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Beyond playing a critical role in energy flow and nutrient cycling, plants interact with and impact their environment in many other ways. Their presence provides not only food but also habitat for other organisms. Plants influence temperature and other aspects of climate. They also compete with one another for resources in the environment. These and many other phenomena demonstrate that plants are not just a passive backdrop on the landscape, but are a dynamic part of their environment.

A central principle of ecology is that organisms must have traits which help them fit and survive in their environment. For example, a cactus produces shallow roots that allow it to rapidly absorb any rainfall in the desert and specialized cells in its stem that swell to store that water. Instead of conducting photosynthesis, the leaves are modified into spines that protect the cactus from animals that may try to eat it. Photosynthesis occurs in the outer layers of its succulent, green stem.

The traits of the cactus described above are its phenotype, which is any structural, biochemical, or behavioral characteristic expressed by an organism. The genes in the DNA that code for the phenotype are the genotype. Genetically based phenotypic traits that promote survival and reproductive success of an organism in its environment are adaptations. For example, the shallow roots, photosynthetic stems, and spines are adaptations that promote cactus survival in the desert.

contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.

Douglass realized that its classrooms were generally a better fit for the verbal-emotive, sit-still, take-notes, listen-carefully, multitasking girl. Teachers tended to view the natural assets that boys bring to learning—impulsivity, single-task focus, spatial-kinesthetic learning, and physical aggression—as problems. By altering strategies to accommodate these more typically male assets, Douglass helped its students succeed

Increasing Experiential and Kinesthetic Learning Opportunities

Supporting Literacy Through Spatial-Visual Representations

Letting Boys Choose Topics That Appeal to Them

Helping Boys with Homework

Offering Single-Gender Learning Environments

for many boys these disruptions simply reflect male brains trying to stay awake in a classroom that is not well suited for their kind of learning.

Seeking Out Male Role Models

Making Reading and Writing Purposeful

Researchers have identified more than 100 structural differences between the male and female brain. These differences are both genetic and socialized

Verbal/spatial differences. Boys' brains generally have more cortical areas dedicated to spatial-mechanical functioning than girls' brains

P cells and M cells. The male visual system (optical and neural) relies more heavily on type M ganglion cells, which detect movement. Girls generally have more type P ganglion cells, which are sensitive to color variety and other fine sensory activity

Frontal lobe development. A girl's prefrontal cortex is generally more active than a boy's, and her frontal lobe generally develops at an earlier age (Rich, 2000). These are the decision-making areas of the brain (as well as the reading/writing/word production areas).

Neural rest states. Boys' brains go into what neurologists call a rest state many times each day.

o bring about these improvements, teachers need to ask themselves some key questions: As teachers, do we fully understand the challenges that boys face in education today? Do we realize that there is a scientific basis for innovating on behalf of both girls and boys as disaggregated groups? Does my school incorporate boy-friendly and girl-friendly learning innovations in full knowledge of how essential they are in accommodating the structural and chemical gender differences built into the human brain? Do the educators in my school realize that many behaviors typical of either boys or girls are neurologically based?

Cross talk between hemispheres. Structural differences in girls' brains generate more cross talk between hemispheres, leading to better multitasking.

Boys also take more time than girls to transition between tasks (Havers, 1995). They tend to become more irritable (and to underperform in learning and classroom behavior) when teachers move them continually between tasks.

Natural aggression. For a number of neural and chemical reasons, boys are more naturally aggressive and competitive than girls are

With less oxytocin in the male neural and physiological system, boys tend toward greater impulsivity, more aggression, and less reliance on bonding malleability (Taylor, 2002). They have less desire than girls to comply to please others, including teachers.