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QuickCheck: Do Men Have an Advantage in Learning Mathematics?
The Star ^ | Tuesday, 26 Sep 2023 | Jaayne Jeevita

Posted on 09/26/2023 1:56:41 PM PDT by nickcarraway

IT has been claimed for a long time that boys are inherently better at mathematics than girls, and this has led to intense debate on the issue.

According to gender stereotypes in mathematics, girls are less confident in their arithmetic skills and experience greater anxiety and this eventually lowers their test scores.

However, it is important to rely on scientific evidence and extensive research to determine whether this stereotype has any basis in reality.

Is it true that men have an advantage in learning mathematics?

Experts and research have found that there are only slight differences in the maths performance of boys and girls; these differences depend on several factors, including a pupil’s age and maths proficiency and the type of maths they are attempting.

A meta-analysis on gender differences in mathematics performance showed that males have an advantage when the mathematical concepts require more reasoning and are more spatial in nature.

This is in the context of solving problems in geometry and calculus, typically taught in the higher secondary-school grades.

It also found that females have an advantage in early primary-school years when mathematics consists of computational knowledge and speed.

Research also shows that at times, there were no differences and in some cases, an advantage for girls to do more basic numerical skills and math problems that have a set procedure for solving them.

Age and the type of math might have an impact on research findings simultaneously. For instance, two recent studies on the gender differences in children’s earliest numerical abilities found no gender differences in infants and children’s basic maths skills.

Findings also suggest that girls and boys learned math at similar rates, and boys did not have a higher aptitude for learning math or for processing numbers compared to their female counterparts.

No one is better in anything unless one has the desire to learn it and it is not gender that determines our interests but our habits that dictate what we are good at.

SOURCES

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359013929_Understanding_the_Symbolic_Effects_of_Gender_Representation_A_Multi-Source_Study_in_Education

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/47642285_New_Trends_in_Gender_and_Mathematics_Performance_A_Meta-Analysis

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07370000903221809

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41539-018-0028-7

https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cdev.13044


TOPICS: Computers/Internet; Education
KEYWORDS:
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To: Bullish
I think they know full well what kind of stats that study would generate so it would never be conducted.

No grant application would be approved.

41 posted on 09/26/2023 2:37:03 PM PDT by SauronOfMordor (Either you will rule. Or you will be ruled. There is no other choice.)
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To: SauronOfMordor

I would add that I disagree with his fudge factor over different numbers of boys and girls taking the test.

At the high end, every boy and girl likely to score over 700 WILL be persuaded to take the test.


42 posted on 09/26/2023 2:41:55 PM PDT by SauronOfMordor (Either you will rule. Or you will be ruled. There is no other choice.)
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To: nickcarraway

There was a story a few years back that they were not allowing boys to stand when they pee, because it gives them an inherent advantage in physics and math because they have to calculate the arc of the stream and employ force times distance to hit the target.


43 posted on 09/26/2023 2:41:55 PM PDT by gitmo (If your theology doesn’t become your biography, what good is it?)
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To: Tell It Right

I’ve attended many conferences on IT, and 90% plus of the attendees are men. The only exception is Data Base Administration. I found a lot of women in those meetings.


44 posted on 09/26/2023 2:46:06 PM PDT by gitmo (If your theology doesn’t become your biography, what good is it?)
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To: nickcarraway

WELL .......half a brain has its consequences...


45 posted on 09/26/2023 2:52:39 PM PDT by farmguy ( )
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To: farmguy

WELL .......half a brain has its consequences...

That’s encouraging,


46 posted on 09/26/2023 2:58:44 PM PDT by WVNan
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To: rlmorel

“I believe that men and women are wired differently in their brains, and that each sex has an advantage over the other in various areas.”

So do I.

Men and women aren’t equal, they are complimentary.

Men are better at highly focusing on a part situation and women are better at paying attention to the whole situation.

Goes back to hunter and gatherers.

Men focused on find the meat to keep his family alive and women focused on finding the vegies, taking care of the kids and getting everything organized.


47 posted on 09/26/2023 3:00:34 PM PDT by lizma2
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To: nickcarraway

FTA: No one is better in anything unless one has the desire to learn it and it is not gender that determines our interests but our habits that dictate what we are good at.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hogwash! Men, in general, excel in math computation and at any analysis that requires mentally rotating an object in space. Men are better at estimating the speed of a moving object.

