Merchiston was delighted to welcome Dr Abigail James to the School on Thursday 10 February. Dr James is a world-renowned teacher and expert on gender-based learning. She is an in-demand speaker on how teachers, parents, and communities can better engage and teach the children in their classrooms, at home and in the local area. She is the author of Teaching the Male Brain: How Boys Think, Feel & Learn in School and Teaching the Female Brain: Teaching Girls Math & Science
Dr James spoke at two seminars during her visit to Merchiston. The first was for parents and friends of Merchiston where she gave some very insightful information on how boys differ from girls and how parents can tap into some of these differences for their benefit.
On the following day of her visit Dr James observed classes in Merchiston and noted, not only the ways the boys were displaying typical behaviours she has written on throughout her career, but the ways Merchiston teachers were implementing various strategies which cater to their gender-specific needs. Dr James commented on the effective use of debating at Merchiston, a superb tool through which boys learn to develop coherent arguments, therein channeling their emotion on a subject in a positive way with the boys learning to respect the view of others. On various instances, Dr James was impressed with classroom activities which make the most of boys’ competitive and inquisitive nature.
For her second seminar, Dr James spoke to Merchiston staff and offered invaluable tips to enhance how we channel boy-specific attributes in the classroom and in co-curricular activities.