Gaming to re-engage boys in learning | Ali Carr-Chellman | TEDxPSU
-
0:01 - 0:04So I'm here to tell you
that we have a problem with boys, -
0:04 - 0:06and it's a serious problem with boys.
-
0:07 - 0:09Their culture isn't working in schools,
-
0:09 - 0:11and I'm going to share with you ways
-
0:11 - 0:14that we can think
about overcoming that problem. -
0:14 - 0:17First, I want to start
by saying, this is a boy, -
0:17 - 0:20and this is a girl,
-
0:20 - 0:23and this is probably stereotypically
what you think of as a boy and a girl. -
0:23 - 0:27If I essentialize gender for you today,
then you can dismiss what I have to say. -
0:27 - 0:30So I'm not going to do that,
I'm not interested in doing that. -
0:30 - 0:33This is a different kind of boy
and a different kind of girl. -
0:33 - 0:38So the point here is that not all boys
exist within these rigid boundaries -
0:38 - 0:40of what we think of as boys and girls,
-
0:40 - 0:43and not all girls exist
within those rigid boundaries -
0:43 - 0:44of what we think of as girls.
-
0:44 - 0:48But, in fact, most boys
tend to be a certain way, -
0:48 - 0:50and most girls tend to be a certain way.
-
0:50 - 0:52And the point is that, for boys,
-
0:52 - 0:55the way that they exist
and the culture that they embrace -
0:55 - 0:58isn't working well in schools now.
-
0:58 - 0:59How do we know that?
-
0:59 - 1:04The 100 girls project
tells us some really nice statistics. -
1:04 - 1:07For example, for every 100 girls
that are suspended from school, -
1:07 - 1:10there are 250 boys
that are suspended from school. -
1:10 - 1:13For every 100 girls
who are expelled from school, -
1:13 - 1:16there are 335 boys
who are expelled from school. -
1:16 - 1:18For every 100 girls in special education,
-
1:18 - 1:20there are 217 boys.
-
1:21 - 1:23For every 100 girls
with a learning disability, -
1:23 - 1:25there are 276 boys.
-
1:25 - 1:30For every 100 girls
with an emotional disturbance diagnosed, -
1:30 - 1:32we have 324 boys.
-
1:32 - 1:35And by the way, all of these numbers
are significantly higher -
1:35 - 1:37if you happen to be black,
-
1:37 - 1:38if you happen to be poor,
-
1:38 - 1:41if you happen to exist
in an overcrowded school. -
1:42 - 1:44And if you are a boy,
-
1:44 - 1:48you're four times as likely
to be diagnosed with ADHD -- -
1:48 - 1:51Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
-
1:51 - 1:54Now there is another side to this.
-
1:54 - 2:00And it is important that we recognize
that women still need help in school, -
2:00 - 2:02that salaries are still
significantly lower, -
2:02 - 2:04even when controlled for job types,
-
2:04 - 2:08and that girls have continued to struggle
in math and science for years. -
2:09 - 2:10That's all true.
-
2:10 - 2:12Nothing about that prevents us
-
2:12 - 2:14from paying attention
to the literacy needs -
2:14 - 2:16of our boys between ages three and 13.
-
2:17 - 2:18And so we should.
-
2:18 - 2:21In fact, what we ought to do
is take a page from their playbook, -
2:21 - 2:25because the initiatives and programs
that have been set in place -
2:25 - 2:29for women in science and engineering
and mathematics are fantastic. -
2:29 - 2:33They've done a lot of good
for girls in these situations, -
2:33 - 2:37and we ought to be thinking about
how we can make that happen for boys too -
2:37 - 2:38in their younger years.
-
2:39 - 2:41Even in their older years,
-
2:41 - 2:43what we find is that
there's still a problem. -
2:44 - 2:45When we look at the universities,
-
2:45 - 2:4860 percent of baccalaureate degrees
are going to women now, -
2:48 - 2:50which is a significant shift.
-
2:50 - 2:54And in fact, university administrators
are a little uncomfortable about the idea -
2:54 - 2:59that we may be getting close to 70 percent
female population in universities. -
2:59 - 3:01This makes university
administrators very nervous, -
3:01 - 3:04because girls don't want to go
to schools that don't have boys. -
3:07 - 3:09And so we're starting to see
-
3:09 - 3:12the establishment of men centers
and men studies -
3:12 - 3:16to think about how do we engage men
in their experiences in the university. -
3:16 - 3:19If you talk to faculty,
they may say, "Ugh. Yeah, well, -
3:19 - 3:20they're playing video games,
-
3:21 - 3:23and they're gambling
online all night long, -
3:24 - 3:25and they're playing World of Warcraft,
-
3:25 - 3:29and that's affecting
their academic achievement." -
3:30 - 3:32Guess what?
