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
Heh...when I told my wife that story, I wonder if that look she gave me was one that was wondering if that 12 year old boy still lived inside me somewhere!
Maybe…
It also found that females have an advantage in early primary-school years when mathematics consists of computational knowledge and speed."
So, clearly, there is a measurable difference between males and females. So now the only thing left is opinions on which aspects of math are most important. That obviously depends on what needs to be done. If your tasks involve mostly 'computational knowledge and speed' you should tend to favor women. If your tasks involve mostly 'reasoning and spatial' acumen, you should tend to favor males.
There is no need for further debate.
same here, I was lucky if I got a C
My Mom was my model mathematician. She worked at Bell Labs in Murray Hill back in its heyday, albeit in a support role. She was a big pal of Penzias and Wilson and Hamming, who were on top of the world at the time.
I did get a Ph.D. in physics, but took a job in programming at Indian Hill Bell Labs in IL. It’s just down the road from me, but has not been used for some time. In fact, they recently began demolishing the main campus here.
I didn’t even know that until my wife took me for a drive-by, just recently. It was quite a shock, and even disorienting, although ( obviously ) I hadn’t even given it a thought in years.
Time marches on.
By the way, a co-worker there gave me the appellation “Doctor Lew” and always addressed me that way. I didn’t mind it at all!
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