Saturday, November 8th, 2008...5:25 pm
Are Females Better at Blogging Than Males?
“Gender Stereotyping” Photo: Aislinn Ritchie
Last year when I blogged with my students I noticed no difference in the success females had versus males. Both were equally productive at writing posts and comments and earning a 100 on the project. This year, females in the class have been doing better on the blog than males. However, I attribute this to just sheer coincidence. I don’t have a large enough sample size (62 students last year and 50 students this year) in which to really notice any trend.
I’m disturbed by the (albeit few) number of people who recently said to me that females are doing better on the blog because of their gender. It seems like such a cop-out; an excuse to not work on the blog. “I can’t do this because I’m male.” Is this really a positive thing for male students to believe?
If this type of attitude is allowed (which is nothing more than adherence to a gender stereotype), is it fair for a female to say, “Sorry, I’m not going to do that hands-on lab very well because I’m a female”?
Now, let me be perfectly clear. I don’t believe any of this.
Blogging involves:
- having discussions with peers, mentors, and experts
- learning how to conduct proper research and find credible sources
- learning how to write reports and include citations
- improving literacy skills
- debating controversies and discussing innovative solutions to problems
Is a male going to be able to tell his college professor or his boss when asked to write a report or discuss a problem, “Sorry, I can’t do that because I’m male”?
I’d like to hear from other teachers who have students that blog and find out if there is actually any evidence supporting this belief.
I don’t buy it.
5 Comments
November 9th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
I’m just back from a conference in which I heard Kenneth Wesson speaking about brain research. According to Wesson, (http://tinyurl.com/6hch6p) females have around 11% more brain cells than males, giving them a “distinct neurological advantage in language-related abilities.”
Even so, saying “I can’t” is an unacceptable response for males, because they can. Males and females are indeed different, but we need to hear from both perspectives. If “I can’t” were true, there would be no male writers, and it doesn’t take much research to see that is not the case.
November 9th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
My experience with my 27 grade 6 bloggers (blogging for less than 2 months) is that gender isn’t correlated to their success.
Having said that, I do think I might have had different results if I had restricted their content to reflective writing. I have found (many) boys tire of navel-gazing, while (many) girls process their thinking this way. My students are using their blogs to pursue personal interests as well as respond to learning in the classroom. So far the balance is working.
Other factors beyond gender that seem to influence their blogging: general engagement in learning, comfort with technology, comfort with public nature of blogging, language processing challenges, fear of failure, access & support beyond the classroom…
I am curious to read what others have experienced.
November 9th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
I have had two males plagiarize their blog posts.
Aside from that I haven’t noticed much of a difference.
I do think you are a better blogger than I, so maybe there is something to it.
November 9th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Maybe I just have less of a life.
November 10th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
No, you have more of a life – I like hearing about the trips into the city.
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