ALA Program to Attend While in New Orleans: Coretta Scott King Book Awards Breakfast
Monday, June 6, 2011
Innovative Educators: Engaging Lost Males Who Are Academically in Crisis
Engaging Lost Males: Reaching the Neglected Males Who Are Academically in Crisis
Tuesday, June 28 ~ 2:00-3:30pm CDT
“Boys are in trouble. Males at all academic levels are far more likely than females to be disciplined, suspended, held back, or expelled. They also are more likely to be placed into special needs classes. Additionally, males are more likely to smoke, drink, do drugs, repeat a grade, drop out of school and become incarcerated. Males are biologically, developmentally and psychologically different from females, and researchers and educators are now addressing this gender gap. This session will help individuals working in schools evaluate how well they work with males academically, and uncover areas where changes can be made to create friendly academic environments for males.”
~ Iris Strunc
Webinar Presenter
Overview
America's boys are being left behind by current practices in the classroom. Statistically, they are performing less well than they were 10 years ago. According to Michael Gurian and Kathy Stevens, boys account for 70 percent of the D's and F's in schools. Boys also account for two-thirds of disability diagnoses and represent 90 percent of discipline referrals. Additionally, they are dropping out of high schools in significant numbers, failing to complete college degrees and behaving more violently (Gurian & Stevens, 2005). Enrollment of boys in colleges and universities nationwide is declining, and many institutions now worry seriously about the widening gender gap on their campuses, estimated nationally at 56 percent girls versus 44 percent boys in a 2006 U.S. Census Bureau report.
Factors that reflect this unfriendly environment in schools and increase the probability that boys will have difficulty in school include a shortage of male teachers, a persisting belief by members of society that physical ability is valued more than mental ability in boys, the idea that fidgetiness in boys is intolerable in the classroom, the view that hyperactive, competitive boys are usually behavior problems, educators not understanding the neurological differences between males and females and, as a result, seldom accommodating these differences, and instructors who reward sitting still and working quietly. (Coley, 2001) It is vital to track the statistics that influence these trends, and incorporate changes in schools that will bring boys back into an environment that motivates them to learn to succeed.
Another contributing factor to the difficulty males have academically is that males are wired differently than females. Unfortunately, these differences in the brains are rarely addressed in the classroom.
Participants in this session, based on empirical research, will discover how knowledge about the gender gap can impact male students’ affective and metacognitive abilities in school. The presenter will share information about the reasons males learn differently and are not academically successful. The session will include research which presents the cognitive, sensory, physical, social, and emotional differences between genders and will include a Power Point presentation, informational handouts, and practical suggestions to create friendly academic environments for males.
Objectives
Participants will be able to:
gain an understanding and awareness of cognitive gender differences as they relate to education
provide a friendly academic climate responsive to cognitive gender differences
utilize the latest empirical research to improve retention of male students
list, explain, and translate the registers of language
gain an understanding and awareness of the importance of the acquisition of language for male students to succeed academically
educate colleagues about the academic challenges males are facing
discover how to maximize the learning strengths of male students in classes
Who should attend?
Secondary, Developmental, Post-secondary, and Adult Education staff members
Who is the speaker?
Iris Strunc has accumulated more than two decades of teaching and professional development experience from elementary school through the college level. She has been recognized for her effective teaching style at the college, regional, and international level. Ms. Strunc is also a seasoned workshop developer and presenter who brings energy, humor, interaction, and practical ideas to her workshops. She has received degrees from the University of Nebraska and Valdosta State University.
Ms. Strunc has served as a classroom teacher, a reading resource teacher, a teacher of gifted students, and an instructor in elementary, middle, high school, and college classrooms. Additionally, she has taught for the Adult Education Department for Northwest Florida State College (formerly Okaloosa-Walton College) and has served as the advisor/trainer for that department. Currently, she teaches College Success classes, College Preparatory Reading classes, and reading courses for students working towards a Bachelor’s degree in the Teacher Education program at the college. Moreover, as the Coordinator of Educational Support Services at the college, she supervises tutors in the Academic Success Center and the adjuncts who teach College Success courses and reading courses for the college. Ms. Strunc also is recognized as a trainer for the state of Florida in reading, writing, study skills, and learning styles and has presented these topics at numerous conferences. She recently presented at the 4th International Conference on Research in Access and Developmental Education. Finally, Ms. Strunc is a certified trainer for Dr. Ruby Payne’s Understanding Poverty and At Risk Students seminars.
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