Boys’ and girls’ brains may appear to be the same; but they are indeed somewhat different. Understanding the uniqueness of the male and female brain can help educators create opportunities to engage all learners in their classrooms.

Boys are held back in school twice as often as girls. They are expelled from preschool five times as often. Boys are diagnosed with learning disabilities and attention problems at four times the rate of girls. As they get older, boys are more likely to drop out of school, while comprising only 43 percent of today’s college students. As a result, millions of boys are being lost along the path to academic success and career achievement in today’s knowledge economy.

Girls are doing far better than boys academically, but girl drama is a real concern in schools. Bullying and relational aggression have been identified as issues among girls for a number of years. But with the explosion of social media, relational aggression among girls has intensified exponentially. By the age of 11, a majority of North American girls owns a smart phone. While boys are more likely to spend their time on gaming and porn, girls are far more active users of social media – with increased exposure to the associated dangers of anxiety, depression, cyberbullying and self-image issues.

This strategy-packed one-day seminar will help attendees understand the neuroscience underlying the differences in how boys and girls relate to each other, to their teachers, and to academic tasks. Author, teacher, counselor and international speaker Steph Jensen will explore the latest research regarding how both boys and girls can be productively engaged in their learning. She will explore multiple specific strategies for activating the interest of boys and concrete solutions for preventing girl drama.