-
3:32 - 3:34Video games are not the cause.
-
3:34 - 3:36Video games are a symptom.
-
3:36 - 3:41They were turned off a long time
before they got here. -
3:41 - 3:44So let's talk about
why they got turned off -
3:44 - 3:47when they were between the ages
of three and 13. -
3:47 - 3:49There are three reasons that I believe
-
3:49 - 3:52that boys are out of sync
with the culture of schools today. -
3:53 - 3:55The first is zero tolerance.
-
3:55 - 4:00A kindergarten teacher I know,
her son donated all of his toys to her, -
4:00 - 4:06and when he did, she had to go through
and pull out all the little plastic guns. -
4:07 - 4:09You can't have plastic knives
and swords and axes -
4:10 - 4:13and all that kind of thing
in a kindergarten classroom. -
4:13 - 4:17What is it that we're afraid that this
young man is going to do with this gun? -
4:17 - 4:18I mean, really.
-
4:19 - 4:21But here he stands as testament
-
4:21 - 4:24to the fact that you can't roughhouse
on the playground today. -
4:24 - 4:26Now I'm not advocating for bullies.
-
4:26 - 4:32I'm not suggesting that we need to be
allowing guns and knives in the school. -
4:32 - 4:36But when we say that an Eagle Scout
in a high school classroom -
4:36 - 4:39who has a locked parked car
in the parking lot and a penknife in it, -
4:39 - 4:41has to be suspended from school,
-
4:41 - 4:45I think we may have gone
a little too far with zero tolerance. -
4:45 - 4:47Another way that zero tolerance
lives itself out -
4:47 - 4:48is in the writing of boys.
-
4:48 - 4:50In a lot of classrooms today,
-
4:50 - 4:52you're not allowed to write
about anything that's violent. -
4:52 - 4:56You're not allowed to write about anything
that has to do with video games. -
4:56 - 4:57These topics are banned.
-
4:57 - 4:59Boy comes home from school, and he says,
-
4:59 - 5:01"I hate writing."
-
5:01 - 5:03"Why do you hate writing, son?
What's wrong with writing?" -
5:03 - 5:06"Now I have to write
what she tells me to write." -
5:06 - 5:08"OK, what is she telling you to write?"
-
5:08 - 5:10"Poems. I have to write poems.
-
5:10 - 5:12And little moments in my life.
-
5:13 - 5:14I don't want to write that stuff."
-
5:15 - 5:17"Well, what do you want to write?
-
5:17 - 5:18What do you want to write about?"
-
5:18 - 5:21"I want to write about video games.
I want to write about leveling-up. -
5:21 - 5:24I want to write about
this really interesting world. -
5:24 - 5:27I want to write about a tornado
that comes into our house -
5:27 - 5:28and blows all the windows out,
-
5:28 - 5:31and ruins all the furniture
and kills everybody." -
5:31 - 5:32"All right. OK."
-
5:32 - 5:36You tell a teacher that,
and they'll ask you, in all seriousness, -
5:36 - 5:39"Should we send this child
to the psychologist?" -
5:40 - 5:42And the answer is no, he's just a boy.
-
5:43 - 5:44He's just a little boy.
-
5:45 - 5:49It's not OK to write these kinds of things
in classrooms today. -
5:50 - 5:51So that's the first reason:
-
5:51 - 5:54Zero tolerance policies
and the way they're lived out. -
5:54 - 5:57The next reason that boys' cultures
are out of sync with school cultures: -
5:57 - 5:59there are fewer male teachers.
-
5:59 - 6:01Anybody who's over 15
doesn't know what this means, -
6:01 - 6:03because in the last 10 years,
-
6:03 - 6:07the number of elementary school
classroom teachers has been cut in half. -
6:07 - 6:10We went from 14 percent to seven percent.
-
6:11 - 6:13That means that 93 percent of the teachers
-
6:13 - 6:16that our young men get in elementary
classrooms are women. -
6:17 - 6:19Now what's the problem with this?
-
6:20 - 6:22Women are great, yep, absolutely.
-
6:22 - 6:27But male role models for boys
that say it's all right to be smart -- -
6:27 - 6:30they've got dads, they've got pastors,
they've got Cub Scout leaders, -
6:30 - 6:34but ultimately, six hours a day,
five days a week -
6:34 - 6:36they're spending in a classroom,
-
6:36 - 6:39and most of those classrooms
are not places where men exist. -
6:39 - 6:43And so they say, I guess this really
isn't a place for boys. -
6:43 - 6:45This is a place for girls.
