When it comes to studying, there’s a clear and widening gender gap in education – and it’s a global issue. According to an article published in the economist, this is down to 3 clear reasons:
Girls read more
Girls spend longer doing homework
Boys are ‘too cool for school’
However, the introduction of GCSEPod has played an important role in redressing this balance in many schools around the country. The ability to watch our Pods on “cool” mobile devices and concise bursts of information that keep learning fun and quick that makes GCSEPod a powerful tool – both during GCSE revision periods and across the entire academic year.
This belief is shared by many of our subscribing schools, where GCSEPod and mobile technology have been used in tandem to target reluctant male learners.
Steve Williams, deputy head teacher at Gwernyfed High School, explains that the introduction of GCSEPod has had a profound effect on the studying habits of boys whose attention it is often hard to keep:
“There has been a shift in culture and the boys in school know that we are working with them to help them achieve their full potential. Their aspirations have been raised and they are responding well.”
He continues:
“GCSEPod has been a really useful GCSE revision resource in particular. They respond to the technology, whether it’s being used by teachers in the classroom or as an independent learning tool. They tell us that they love GCSEPod because it provides them with the information they need in small chunks and in a format they are familiar with.”
Tailoring GCSEPod to where the gender gap is widest
According to results from the 2016 GCSE exams female entrants were 8.9 percentage points higher than male students between A*–C. This figure is reflective of a trend that has been documented as early as 1988 and has been relatively stable since 1995. However, this broad statistic doesn’t tell the whole story as the gender gap varies wildly from subject to subject.
While maths was once again the only subject in which boys were outperforming girls (0.7 percentage points at A* to A and 0.5 percentage points at A* to C), there are also only small gaps to be found between boys and girls in the sciences. In the Arts, Humanities and Languages, the gap remains very wide.
By using GCSEPod’s innovative tools, such as Boost Playlists and Questions Bank, teachers can effectively support the closing of knowledge gaps among male students in a fun and innovative way. In particular, our GCSE revision resources can support progress in subjects that young men may be struggling to grasp or reluctant to engage with.
Teacher feedback has shown that boys are particularly receptive to the style and format of our Pods: they are concise, visual and discreet. This makes them easy to digest without attracting the stigma often associated with studying independently.
As Steve Williams explains:
“Often they will sit on the bus to and from school with their headphones plugged into their phones listening and watching the Pods; their friends are none the wiser, which is a huge plus point for some of them!”
Through GCSEPod, teachers and parents can also monitor usage levels, enabling them to track engagement and progress in a way that would not be possible with traditional GCSE revision resources.