Education is not a bystanders sport. Numerous researchers have shown that when students participate in classroom discussion they hold more positive attitudes toward school, and that positive attitudes promote learning. It is no coincidence that girls are more passive in the classroom discussion and score lower than boys on SATs.
We found that at all grade levels in all communities and in all subject areas boys controlled classroom communication. They participated in more interactions than girls did, and their participation became greater as the year went on.
Our research contradicted the traditional assumption that girls control classroom communication in reading while boys in math. We found that whether the subject was language arts and English or math and science, boys got more than their fair share of teacher attention. That teachers talk more to male students is simply because boys are more aggressive in grabbing their attention by calling out answers to the teachers' questions first. While girls sit patiently with their hands raised or keep silent. Psychologist Lisa Serbin and K.Daniel O'Leary, then at the state university of New York at stony brook studied classroom interaction at preschool level and found that teachers gave boys more attention, praised them more often and were at least twice as likely to have extended conversations with them.
Years of experience have shown that the best way to learn something is to do it yourself. It is also important to give students specific and direct feedback about the quality of their work and answers. Teachers behave differently depending on whether boys or girls are active to provide answers during discussions. During classroom discussion, teachers in our study reacted to boys answers with powerful, precise and effective responses, while they often gave girls mild and unclear reactions because of their silence. Too often, girls remain in the dark about the quality of their answers. Active students receiving precise feedback are more likely to achieve academically. And they are more likely to be boys.
This kind of communication game is played at work, as well as at school. As reported in numerous studies, it goes like this.
Men speak more often and frequently interrupt women.
Listeners recall more from male speakers than from female speakers, even when both use a similar speaking style and cover the same content.
Women participate less actively in conversation. They do more smiling and gazing, and they are more often the passive by standers in professional and social conversations among peers.
Women often their own statements into unsure comments. This is accomplished by using qualifiers and by adding tag question. These uncertain patterns weaken impact and signal a lack of power and influence.
Only when girls are active and treated equally in the classroom will they be more likely to achieve equality in the workplace.
