Gender and Math

As noted in my previous posting, I have a number of questions and inquires, especially when it comes to gender in mathematics.
After reading a couple of different resources it seems as though the idea of boys being superior to girls in the subject area is an outdated idea, which is coming to a halt. A mere result of “social engineering”, we have actually constructed this false concept ourselves, by giving boys the greater opportunity to succeed in math or abstracting our research under unfair circumstances.
“According to new research published in the journal Science, the "gender gap" in math’s, long perceived to exist between girls and boys, disappears in societies that treat both sexes equally” (Lipsett, 2008). The stereotype exists that males are “better” at math than females, so many do not want to “waste time” on females who are primarily over seen by their male peers. Placing both genders on an equal playing field to start gives each an equal opportunity to succeed.
Another potential cause for a wide range of test scores between males and females is female’s lack of response to competitiveness. It has been recorded that females do not perform as well as males in competitive test taking environments. It only makes sense that males would produce better results, but not from just math intelligence alone, but also being placed in a comfortable environment.
“We find that the response to competition differs for men and women, and in the examined environment, gender difference in competitive performance does not reflect the difference in non competitive performance” (Niederle &Vesterlund, 2009).
I think the most important reminder from this weeks discussion was the importance of placing all students on the same playing field. As educators, we need to ensure equal opportunities are provided to all students-regardless of their race, gender, socioeconomic status, etc. The situation we choose to place our students in always has an effect on their learning.

Lipsett, A. (2008) Boys not better than girls at maths, study finds. Education Guardian. Retrieved Nov 12, 2011 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/may/30/schools.uk1

Niederle, Muriel & Vesterlund, Lise (2009) Explaining the Gender Gap in Math Test Scores: The Role of Competition. Retrieved November 21, 2011 from http://www.stanford.edu/~niederle/NV.JEP.pdf

Gender and Math... Initial thoughts

This week’s chapter 9 in the text really sparked my interest on the subject of gender differences in mathematics learning.

I can’t help but wonder, with all the circulating research on gender inequality in mathematics education- boys being the gender of dominance- is this an example where our expectations are creating a reality? Are the affects of society determining our students’ performance in the class? Are we creating the pressures students are feeling to succeed on a level according to their gender and the expectations society is placing on them? Do students feel the pressure to conform to a certain identity that compromise their ability and willingness to learn math?

These are just a few initial questions and thoughts I have on the subject. I will follow up with a post on an article on the subject.

Jack of All Trades, Master of None?

I found the article posted by my classmate Too Many Teachers Can't Do Math, Let Alone Teach It to be very interesting and so I decided to express my concerns and opinions on the subject here. In brief, the article expresses growing concerns with the lack of educating educators in math and how unprepared teachers are in the classroom to teach young students the subject.

I think this article pertains a great deal to the idea of teachers being “jack of all trades, master of none”. And although I did enjoy my undergrad program, I do not feel it fully prepared me for a number of different aspects of the teaching profession. There are such a number of subjects, and a specific number of outcomes per grade per subject. Besides the facts/information presented in each subject, teachers also must juggle many day to day routines- organization, preparation for lessons, along with maintaining an environment which promotes fair and equal opportunities for all, social justice and much more. I am just wondering how and where teachers are expected to get the detailed training for all aspects of this career within their university education?

This being said, one of the biggest points we are taught in our teaching education is to “be prepared for the unexpected”. How can one prepare for the unknown?
Also, quite often, teachers are offered positions in an unfamiliar territory- weather it be in an unexpected grade level, a specialized subject area, or in a multigrade/age classroom. Teachers are expected to adapt to their environment and prevail while

Yes I do agree that in order for teachers to successfully teach students, an established level of familiarization with the information at hand must be established. But are teachers expected to know everything about everything at all times? I think the most we can do is prepare for the unexpected and really make the extra effort in learning it ourselves before we teach.

