Chapter 10 on page 437 it talks about gender and ethnic differences in Math. I do not like math but maybe that is only because I am not good at it. Do you agree with the chapter that male students tend to outperform female students on standard college exams? Is this something that you have seen in your classrooms? Do you feel ethnicity also plays a role or makes a difference?
I do not think this is true today. The reason I say this is that female students now outnumber male students and they complete degrees at a higher rate. If males are scoring higher on tests then something is happening during college to make them drop out. One explanation of the higher rates of graduation may also be explained if the numbers include females who go back later in life to get a degree. In other words after a divorce of some life event that causes them to seek a better income.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jim that the differences are not as big as what they once were. I have seen many students both male and female that are weak in Math and with encouragement and tutoring both have been successful. I feel it is self confidence and encouragement that helps children succeed.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think I can agree or disagree with empirical evidence that proves boys score higher in certain subjects than females do. I know that because of this, many states have started initiatives to make Mathematics and Science more accessible to females. Math and Science fields have often been dominated by men and there is a movement for more females to go into careers that are based on these subjects. In my own classroom, which is technology based, I have seen both boys and girls excel at graphic design. I have also seen all types of ethnic students excel with graphic design and all sorts of ethnic students not excel. With my subject, a students’ creativity is the only thing that can limit them.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Jessica. When I was teaching I had boys and girls that were really good in Math, so I never really thought that boys were better. However when I read the chapter I did some research and studies unfortunately do show that males seem to outperform females in Math. I uploaded one of the articles that I read on this topic to our wiki, you can find it in the Resident Expert page. This article states that males show more more interest, motivation, and self efficacy in learning math.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with everyone here. I think it depends on the circumstances. So many factors can come into play when taking exams thats its hard to believe that all statistics are set in stone. Interest in a subject area plays a vital role. It makes me wonder that when statistics are being gathered if they look at the interest level of the subject matter in question.
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