Transcript Center for Research on Girls (CRG) at Laurel School

How Girls Learn:
Putting Research to Work
Center for Research on Girls
(CRG) at Laurel School
CRG’s mission and vision
• CRG is a bridge between schools and
academic research
• Doctors update their practice based
on the latest research results…
• …teachers should too!
CRG…
Develops progressive educational
initiatives and curricula based on cuttingedge academic research
Sponsors original research studies on the
development and education of girls
Connects faculty and parents to wellestablished and highly salient and
meaningful research on girls and their
education.
CRG:Educational Programming
• 2007-2008 Initiatives:
Girls & Mathematics
– Primary School: Spatial skills
– Middle School: Growth mindset
– Upper School: Stereotype threat
Primary School: Spatial Skills
• What the research shows:
– Boys outperform girls on math problems
that require spatial skills
– Gender differences in spatial skills emerge
by first grade
– Spatial skills are trainable
Primary School: Spatial Skills
• In-class activities
– Tangrams
– Pentominoes
• Mix-It-Up Day
– 3-D Construction
– Mapping the school
• Game Hall
• CRG Rubik’s cubes
Middle School: Growth Mindset
• What the research shows
– Girls are more likely than boys to develop a “fixed
mindset”
– Girls are more likely than boys to back away from
difficult material because of their “fixed mindset”
– Students can be trained to develop a “growth
mindset”
– Doing so increases academic achievement
Middle School:Growth Mindset
• Brain Training
• Brain Bowl
Brain Training
The new science of intelligence
View from the past
• We used to think that
brains were a lot like
skeletal structures:
– You’re born with
everything you’ll ever
have.
– No matter what you
do, nothing new is
added over time.
What we know now
• Brains are a lot like
muscles:
– What you’re born with
is just a start
– What you do makes a
big difference in how
your muscles and
brain grow and
develop!
There are four important
ways that muscles and
brains are alike.
Similarity #1
• Muscles and brains
have tiny structures
that grow and multiply.
Muscles have fibers….
• that contract when
the muscle is put to
work.
• Your muscles grow
as the fibers get
bigger new fibers
are added.
Brains have neurons…
• that are activated
when the brain is in
use.
• Your brain grows as
neurons get denser
and new neurons
are added.
What’s a neuron?
• The brain is made up of
billions of neurons that
work together to run our
bodies and our minds.
• 30,000 neurons can fit on
the head of a pin.
• Neurons are cells that
share information with
each other.
How do neurons share information?
• Neurons communicate by
passing along an
electrical impulse.
• Electrical impulses are
passed from one neuron
to the next through the
release of chemicals
called neurotransmitters.
How do neurons get denser
with use?
• Under heavy use,
neurons develop
new dendrites so
that they can
communicate more
efficiently with each
other.
Before
effort
After
effort
How do neurons
increase in number?
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The human brain constantly
generates progenitor cells that
can turn into neurons.
A brain that is learning needs
to add neurons to store and
communicate the new
information.
This process by which a
progenitor cell becomes a
neuron is called
neurogenesis.
How do we know that brains
grow as we learn?
• Animal studies prove that
the brain grows when
challenged.
• Rats raised in enriched
cages have brains that
are 10% heavier than the
brains of rats raised in
plain cages.
Similarity #2
• Muscles and brains only
develop when challenged
by increasingly difficult
tasks.
To develop bigger muscles…
• You need to lift
heavier and
heavier
weights.
To develop your brain…
• You need to do
harder and
harder work.
• Developing muscles and
developing your brain is
challenging and
sometimes uncomfortable.
Muscles only develop…
• When pushed
past the point
of comfort.
Brains only develop…
• When pushed
past the point
of comfort.
Similarity #3
• Building muscles and
building your brain
takes time and
sustained effort.
Sustained effort is required…
• to build muscle
size and
• to train muscles
to develop new
skills.
Sustained effort is required…
• to build new
connections
between neurons
and
• to integrate new
neurons into old
neural pathways.
How do we know that sustained
effort builds your brain?
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Buddhist monks spend thousands of
hours engaged in meditation, the art
of carefully observing one’s own
mental processes.
Areas of the brain associated with
attention and sensory processing
are much thicker in the brains of
monks than in the brains of people
who don’t meditate.
Similarity #4
• All girls can build their
muscles and their
brains.
• Muscles and
brains start
small in
everyone and
grow with
use.
