Gender and Math Part 2

This is a continuation of last week’s post Gender and Math Part 1.  Today in part 2, I plan to take a look at some possible strategies to engage female students in the math classroom and encourage them to strive for success.  I will give three potential ideas to help interest female students in a high school math class:

1. Tell them about famous female mathematicians
2. Teach in a style that is conducive to female learning
3. Make it a point to include females in class discussion

Tell them about famous female mathematicians

We’ve all heard the classic story of telling students who are struggling in school that Albert Einstein failed his math classes to help them believe in themselves, but what about stories to help females believe in themselves?  As a teacher, I hope to make it a point to include females when I discuss the history of mathematics.  During my research for this blog, I came across a few interesting female mathematicians and I want to share one with you.  I want to tell you about Mary Somerville.  She lived in Scotland in the 1700′s.  I think her story is particularly inspiring to young females because she faced lots of opposition and criticism for wanting to work in math, but she stuck with it.  Her perseverance paid off when her writing were published several times later in her life.

Teach in a style that is conducive to female learning

This is something that I was surprised to find during my research for this blog.  I came across some studies that suggested that females and males learn very differently.  I read that most math and science classes are taught in a manner that is geared towards males.  Studies suggest that men learn better from traditional lecture classes and that men learn better in competitive settings.  I think that I will combat this issue in my own classroom by encouraging a cooperative environment and by making use of lots of group work activities.

Make it a point to include females in class discussion

As I stated in part one, studies have shown that teachers are more likely to call on males than females.  When I begin my teaching career, I hope to make a point to include females in every discussion.  I know that I can’t fall into the trap of reverse discrimination, but I still must make an effort to involve females.  I think that there are a number of strategies I could employ to help with this issue such as randomly calling on students to answer questions instead of relying on volunteers.  This method would give males and females an equal opportunity to talk.

Math and Gender Poll

Gender and Math part 1

Gender and math… I must admit that I have been avoiding this topic as long as I possibly could.  I had it in the back of my mind at the start of this blogging endeavor, and it was brought to the forefront by Dr. Lunsford and Harry several weeks ago.  I’ve had this issue stewing in my mind since reading those comments, and honestly, I’ve had trouble reaching a satisfying conclusion.    I assumed after what I’d heard in class that girls would feel  like they weren’t supposed to succeed in math (another case of learned helplessness anyone?).  I ran this idea by my wife.  She started college as a math major before deciding to switch to nursing.  I was shocked to learn that she never felt discriminated against in a math class.  I thought for sure that she would tell me she had felt like she was fighting a losing battle as a girl in math, and when I heard differently I decided to look some stuff up online.  So what I’ve decided to do in this post is share a little of what I’ve found while researching the issue, and then in part 2, I will give some potential ideas I have for making sure that I do not discriminate against females in my own classroom.

Before I get into what I found online, I want to show a clip of Mean Girls.  This movie has a girl who is extremely good at math, but struggles with not wanting to be termed a math geek.

As I started reading online about females in math, I was really surprised by a New York Times article I found published in 2008.  The article sited a study done by the National Science Foundation which made the bold claim, get ready for it, that there is no achievement gap between girls and boys in high school math.  WHAT?!? That goes against everything we’ve heard about gender and math in the past.  The study suggests that the reason for the closing of this gap is that male and female enrollment in advanced math class is finally equal.

The next interesting website I came across listed what it called the Top 5 Myths About Girls, Math and Science.  The basic idea of this site was that young girls show just as much interest in math as boys do; however, it is the actions of the teacher that set up a disparity in math success.  This is the website that inspired me to make this a two part series.  The site gave a couple of examples of teachers treating boys and girls differently.  The basic example which spans across subjects and grade levels is that teachers are more likely to call on boys in class.  This leads to the boys feeling that the teacher has confidence in them and to the girls lacking this feeling.  Another example was that a teacher will help the boys solve a problem if they are having trouble, but the same will teacher will just solve the problem for the girls who are having problems.

Learned Helplessness

Before I get into today’s topic, I want to share a couple of things I found about a previous post, Fun Ideas For the Classroom.  In that post, I talked about relating math to things that interest the students such as sports.  I came across a great example of this on youtube and wanted to post it:

When I looked further into this idea of using fantasy sports in math, I found a whole website devoted to it.  I was also introduced to another great math in sports website in my SAM class and wanted to share it as well.

