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American Morning

Author Discusses 'Boys and Girls Learn Differently!'

Aired April 09, 2001 - 10:39   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: How to bridge the learning gap between boys and girls in the classroom? Many schools have revamped their classes to better teach the sexes, or so they think.

A new book shows how it can be done. It's called "Boys and Girls Learn Differently!: a Guide for Teachers and Parents."

We're joined by the author of this book, educator Michael Gurian, who's in Spokane, Washington, this morning.

How are you doing? Good to see you again -- and nice to talking to you about a more pleasant topic this time around.

MICHAEL GURIAN, FAMILY THERAPIST: Yes, thanks for having me.

HARRIS: Let's begin at the beginning here. The studies up to now -- you can answer this question for me -- have they shown that boys in classes all along have been getting more attention than girls, and that's the reason why the boys have been performing better?

GURIAN: Well, actually, just the opposite: There have been some studies that have created a sort of myth out there like that, but it's not really what's going on in the classrooms. Boys have been getting called on more in classrooms -- that's definitely true, especially in late elementary and middle school. But that doesn't mean they've been performing better; in fact, it's just the opposite. Boys perform worse than girls do, statistically, nationwide.

The classrooms are, actually, set up better for the female brain, mainly by female teachers, who understand the female brain better and have not trained in the male brain. But we kind of have this myth that because teachers were calling on boys more that somehow boys were doing better. But that's really not true.

HARRIS: So tell me what's the difference in the brains here. Is it is a matter of the topic, for instance, math versus arts, or whatever? How does it work?

GURIAN: Well, in "Boys and Girls Learn Differently!" we have tables that show the specific parts of the brain that work differently in boys and girls. So all subjects are covered based on the part of the brain. For instance, memory: The hippocampus works differently for boys and girls. Girls remember some things far better than boys do, and boys remember some things better than girls. And of course, in math and science, boys do little spatial things better than girls do and tend to abstract better than girls do.

Girls tend to read and write better than boys. The math-science gap can be fixed a little more easily than the reading-writing gap. Since math takes place in a certain part of the brain, you can get objects to touch objects and get that part of the brain stimulated, and we can improve that. But reading is a whole brain activity, so it's a little harder to improve reading scores. That's why, right now, boys are 1 1/2 years behind girls in their reading and writing scores in the United States. Girls are about a month or so behind boys in math and science. But really, in every subject, the brain science applies.

HARRIS: That's interesting. So it's a physiological thing. It's not strictly tied up into the environment? Say, for instance, one particular family happens to have different practices at home: That doesn't make the big difference here at all?

GURIAN: They both work together. Neurology and the environment work together, and that's why boys and girls learn differently. The first half lays out the neurology, and then the second half says here's what you do. We did two years of the Gurian Institute in Missouri, and we applied all this, and those teachers then applied the innovations and improved all the test scores, and behavioral problems went down, because they got the training first in the physiology of the brain and then in how to improve things.

For instance, if you let certain boys who are having trouble learning move around, that stimulates the brain. We want to remember that it takes more to stimulate that brain to learn than the female brain. So they would let those boys move around.

Their test scores went up just because of little things like that. And girls who are having trouble with math were given number rolls and objects, and they could learn math better by touching things. They're little things, really.

HARRIS: That's interesting, because in my memories from way back in school, it seems as though teachers wouldn't necessarily let the boys move around or whatever because it seemed like the boys were always causing discipline problems when they did that sort of thing. You're saying this can actually help.

GURIAN: Yes, we have two years of straight proof for that. Different classes are different. There are some teachers who won't let you move around at all, and there are some students who can't get a good grade in those classrooms. That's the reality, but that's the teacher's style. There's another classroom where the teacher lets the kids move around too much, and no one can learn. Obviously, this has to be done in a moderate way, and a clear example is the kid who is driving the class nuts -- who is usually male: If we let him be the one who hands out the papers, sharpens the pencils, and runs the errand to the other classroom for something, that might be enough moving around. He doesn't have to be running around the classroom; that's not what we mean. Just let his body stimulate his brain, and that might be enough.

HARRIS: What about in classes where boys and girls are segregated? Does that make a difference at all?

GURIAN: That can make a difference. Separate-sex education absolutely should be an option in the United States, especially in middle school. It can help in all grades, but in middle school, it's crucial that we experiment with it. We did in Missouri, and we have great results. The reason that middle school is so important is that the kids are going through so many biological and psychosocial changes that it invades learning, and the girls will dumb themselves down to impress the boys, and the boys will do this stuff that you referred to, like raising their hand all the time to get attention. And learning is more difficult. And you and I probably remember, as does everyone listening and viewing, that middle school's a really hard time, and it doesn't have to be as hard if we separate those kids for more of the day than we do.

HARRIS: The last thing I don't get is how you know so much about boys' brains when you have a wife and two daughters.

GURIAN: This is boys and girls. I cover them both, finally.

HARRIS: Michael Gurian, thanks much. It's a fascinating topic and a fascinating book: The book is "Boys and Girls Learn Differently!" Good luck; we hope to talk to you again sometime down the road.

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