Math from the Past

When asked to describe a memorable math experience from my grade school past, I was unable to recall just one that stood out to me. I can say that I do remember activities where we used manipulatives such as those wooden pattern blocks, connecting blocks, place value charts, fake money, etc. For me, like many others, it was using these types of resources that would make math concepts much more tangible.
One thing I do not recall ever having to do much of, especially compared to know, is explaining and giving reasons to support your answers. I was teaching in a class last week where one of the questions was ended with “explain how you know”. Almost every student in the class had to correct answer, knew how they did (in terms of correctly carrying out the right formula) but they could not put into words how they did it. I think this is a great addition to the curriculum, as students will not just have to plug in formulas and move on. Instead, students will be forced to think about and reason why they did what they did, making more sense out of the problem. I think this is something students at Amber Hill did not have to do much of. If they did maybe they would have been able to understand what they were doing, and would not have developed such a resentment towards math. Just a thought ☺

The Contents of Today's Curriculum

While trying to research articles to correspond with the text, “teach for the test” is one common phrase that continues to make an appearance. It appears as though it is a vicious cycle- teachers strive for their students to be the best (or have the top grades), but being the best is only recognized if certain material is taught and not necessarily easily transfered education into real life for students, but aren’t we supposed to have our students best interest at heart, etc etc.

So where does this problem stem from? Do school boards understand the pressure teachers and students are faced with when it comes to testing and curriculum contents in education today? Do they realize the difficulties students are having in translating this information into the real world? Do we need to revise our curriculum into one which could be more useful for students? What is the purpose of an "education" if it cannot be used in the outside world? To me, this seems like an issue of what is the educational value of material being taught? And what is more important, the quantity of material vs the quality. Students are beginning to recognize the lack of relevance information, they are learning, has in their everyday lives, soon they will probably loose interest altogether, forcing even more lack of interest in the classrooms. I think we need to reevaluate what and why we are teaching and keep students our top priority, and not the test.

The Best Teaching Approach Is ???

For me, I think the most interesting part of the text Experiencing School Mathematics is the comparing of the different approaches used by each school. I think by reading the approaches used, side by side, creates an easy way to compare and contrast the two. Having the students input and commentary added a great deal to the comparison.

Center based approach is a great way to teach certain students. Yes, this method provides a very open concept, allowing students to create their own learning. Yes, by creating their own learning students will have a more memorable and beneficial experience, which will potentially result in great academic achievement. HOWEVER, before any of this amazing and great learning experience can take place, the students have to be capable of learning in this capacity. Students at Phoenix Park demonstrated that any such class using this method can and probably will have students that will not benefit from this style of learning. I am a firm believer in giving students the opportunity to explore all aspects of a student’s capability.

A combination of the two approaches used by the schools would be an ideal effective teaching environment. Placing emphasis on students creating their own learning, and providing the opportunity for them to challenge themselves by going above the outcomes provided. Also, using given resources and texts to solidify what is being learned.

I’m interested to continue reading this text to see how the teachers at both schools continue teaching the students using their approaches, and how the students academic state of mind ends up.

When Good Teaching Leads to Bad Results: The Disasters of “Well-Taught” Mathematics Courses,

In the article, When Good Teaching Leads to Bad Results: The Disasters of “Well-Taught” Mathematics Courses, Schoenfeld (1988), we are looking at how students are lacking true knowledge and comprehension of math.

Using word based problems; we see how students are unable to make real world connections, therefore demonstrating not a lack of comprehension, but rather memorization of a formula, and not necessarily the correct way of doing something. If we look at the example of how many buses are needed, students plugged in a formula they believed to be correct, and that was it resulting with a response as "31 with 12 left over" instead of responding with a number of busses. I wonder if this problem was given to students outside of math if students wouldn’t feel the necessity to just look at this as numbers. Could students answer this problem correctly if we change the context of their learning?


A "good teacher" is identified as one who teaches a number of different ways to look at the same thing so all students "get it". But is this enough? Just because there is more than one way to explain something doesn't make it any easier for students to truly understand. The practice of math and students understanding will be different for every child with every topic, and that's where problems occur. I think it's easy for teachers to say; well their workings are right so that's enough. We need to reinforce the importance of proof of knowledge in students. This can only accomplished by students making connections for themselves.