SINGLE-GENDER CLASSROOM IN MIDDLE SCHOOLS

Single-Gender Classroom in Middle Schools

Single-Gender Classroom in Middle Schools

Single-gender schools were once commonplace in the United States. No one disputes that middle level learning is a critical time when students are in transition. Middle-level educators know that students have needs distinctly different from elementary or high school students (Ecker, 2002; Tomlinson, Moon, & Callahan, 1998). It is a time when students are changing physically, emotionally and intellectually faster than at any other time in their lives. It is also a time when students need to experience success and increase their self-esteem. Yet, this growth needs to be structured with opportunities for choice and designed with an accountability plan. In this way, a school district's curriculum team can study what is working and what needs to be changed in order to foster effective learning (Ecker, 2002). This time is also compounded by the reality that middle-level students face comprehensive standardized tests in the core academic areas of English/Language Arts (ELA), science, social studies, and mathematics. Funding issues associated with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation (2002) drive the frenzy to score high on these tests. The legislation seeks to ensure that every child is taught by highly qualified teachers and holding school districts accountable through assessment measures. The ultimate intent for NCLB legislation is for schools to close the achievement gap, especially for students labeled as disadvantaged, ensuring that all students are successful in the core academic areas.

Despite a rich body of educational investigation that shows males and females act and learn differently in social settings (e.g., Lueptow, 1984, Sadker & Sadker, 1988), teachers often fail to appreciate the important difference gender makes in learning, especially when students are in a mixed-gender classroom (Sadker, 2002; Zittleman & Sadker, 2003). Tomlinson (2001) found that because males and females learn differently, it is important to differentiate instruction. More males than females tend to prefer competitive learning, while females tend to prefer cooperative learning. The author, however, notes that it important not to generalize these learning differences to all males or females. Differences in gender have also been associated with various tendencies in how students take in information, process information, and communicate their ideas. Researchers have also observed differences in how the two genders tended to express their information. Females tend to express themselves verbally while males tend to express themselves through graphic representations (Schmuck, 1993). Perceptions about gender differences have important implications for educational expectations by teachers, parents, and students themselves. Males traditionally have the expectation to achieve well in mathematics and physical sciences. Females are more likely to be expected to achieve in English and social sciences (Butler & Lee, 1998; Flood, Bates, & Potter, 2000). This trend, however, is changing and now girls are" catching up in math" (Conlin, 2003). Brain research has also supported findings that an average male is already developmentally two years behind females in reading and writing when he enters the first days of school. By grade four, girls score higher nationally on ...