The topic of my research has been differences in math learning and aptitude This topic was suggested to me by my mentor, MikeMillo, as it is of particular interest to him. Mr. Millo is an Algebra teacher at BallHigh. Much has been made of gender differences in math by the popular mediaand Mr. Millo felt that it would be interesting to examine this topic and explore thefindings of educational researchers. I also found this topic personally intriguingas I am currently reading the book, Failing At Fairness: How Our Schools CheatGirls, by Myra and David Sadker (1994), which explores gender bias in all area ofeducation.In researching this topic I found many related research articles and extensivearticles where relevant variables had been measured. I tried to focus on highlyrelevant articles, which examined specifically the different abilities of males andfemales in math or sought explanations for those differences.With one exception, the studies I reviewed supported that there are differences inmath related achievement between males and females. Two of thr articles Ireviewed focus on the differences in teacher interaction with male and femalestudents in math class rooms.The Structure of Abilities in Math-Precocious Young Children: GenderSimilarities and Differences by: Nancy Orbinson, Robert D. Abbott, Virginia W.Berninger, and Julie Busse (1996), the following research questions wereexplored:1. Can young children who are advanced in mathematical reasoning be located efficiently by soliciting parent nominations?2. Do measures of these children's cognitive abilities in other domains also showadvancement and, if so, to what degree?3. How do measures in verbal and visual-spatial domains relate to mathematicalskills for subgroups divided by grade and gender?4. What, if any, cognitive gender differences emerge within this group of youngprecocious children?My interest was focused on the last question, which relates...
