SelfhelpMagazine

by Martha Carr, Ph.D. & Donna Jessup, Ph.D.

Just say the word math and some people roll their eyes or shake their heads. America's school children in particular are not known for their math solving abilities and often need parental help with math games.

Gender differences in math learning in elementary school has particularly undergone a fair amount of research for decades. The study below shows that differences exist in the strategies boys and girls use to solve math problems as early as first grade and a suggestion is made about how parents can look at math games to help their children improve math skills.

To establish that gender differences in math exist and identify what the differences were, psychological researchers Martha Carr, Ph.D. & Donna Jessup, Ph.D., from the University of Georgia videotaped first graders solving addition and subtraction problems. The students were videotaped solving the math problems individually and then in a mixed gender setting.

Results showed that by January of their first grade year, gender differences existed but only in the way that the children approached problem solving, but not in the number of problems the students solved correctly. In both individual and group settings girls were more likely to use overt methods, counting on counters or counting on fingers, to solve the problems. Boys were more likely to use retrieval, relying on memorized answers, in both individual and group settings.

Over the course of the school year, boys were also more likely to increase their attempts to use retrieval even if they were not successful. Girls, however, seemed to be more concerned with being right and used backup strategies of counting on counters and with fingers.

Retrieval, the boys' preferred strategy, dominated the group work in group settings. Was this because the girls were feeling pressure from the boys? " No. The boys did not ridicule the girls for counting on counters or fingers. Pressure from the boys did not exist," says Dr. Carr, lead author of the study. "We believe that social pressure does occur, but not in the first grade," she continued. What does this mean for how girls and boys differ through other grades and later, in their work life? As more research is published, these connections will be easier to make.

For now, we know that differences in math solving between genders start to appear as early as the first grade. It would be reasonable for parents to be aware of such differences and use games at home to help children develop flexibility with different problem solving strategies. When evaluating math games for young children, parents may want to consider the elements of solo versus group math skill training, and whether the child is encouraged to use fingers or other aids to calculating. A child who can engage in both solo and group activities as well as use internal and external strategies would be a child best prepared for the types of challenges faced in the real world.

Reference:

"Gender Differences in First Grade Mathematics Strategy Use: Social and Metacognitive Influences" by Martha Carr, Ph.D. & Donna L. Jessup, Ph.D., Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 89, No. 2, pp 318-328.

This information received from the American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC.