cassio.

Othello When Othello discovers that his wife, Desdemona, whom he has murdered, is not guilty of adultery, he drives a dagger into his chest and falls dead beside Desdemona’s body.

How to Teach Boys

Many boys are visual-spatial learners.

Use graphic organizers.

Assessment

“…Responsive, high-quality assessment at various stages of a student’s work and clear feedback, including both recognition for good work and clear guidance on how to improve, are important for all students. For boys, however, assessments based on clear criteria and specific and immediate feedback are crucial.”

(Me Read? No Way! 2004)

Assessment

Studies in the United Kingdom have shown that boys’ writing improved in schools where boys were made to feel that their writing and their progress as writers were valued by teachers. Approaches to assessment that conveyed this message to boys included the following:

– High-quality, close, and responsive marking of written work that offered clear advice on how to improve

– Marking and feedback that showed that the teacher valued elements characteristic of many boys’ writing that have often been dismissed as inappropriate, such as action-oriented narrative (as opposed to descriptive narrative), humour, and brevity and succinctness. The teacher gave positive feedback about these elements while still indicating where improvement was needed.

(Office of Standards in Education, UK (2003))

High-quality, close, and responsive marking of written work that offered clear advice on how to improve

Isn’t that what we should offer all students?

Good teaching is good teaching…

What kind of teacher will you be?

Touching Story - Starfish - YouTube.flv