Of course, there are exceptions, i.e., there are men who do not fit this description, just as there are some women who are better at these tasks than many men. But the numbers in each of these subsets will not exceed 10% of each group as a whole..


48 posted on 09/26/2023 3:08:51 PM PDT by Bigg Red (Trump will be sworn in under a shower of confetti made from the tattered remains of the Rat Party.)
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To: BigFreakinToad

Same here.

C was a struggle to get.

My sister was the algebra, calc, trig whiz.


49 posted on 09/26/2023 3:10:44 PM PDT by wally_bert (I cannot be sure for certain, but in my personal opinion I am certain that I am not sure..)
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To: TexasFreeper2009

Most colleges have a nearly 2 to 1 girl to guy ratio now, and things like this gender math gap are dramatically changing.


Is it because the girls are getting better or because the mean has shifted?


50 posted on 09/26/2023 3:10:57 PM PDT by Chickensoup (Genocide is here. Leftist extremists are spearheading the Genocide against conservatives. )
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To: nickcarraway

I worked with a black lady about 20 years ago.
She was brilliant with math, she told that me that she had two degrees in two different mathematic disciplines (?), I nodded politely.
What impressed me was her ability to calculate the weight of random samples of our finished products, without a calculator or writing the equation down. A standard sample was 1ft x 1ft and our random samples would be yards and uneven dimensions and even polygonal shapes.
It became a bit of a game, she rarely got it wrong.

She was beautifully goofy and sweet.
What she was doing working at that job, is beyond me,but I assume it was the stability and benefits.
They sold the company, laid us off and moved the operation to China.


51 posted on 09/26/2023 3:13:32 PM PDT by SantosLHalper (Eat some bacon.No, I got no idea if it'll make you feel better, I just made too much bacon.")
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To: where's_the_Outrage?
I recall very few females in my ordinary differential equations class.

So true. I was the only girl in many of my classes.

52 posted on 09/26/2023 3:14:20 PM PDT by ladyjane
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To: alternatives?
Three, more girls in college earning degrees does not mean they are going to surpass boys in mathematics.

It just means more social workers and Masters of Public Administration.

53 posted on 09/26/2023 3:14:21 PM PDT by Mr.Unique (My boss wants me to sign up for a 401K. No way I'm running that far! )
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To: Bullish

Exactly


54 posted on 09/26/2023 3:16:29 PM PDT by Gene Eric (Don't be a statist!)
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To: nickcarraway
A meta-analysis on gender differences in mathematics performance showed that males have an advantage when the mathematical concepts require more reasoning and are more spatial in nature.

Boys like things. They play and build things. Girls like people. Their play is completely different than boys. The advantage gap between boys and girls is difficult for girls to close because by the time they are ready for more advanced mathematics they no longer play.

If you don’t want to cripple your sons when it comes to math, keep them away from faggoty toys. Give them something to build.

55 posted on 09/26/2023 3:18:35 PM PDT by ConservativeInPA (Vacate the chair. Shutter the government until it can be correctly defunded.)
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To: puppypusher
What didn’t help was when the schools went to that New Math crap. So I was confused even more and it seemed to me that No two Teachers were using the same instruction playbook.
I wish I had paid enough attention to even notice any of that!
56 posted on 09/26/2023 3:19:30 PM PDT by nicollo ("This is FR!")
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To: Georgia Girl 2
how long it takes the hawk to catch the pigeon

Women aren't interested in hawks chasing pigeons or trains heading in and out of Chicago.

57 posted on 09/26/2023 3:20:47 PM PDT by ladyjane
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To: nickcarraway

Not surprised by mixed result. My impression has been that girls tend to be more diligent students in school, but guys tend to be better at focused abstract reasoning. But I’ve known many individuals that are exceptions.


58 posted on 09/26/2023 3:23:27 PM PDT by AndyTheBear (Certified smarter than average for my species)
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To: FamiliarFace

“I may have been the outlier growing up,”

Same here.

Math, Physics, Chemistry were a piece of cake.

Anything involving writing was torture!

Wanted to get a Ph.D. in Pharm but got an M.D. cuz I didn’t have to write a thesis. That would have been torture.


59 posted on 09/26/2023 3:24:09 PM PDT by lizma2
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To: Dr. Sivana

Or happier as CEO where they can run A great many things. Because women actually are good at the big picture.


60 posted on 09/26/2023 3:26:31 PM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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