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"Gender gap in literacy" refers to the performance of boys versus girls on standardized achievement tests. For the purpose of this article we have looked specifically at the gap that exists in present day Nova Scotia and attempted to determine some of the factors that might attribute to this gap. Data has been collected over a period of three years within the province at various grade levels allowing an analysis of the data to determine if the gap widens or not as students become chronologically older. A comparison of results in other parts of Canada as well as other developed countries has also allowed some determination as to whether this is a local phenomena or an academic trend across geographical borders.

ELLA
The Early Language Literacy Assessment (ELLA) provides information about student performance relative to the Early Stage Reading and Writing outcomes of the Atlantic Canada English Language Arts Curriculum.

The tasks of the ELLA represent the Early Stage of language arts development. The reading comprehension tasks include a variety of fiction and nonfiction reading passages followed by literal and non literal questions which are presented in constructed response and selected response formats. Students who experience difficulty with the silent reading component of the assessment participate in an oral reading record with accompanying comprehension questions. The two writing tasks include a personal expressive prompt and an information writing prompt.

ELA
The purpose of the ELA is to monitor the progress of individual students in meeting a representative number of reading and viewing and writing outcomes of the Atlantic Canada English Language Arts Curriculum. The assessment provides information about individual students and their levels of literacy particular to the assessment context and the outcomes addressed in the assessment

Students read a variety of materials, and answer questions based on those readings. Materials will include information texts, short stories, poetry, and visual media texts. Students also write a persuasive letter and a story.

JHLA
The purpose of the JHLA is to monitor the progress of individual students in meeting a representative number of reading and viewing and writing outcomes of the Atlantic Canada English Language Arts Curriculum.

Students will read a variety of materials, and will answer questions based on those readings. Materials will include information texts, short stories, poetry or song lyrics, and visual media texts. Students will write an essay and a story.

Global Patterns
During the past ten years, there has been a great deal of assessment, research, and critical examination of the issue of boys’ literacy attainment, in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, and there is growing awareness in the United States. Much documentation has been carried out by government ministries, universities, researchers, educators and authors specializing in the field of gender and literacy. Schools are implementing different strategies to improve the literacy performance of students, and while scores have improved for both girls and boys, girls continue to outperform boys on standardized assessment procedures: the gender gap remains. Boys' Literacy Attainment

Boys and Literacy in Canada
Using PISA data, the 2007 State of Learning in Canada: No Time for Complacency report found that for 2000, 2003 and 2006, girls score on average 32 points higher than boys in reading, and that boys have more difficulties in language and learning. Also, more males declared themselves to be “non readers” and were more likely to be secondary school dropouts (66%). In 2002 11% more female students than males met the expected level in writing. In 2000, while Canada ranked second in reading, (the UK ranked seventh, the US fifteenth, and Germany 21st), more alarming is that PISA confirmed the significant gender gap in reading and writing in all participating countries. Statistics Canada

In Ontario, in grade 3 Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) Literacy Test Scores, English-speaking boys scored 21% and 17% lower (for reading and writing respectively) than girls (2003/04), with only 48% and 50% meeting the provincial standard.

Boys and Literacy in the United States
In the US 1998 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) results, 16% more female students scored proficient in writing and 10% more in reading, and in 2000, females outperformed boys at all age levels, a larger gap than in 1998, despite accommodations.

Boys and Literacy in England
Since the early 1990s, boys’ underachievement has received its requisite attention in England where, similar to other OECD countries, the large gender gap has been stable over two decades. Girls in England are ahead of boys at all levels of education starting in the early years, with the highest difference in Key Stage 2 English and Key Stage 4 results. Girls have also consistently out-performed boys on the GCSEs since they were first introduced in 1988. Healy asserts that girls’ literacy results in England have been relatively stable over the past 25 years, until now girls achieve higher average marks in a majority of Year 12 subjects, while boys’ results have decreased to the point where 35% of 14-year-old boys fail to reach basic literacy benchmarks.

