According to educational psychologists, while girls tend to get better grades than boys, they are more critical of their academic performance. Since girls are much more interested in pleasing adults than boys, a closer relationship with their teacher is usually formed by the girls in a class. Girls view academic failure as a disappointment to adults such as a teacher or parents. Girls also prefer to learn by context, which means they are better served by learning the story surrounding a subject. Girls also learn math and science differently because their brains handle navigational tasks -- like math -- with the cerebral cortex, the same part of the brain that handles language and other higher cognitive functions. So, girls learn math easier by using real-world applications of the math questions.
Boys tend to excel in learning when the material or subject interests them. Boys also seem to have a higher sense of accomplishment when it comes to grades and academic achievement, even if their grades aren't good. Boys are the opposite from girls in regards to learning the context of a subject. They get bored by hearing the stories girls need to hear, and would rather get right down to the work. Boys learn math and science with the hippocampus section of the brain. They don't need the real-world applications for math girls require, but simply do math just by focusing on the numbers.
Clearly gender diversity does affect children in the classroom as a result of learning differences between boys and girls. But gender is not simply defined by brain development and how that affects learning and the psychology of girls and boys. Gender is also the behavioral traits of boys and girls. Since girls have a greater desire to please adults and their peers, they can easily succumb to peer pressure and not feel comfortable standing out in class. Boys don't have the same desire to please others, so they tend to feel more comfortable answering questions and being the center of attention. In addition, as children grow older, they get more distracted by the opposite sex and that may affect their ability to learn.
Another gender trait is cultural. How the culture of a school deals with gender diversity affects the students. If the cliché of girls are good at reading and writing, and boys are better at science and math is prevalent in a school, it can have a real affect on the way children learn. Parents need to be aware of all the gender differences in choosing how to educate their children, and teachers can better educate their students by understanding the gender differences and adjusting their teaching style to accommodate them.