Babies’ muscles start small and weak and
get bigger and stronger with use.
Brains become denser and more complex as
new mental skills are developed.
Building muscle….
• makes you
stronger!
• Your new
muscles can
help you do all
sorts of things.
Building your brain…
• makes you
smarter!
• Your increased
intelligence can
help you in all
of your classes.
How are muscles and brains alike?
1. Both have tiny structures that GROW AND
MULTIPLY.
2. These structures only develop when
CHALLENGED by difficult tasks.
3. Both muscles and brains require
SUSTAINED EFFORT in order to develop.
4. ALL GIRLS can build their muscles AND
their brains.
Profound Impact on Environment
• Worked with faculty to change
students’ response to “road
blocks”
• “I can’t” changes to “That
muscle is still growing”
• Encourages persistence,
cultivates belief in intellectual
growth
Upper School: Stereotype Threat
• Claude Steele and the discovery of
stereotype threat
– Well-known phenomenon in psychology
departments
– Virtually unknown anywhere else
Upper School: Stereotype Threat
• What the research shows:
– Members of negatively stereotyped groups tend to
underperform in situations that have the potential
to confirm the negative stereotype - a
phenomenon known as stereotype threat
– Stereotype threat suppresses girls’ performance
on math tests
– Interventions can shield students from stereotype
threat
Upper School: Stereotype Threat
• CRG educational
programming for
girls
– Stereotype threat
education
– G.A.T.O.R.S. pencils
Stereotypes and
“Stereotype Threat”
The discovery of “stereotype
threat”
What is “stereotype threat”?
• When a person’s ability is suppressed
by anxiety about confirming a negative
stereotype.
What if you don’t believe the
stereotype?
• Individuals do not need to believe in a
negative stereotype in order to be
threatened by the fear of confirming it.
• They just need to know that other
people believe it.
Anticipating “Stereotype Threat”
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Asian Women
Asian Men
Latina Women
Latino Men
Caucasian Women
Caucasian Men
• African-American
Women
• African-American
Men
• Middle Eastern
Women
• Middle Eastern Men
How does “stereotype threat”
suppress performance?
• People become anxious when put in
situations where they fear that they
might confirm a negative stereotype.
Why is increased anxiety a
problem?
• Instead of accurately attributing their
anxiety to “stereotype threat,” people
assume that their anxiety arises from
the difficulty of the situation (“test
anxiety”).
How does anxiety
influence test-taking?
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It increases negative thoughts
It increases physiological arousal
It reduces working memory capacity
It reduces performance expectations
It can increase OR reduce effort
What conditions trigger
“stereotype threat”?
• An individual’s awareness of a negative
stereotype
• An individual’s wish to disprove the stereotype
• A challenging test
• A variable that “triggers” the stereotype
• Remember: this whole process is subconscious!
How can “stereotype threat”
be prevented?
• By teaching members of negatively
stereotyped groups about the effects of
“stereotype threat”
– Doing so explains away anxiety and
improves test performance!
How else can “stereotype
threat” be prevented?
• By equipping members of stereotyped
groups with stereotype-busting
information!
G.A.T.O.R.S.!
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Grades - girls get higher grades than boys
All-girls education - girls from single-sex schools outperform boys and
girls from coed schools on standardized tests
Tests of math and science - Laurel girls score 20% higher than the
national average on math and science ACTs
Only Laurel teaches girls how to ward off the effects of stereotype
threat
Reading and English - Laurel girls score 26% higher than the national
average on reading and English ACTs
S.A.T. - Laurel girls score 20% higher than the national average on the
SAT and 5% higher than the independent school average
Putting it all together
• Be AWARE of the negative stereotypes that apply to
you
• Be ALERT for situations that might trigger stereotype
threat
• ATTRIBUTE ANXIETY to the stereotype threat (not to
a lack of ability/preparation on your part)
• Remember: Your ACTUAL ABILITY has nothing to
do with the stereotype
Stereotype Threat for Teachers
• What teachers need
to know
• “Shielding Students
from Stereotype
Threat: A guide for
teachers”
• laurelschool.org/abo
ut/CRGProductsand
Services.cfm
What’s Next?
• Sharing our work
– CRG Symposium, July 2009
– To learn more and/or register go to:
www.laurelschool.org/crg
• 2008-2009 Initiative
– Promoting girls’ interest in technology and
engineering