Male Literacy Patterns
The ability to read and write is an important personal asset, allowing individuals increased opportunities in life. Knowing the distribution of the literate population can help those involved in communication in particular fields e.g. health; agriculture, education, environment etc plan how to reach the population with their messages. Where measurable, males across international boundaries have performed less favorably than their female counterparts on literacy assessments; researchers continue to seek reasons for this phenomena. Boys, Literacy and Schooling

In an effort to understand how masculinity is performed and enacted through the body, teachers attempted to expand repertoires for presenting the self by, reconfiguring classroom literacy as active and embodied, capitalizing on choice and personal experience and focusing on boys' sense of self. It means assessing the ways that masculinity endorses and authorizes particular relationship modes. Boys need to be positioned as 'learners' in literacy classrooms and 'class participants' in literacy classrooms.

A means for engaging with and negotiating the culture looks beyond school to literacy related materials from other cultural sites and forms, including a wide range of modes of expression (oral, written, electronic, musical and visual). Boys need teachers to focus on a masculine perspective of everyday popular culture material, electronic technology and multimedia and multimodal work.

Media education is the process through which individuals become media literate; people are able to critically understand the nature, techniques and impacts of media messages and productions. This takes place in classrooms where students are treated with dignity and respect. Digital citizenry is promoted within the classroom where students' knowledge, opinions and contributions are valued in the digital classroom. These students learn to work collaboratively and cooperatively in a global community.

As opposed to new literacies, boys are less successful than girls in their ways of negotiating and participating in conventional literacy classrooms and conventional literacy, showing a general lack of interest in print based reading and writing activities. Boys make 'minimalistic' efforts to complete and present school literacy tasks. Boys have a strong interest in electronic and graphic forms of literate practice however, they are willing to 'do' literacy in active public ways (such as debating, drama, public speaking).

Boys are not all the same and cannot be treated as a homogeneous group. They bring different social and cultural backgrounds to the literacy classroom and these need to be given serious consideration. When working to improve boys' literacy outcomes, a range of effective pedagogical strategies will need to be employed. Classrooms are tailored often to the ways girls more typically behave.

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



Dr. Edmond Dixon: (Former teacher, principal, researcher and author 30+ years in education) in the article "Where the Boys Are" states that boys have a physiological need to move as they learn. They are engaged by competition or the idea of a game. They need an outlet for the humor. Most of all, they will respond to a challenge and that if they feel a sense of mastery that comes with responding to a challenge, they actually have a blast of testosterone.

Movement : Movement is so powerful for the male brain. "Movement is the way all children first explore the world". Kinesthetic and/or Experiential learning relies far more on this understanding than others." 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.  Dixon describes this to be an explanation for fidgety kids in the classroom and that this learning style should be considered a positive attribute

Games: Because the males receive a shot of testosterone when they accomplish goals, they love games and competition. Whether they are competing with others or themselves, a playful approach to learning can trigger increased achievement in school. Winning a game has physiological benefits! Humour: Boys love "funny" things. They often use their competitive urges to try and outdo each other in being funny and often veer into inappropriate or crude topics, but humour is an important tool for boys. It helps them feel comfortable with new concepts or challenges. A wise teacher can use humour to both raise tenor of the class as well as leverage boys' interest in learning.

Challenge: In their desire to release testosterone by winning, boys are drawn to challenge. Challenge works as a learning tool with boys because they crave it and use it to discover things about themselves and their environment. When used in class, it can improve the motivation and resilience of boys when faced with difficult learning tasks.

Mastery: As mentioned last month, boys ask themselves the question "What does it do?" when they look at something. This leads to the desire to understand the way something works so as to master and control it so they can use it. The need for mastery forms the basis for boys' search for challenge. Challenges are often sought precisely because they can help boys develop and demonstrate mastery in areas that are important to them. This in turn drives them to attain the skills necessary to achieve that mastery.

Meaning: Because they want to understand the usefulness of what they learn, boys need to see the reason for it. The oft heard refrain "Why do we have to learn this?" is more than a way for a lazy boy to avoid doing work. It is essential for him to understand the importance and meaning of the task at hand. If a teacher can help him see how his learning fits into the larger picture, a boy will increase his interest and commitment in the classroom.