-
6:45 - 6:46And I'm not very good at this,
-
6:46 - 6:50so I guess I'd better go play video games
-
6:50 - 6:52or get into sports,
or something like that, -
6:52 - 6:54because I obviously don't belong here.
-
6:54 - 6:56Men don't belong here,
that's pretty obvious. -
6:56 - 7:00So that may be a very direct way
that we see it happen. -
7:00 - 7:04But less directly, the lack of male
presence in the culture -- -
7:04 - 7:08you've got a teachers' lounge,
and they're having a conversation -
7:08 - 7:12about Joey and Johnny
who beat each other up on the playground. -
7:12 - 7:14"What are we going to do with these boys?"
-
7:14 - 7:16The answer to that question changes
-
7:16 - 7:18depending on who's sitting
around that table. -
7:18 - 7:19Are there men around that table?
-
7:19 - 7:22Are there moms who've raised boys
around that table? -
7:22 - 7:24You'll see, the conversation changes
-
7:24 - 7:26depending upon who's sitting
around the table. -
7:26 - 7:29Third reason that boys
are out of sync with school today: -
7:29 - 7:31Kindergarten is the old
second grade, folks. -
7:31 - 7:35We have a serious compression
of the curriculum happening out there. -
7:35 - 7:38When you're three, you better be able
to write your name legibly, -
7:38 - 7:41or else we'll consider it
a developmental delay. -
7:41 - 7:43By the time you're in first grade,
-
7:43 - 7:46you should be able to read
paragraphs of text -
7:46 - 7:49with maybe a picture, maybe not,
in a book of maybe 25 to 30 pages. -
7:49 - 7:50If you don't,
-
7:50 - 7:54we're probably going to be putting you
into a Title I special reading program. -
7:54 - 7:56And if you ask Title I teachers,
they'll tell you -
7:57 - 8:00they've got about four or five boys
for every girl that's in their program, -
8:00 - 8:01in the elementary grades.
-
8:01 - 8:03The reason that this is a problem
-
8:03 - 8:06is because the message
that boys are getting -
8:06 - 8:11is, "You need to do what the teacher
asks you to do all the time." -
8:11 - 8:15The teacher's salary depends
on "No Child Left Behind" -
8:15 - 8:18and "Race to the Top"
and accountability and testing -
8:18 - 8:20and all of this.
-
8:20 - 8:24So she has to figure out a way
to get all these boys -
8:24 - 8:27through this curriculum -- and girls.
-
8:28 - 8:31This compressed curriculum is bad
for all active kids. -
8:32 - 8:34And what happens is,
-
8:34 - 8:39she says, "Please, sit down,
be quiet, do what you're told, -
8:39 - 8:44follow the rules, manage your time,
focus, be a girl." -
8:45 - 8:47That's what she tells them.
-
8:47 - 8:49Indirectly, that's what she tells them.
-
8:49 - 8:51And so this is a very serious problem.
-
8:51 - 8:53Where is it coming from?
It's coming from us. -
8:53 - 8:56(Laughter)
-
8:57 - 9:00We want our babies to read
when they are six months old. -
9:00 - 9:01Have you seen the ads?
-
9:01 - 9:06We want to live in Lake Wobegon
where every child is above average ... -
9:06 - 9:10but what this does to our children
is really not healthy. -
9:10 - 9:12It's not developmentally appropriate,
-
9:12 - 9:14and it's particularly bad for boys.
-
9:14 - 9:15So what do we do?
-
9:16 - 9:18We need to meet them where they are.
-
9:18 - 9:20We need to put ourselves into boy culture.
-
9:20 - 9:25We need to change the mindset
of acceptance in boys -
9:25 - 9:27in elementary schools.
-
9:27 - 9:30More specifically, we can do
some very specific things. -
9:30 - 9:32We can design better games.
-
9:32 - 9:35Most of the educational games
that are out there today -
9:35 - 9:36are really flashcards.
-
9:36 - 9:38They're glorified drill and practice.
-
9:38 - 9:41They don't have the depth,
the rich narrative -
9:41 - 9:44that really engaging video games have,
-
9:44 - 9:46that the boys are really interested in.
-
9:46 - 9:48So we need to design better games.
-
9:48 - 9:51We need to talk to teachers and parents
and school board members and politicians. -
9:52 - 9:55We need to make sure that people see
that we need more men in the classroom. -
9:55 - 9:58We need to look carefully
at our zero tolerance policies. -
9:58 - 9:59Do they make sense?
