We’ve had this discussion before and I’ve maintained that the evidence did not support the findings of gender differentiation. This just in:
Boys’ And Girls’ Brains Are Different: Gender Differences In Language Appear Biological
For the first time — and in unambiguous findings — researchers from Northwestern University and the University of Haifa show both that areas of the brain associated with language work harder in girls than in boys during language tasks, and that boys and girls rely on different parts of the brain when performing these tasks.
In kids 9-15, language processing appears to be different between boys and girls. For girls, the correlations are with the language processing areas of the brain, but for boys it’s with the sensory areas. This could be the missing piece of the pie and the implications could be far reaching.
March 7th, 2008 at 8:05 PM
I think I am understanding the article correctly to say that girls are more abstract thinkers than boys. That boys will need a second to visualize a picture when they hear a word? Is that what it is saying, because if it is that is the opposite of what I have always though, especially in math. Most of our well known mathematicians are males and thus usually capable of thinking abstractly to come up with the information or discoveries that they did. They kept discussing Language. I assume that means hearing the teacher speak is easier for girls to comprehend then boys?? I can believe that one. Let me know, I may not have read the article right.
March 7th, 2008 at 10:39 PM
I’m not one to argue with Science, but I can discuss my observations in the classroom when it comes to teaching Language Arts to both boys and girls. Honestly, I do not see a major discrepancy between boys and girls when it comes to reading and writing. I teach and assess them both in the same ways. Boys’ grades are usually up to par with the girls’ grades. This year, I am actually seeing more of my boys out performing my girls when it comes to Reading and Writing.
I know that there are many biological differences between males and females, but I still believe that cultural factors play a role in learning on the part of both boys and girls.
March 7th, 2008 at 11:17 PM
The point is that performance accuracy on the task (and I didn’t look to see what that performance was) is correlated with different areas of the brain.
For girls, regardless of whether or not they read or heard the word, the accuracy was correlated with the activation of the language areas of the brain. This is what one might expect in dealing with a language task.
For boys, the accuracy correlation was NOT with language, but with the level of activation in the sensory area corresponding to encoding. If they heard the word, then level of activation of hearing center mattered. If the read the word, then the level of activation of the visual areas of the brain mattered. The level of activation of language areas did not come into play.
For girls, accuracy depended on activation of language areas. For boys, it depended on sensory activation – NOT language.
The interesting issue here is that you have to get your message to register with boys, and if you DO, then you’re more likely to succeed. With girls, you only have to have it perceived. Myself, I think this is more about sensory thresholds than cognitive processing, but it’s sure interesting.
March 8th, 2008 at 12:53 PM
[...] http://durandus.com/phaedrus/2008/03/07/gender-differences-in-language/ the article talks about biological differences being responsible for different ways girls and boys [...]
March 8th, 2008 at 7:56 PM
[...] girls I have taught, but I never could find any research to back my observations. This article on Phaedrus’s blog discusses how boys may have a bottleneck effect for obtaining visual and auditory information [...]
March 9th, 2008 at 12:56 AM
This research certainly could change the way we teach and assess boys. There are signigicant gaps in performance levels among boys and girls in my school and this could be the reason why.