One of the simplest, yet most helpful, things a preschool teacher can do to make sure the boys are catching all the information they need is to speak louder. According to Leonard Sax, author of the books "Why Gender Matters," "Boys Adrift" and "Girls on the Edge," boys register information more effectively when it is delivered at a slightly higher decibel level. In one study, boys who were diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) no longer needed medication once they were moved to a classroom with a teacher who spoke merely 8 decibels louder. Increasing the volume in your speech is one easy, practical technique that can help your preschool boys learn better in the classroom setting.
Boys and girls approach math from different perspectives. Whereas boys are often excited about math problems that begin with just numbers and symbols, girls are more engaged by a word problem that subsequently leads into a math problem. Of course, preschoolers are not usually doing math or word problems at any advanced level. But the same concept plays out at a more basic level. When teaching numbers to preschool girls, consider creating low-level word problems or picture problems, instead of just showing them written numerals. For example, instead of showing them a flashcard that reads "2," show them a flashcard with two flowers on it and have them count the flowers. Once you have counted the flowers, show them the flashcard with the number.
When boys and girls are given the opportunity to express themselves artistically, they tend to represent very different ideas. If you give your preschool boys and girls paper and crayons and tell them to draw a picture, you will notice that their drawings tend to fall into two separate categories. A girl is most likely to draw people, animals, trees or flowers. A boy, on the other hand, is more likely to draw a dynamic action scene, such as an alien attacking a monster; if a boy draws people, they are likely going to be stick figures with very little detail. The reasons why children express creativity differently, depending on their gender, remains to be fully explored. But from this observation, we can draw a helpful technique for teaching preschoolers in a gender-combined classroom: give children of each gender the opportunity to express themselves creatively. Give them the freedom to go in different creative directions when they color pictures, create with play dough or paint.
Boys and girls tend to feel differently about their scholastic abilities. While girls are very sensitive to critique, tend to underestimate themselves and have a strong desire to please their teachers, boys tend to be more confident in their abilities, sometimes even over-confident. Boys and girls, therefore, require slightly different teaching approaches. For a girl, asking her a question then affirming her correct response with, "Good job!" is helpful in keeping her on-track and excited about school. For a preschool boy, on the other hand, it may be helpful to challenge him more verbally, for example, "Joey, why do you think that?" The teacher may need to exert her authority more forceful with the boys while being more gentle and encouraging with the girls. Of course, this does not mean that teachers should ever be harsh; they should be kind to all the students but should also realize that girls and boys might be motivated differently.