First Stretch of the Trip...What is the all boys class really like?

To fully understand how I have approached my driving question, a description of the all boys gender class must be provided.  The gender program at my school has been set up to provide students with an opportunity to be part of a single-gendered classroom.  The gender classes are open to students in grade 7 and 8 but not grade 6.  In grade 6 (or grade 7) teachers may recommend students to the gender program. The goal of the single gender class is to provide students with an alternative learning environment where the pressures of interacting with the other sex are eliminated and to provide lessons that better meet the needs of the students. There is no specific criteria to recommend students to the program, except that this type of learning environment would be best for them.  It has been reinforced though that these classes should not become a place where the challenging students are all placed.  Often, however, this has been the case.  In grade 7, the single gender classes are always a single gender class, whether they are in their homerooms, their switch classes, or on rotary (french and music).  In the past there has been many difficulties with the grade 8 boys on rotary so in their grade 8 year, the girls and boys will come to music as a mixed gender class.  Having taught in both scenarios, the mixed class in grade 8 has been a better experience over all.

The homeroom classrooms of the gender classes are very different.  Typically, the all girls classroom is very neat and organized and full of colour.  The boys classroom is usually very messy and by the end of the day it is always very dirty.  Another significant difference between the two classes is that in the boys classroom there are way less "regular" chairs and desks.  Many of the desks have been modified using plumbing equipment so that the boys can stand when completing their lessons.  There are also many exercise balls in the classroom so that the boys can be more active while learning.

Much research has shown that males and females learn in different ways.  Often boys are referred to special education programs for behaviour issues and this holds true at my school as well.  Research has started to show that single gender classes for the boys has improved their overall performance, increased homework and test results (Piechura-Couture, Heins & Tichenor, 2013). There has been much debate on single gender classes but one school of thought is that by having single gender classes for males, we can reduce the number of boys in special education classrooms. The Boy Factor: Can Single Gender Classes Reduce the Over Representation of Boys In Special Education.  Overall, the gender programs at our school have been quite successful and significant improvements have resulted for most students.  These results are typical as indicated in preliminary research at other schools in the USA.  Over two thirds of parents that completed surveys for an all boys program in the USA indicated that they saw increases in their child's self-confidence, independence and self-efficacy (Rex & Chadwell, 2009).  Single Gender Classrooms Having taught some students in grade 6 and seeing them in the gender class in grade 7, I would mostly agree with this statement.  There are, however, some students that the program did not work well for, and as a result, will not be part of the program in grade 8. 

This is what my classroom looks like after the all boys classroom - this is clean and orderly compared to what it usually looks like when they leave!

Rotary music lessons with last year's group of boys was often challenging, which was also noted by their rotary French teacher in discussions. After collaborating with their homeroom teachers we eventually devised a system that somewhat worked.  Before approaching the homeroom teachers I actually yelled at them one day (I NEVER yell).  They sat their silently and I reasoned with them as to what had to happen to have a class where I could actually teach for five minutes and what needed to happen so that I could trust them to work in groups and not have to worry that they would be rough housing with one another or lock each other in the practice rooms (you really can only be in so many places at once).  I made them write down on paper what I needed to do.  Their answers were mostly "yell at us" and "kick us out", two things that I try to never do.  I must note that I do not have a very loud voice so yelling really hurts! After this conversation and talking with their homeroom and switch

Waiting for the all boys class...

teacher, most lessons went a lot smoother.  They had their moments of weakness, and as a result lost out on classroom parties. I must say that as a group I did really enjoy working with this group.  The class was always very energetic.  If music was on, they were out of their seats (or dancing in their chairs).  They were usually enthusiastic to answer questions, but the problem was they all wanted to answer at the same time and had difficulties listening to one another. When given compositional activities to work on, the students that actually put an effort into what they were created, demonstrated a deeper understanding and had more creative performances than those from other classes. Overall, it was a very unique environment to be working and I want to be able to provide a program that is going to be more engaging for the boys.  My current thoughts on how to do this are by providing more self and peer assessment, having the students have more of a say in the rubrics used to assess them, and by integrating more technology into their daily lessons.  Another area where I plan to grow is in my leadership abilities, specifically in the gender program which will be discussed further in this blog.

Piechura-Couture, K., Heins, E., & Tichenor, M. (2013). The Boy Factor: Can Single-Gender Classes Reduce The Over-Representation of Boys in Special Education?. College Student Journal, 47(2), 235-243.

Rex, J., & Chadwell, D. (2009). Single-Gender Classrooms. School Administrator, 66(8), 28-33.