-
9:59 - 10:03We need to think about how to uncompress
this curriculum if we can, -
10:03 - 10:06trying to bring boys back into a space
that is comfortable for them. -
10:07 - 10:09All of those conversations
need to be happening. -
10:09 - 10:12There are some great examples
out there of schools -- -
10:12 - 10:16the New York Times
just talked about a school recently. -
10:16 - 10:18A game designer from the New School
-
10:18 - 10:21put together a wonderful
video gaming school. -
10:21 - 10:26But it only treats a few kids,
and so this isn't very scalable. -
10:26 - 10:28We have to change the culture
and the feelings -
10:28 - 10:33that politicians and school board
members and parents have -
10:33 - 10:36about the way we accept
and what we accept in our schools today. -
10:36 - 10:38We need to find more money
for game design. -
10:38 - 10:41Because good games,
really good games, cost money, -
10:41 - 10:43and World of Warcraft has quite a budget.
-
10:43 - 10:45Most of the educational games do not.
-
10:45 - 10:46Where we started:
-
10:46 - 10:49my colleagues Mike Petner,
Shawn Vashaw, myself, -
10:49 - 10:52we started by trying to look
at the teachers' attitudes -
10:52 - 10:54and find out how do they really
feel about gaming, -
10:54 - 10:55what do they say about it.
-
10:55 - 11:00And we discovered that they talk
about the kids in their school, -
11:00 - 11:03who talk about gaming,
in pretty demeaning ways. -
11:04 - 11:07They say, "Oh, yeah. They're always
talking about that stuff. -
11:07 - 11:09They're talking
about their little action figures -
11:09 - 11:11and their little achievements
or merit badges, -
11:12 - 11:14or whatever it is that they get.
-
11:14 - 11:16And they're always talking
about this stuff." -
11:16 - 11:18And they say these things as if it's OK.
-
11:18 - 11:21But if it were your culture,
think of how that might feel. -
11:21 - 11:23It's very uncomfortable
to be on the receiving end -
11:23 - 11:26of that kind of language.
-
11:26 - 11:29They're nervous about anything
that has anything to do with violence -
11:29 - 11:31because of the zero tolerance policies.
-
11:31 - 11:33They are sure that parents
and administrators -
11:33 - 11:35will never accept anything.
-
11:35 - 11:37So we really need to think
about looking at teacher attitudes -
11:37 - 11:40and finding ways to change the attitudes,
-
11:40 - 11:44so that teachers are much more open
and accepting of boy cultures -
11:44 - 11:45in their classrooms.
-
11:45 - 11:48Because, ultimately, if we don't,
-
11:48 - 11:51then we're going to have boys
who leave elementary school saying, -
11:51 - 11:54"Well I guess that was just
a place for girls, it wasn't for me. -
11:54 - 11:57So I've got to do gaming,
or I've got to do sports." -
11:57 - 12:00If we change these things,
if we pay attention to these things, -
12:00 - 12:02and we reengage boys in their learning,
-
12:02 - 12:05they will leave the elementary
schools saying, "I'm smart." -
12:06 - 12:07Thank you.
-
12:07 - 12:10(Applause)
- Title:
- Gaming to re-engage boys in learning | Ali Carr-Chellman | TEDxPSU
- Description:
-
Ali Carr-Chellman is an instructional designer and award-winning author who has focused on change, innovations, diffusion, user-design and school change in her work over the past two decades. She has worked at Penn State in the College of Education for the past 16 years in the department of Learning and Performance Systems. She works primarily with doctoral level students focusing on research and producing the next generation of faculty with inspired research ideas and methods. Carr-Chellman also teaches online courses focused on helping practicing teachers learn how to improve their own instructional design practices and how to improve their classrooms.
Carr-Chellman attended Ohio State University, where she studied elementary education. She then moved on to Syracuse, where she taught kindergarten and third grade. She discovered Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation, known as IDD&E, at Syracuse and earned her master's degree in that field while working full-time at a Sylvan Learning Center as a director. Carr-Chellman decided that traditional elementary classrooms weren't for her, in part because she was highly frustrated by the lack of innovation, agility, and ready change in traditional schools.
She has an infectious enthusiasm that carried her well into her doctoral program at Indiana University. Her most recent research projects live those values out by asking prisoners and homeless people to think about how to reform schools, bringing new voices to the policy-making table.
She has recently taken the position of Head of the Learning and Performance Systems Department in the College of Education and is excited to work with the faculty and staff in her department through transparent leadership and shared governance.
About TEDx, x = independently organized event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 13:15
TED Translators admin edited English subtitles for Gaming to re-engage boys in learning | Ali Carr-Chellman | TEDxPSU | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for Gaming to re-engage boys in learning | Ali Carr-Chellman | TEDxPSU | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for Gaming to re-engage boys in learning | Ali Carr-Chellman | TEDxPSU |