Now on to the new topic…

We all know from our own experience as high school math students that math constantly builds on itself.  Algebra I skills are necessary for success in geometry.  Algebra I and geometry skills are necessary for success in Algebra II.  The pattern continues on into the more advanced fields of mathematics taught in high school like trigonometry or calculus.  When we studied learned helplessness in Ed Psych a few classes ago, I immediately made the connection to this feature of high school math (learned helplessness is basically a belief that an individual is powerless to change his/her situation). Students who struggle with an early concept in math find it impossible to grasp more advanced topics.  This situations worsens as the days, weeks, months, and years pass.  It is easy to understand why a student would develop a sense of learned helplessness in these circumstances.

There are two strategies a teacher could/should put into practice to try to help a study stuck in this pattern of learned helplessness.  The first strategy is to find the source of the helplessness.  This source could be a concept that a student never fully understood in a previous class which continues to cause them problems in new work.  It could be that the student got mono in 8th grade and missed two weeks of school.  Whatever it turns out to be, identifying the source of the problem can be a great first step for the teacher to take in solving it.  The next thing for a teacher to do is invest extra time in this student.  It probably won’t be practical for the teacher to spend extra time on this student during class, but arrangements can easily be made to meet the student before or after school or during lunch.  If the teacher uses these extra help sessions to go back and fill in the gaps from the student’s previous classes, it could result in a new found confidence for the student.  This confidence could lead to increased engagement and performance in the math classroom.

Get Them Better Books!

We all know the basic format of most high school math textbooks: definitions, theorems, examples, easy problems, harder problems, word problems, definitions, theorems, ….  This boring repetitiveness makes it hard for the most dedicated math student to put much stock in a textbook, so you can imagine how the rest of the students feel about these books.  If you need proof of how students feel about books, watch these two videos:

I do realize that as a teacher, especially this year as a teaching intern, I don’t have much, if any, control over what textbook I use.  This decision is made at the district and state level.  The state has a committee which approves a list of acceptable books for each subject.  Then the district decides on a book they want to use district wide or decides to leave it up to each individual school.  I think that this process is pretty necessary.  The state has an obligation to ensure that all students receive a quality education, so they should control what books are used in the classroom.  Where I begin to have a problem with this process of approving textbooks is when the companies themselves get involved and start bribing school districts with money, computers, or other benefits.  This causes books to be picked, not because they are a good textbook, but because their company offered the best deal.

If we could step out of this pattern of choosing textbooks for political reasons, we could probably get our hands on some quality books that encourage and engage students.  In my S.A.M. session, Pat showed us a new text book that would do just that.  It was written by a group of teachers from North Carolina.  It decided to go against the normal template I mentioned at the beginning of the post.  Instead, it takes the approach of having the students work through each section.  The book strives to help the students discover new concepts as opposed to just telling them (if it did just tell them they probably wouldn’t read it anyways).  I think this approach gets at what has been the common theme over the course of my first few weeks in the M.A.T. program: the process is more important than the outcome.  In other words, students need to be able to understand what they are doing and not just regurgitate answers.

What If They’re Just Bored?

Before I delve into today’s topic, I want to ask math teachers a question: If they can teach a dog arithmetic,

Then why do so many of your students look like this?

Now for the real stuff…

Today I’m going to take a look at what at first may seem a bit counter-intuitive.  What if students hate math class because they are super SMART?  Why in the world would a smart person (as anyone who has been in my educational psychology class knows, what exactly defines a person as being smart is certainly debatable; for the purposes of this post we will assume that smart means good at math) hate math class?  I would like to propose the idea that perhaps these students are bored because teachers are not challenging them.  Imagine being a literate adult forced to take a class focused on spelling three letter words.  Of course this would get boring.  I believe that some of the strategies I’ve outlined in previous posts may help students like this, especially the suggestions about technology.

I definitely think these students would be likely to enjoy a class on computer programming.  Harry’s thoughts at our book discussion tonight got me thinking along these lines.  Harry mentioned that computer programming is a vital skill in today’s society and that perhaps we should look at teaching skills in high school to escape the stagnant pattern our schools have been in for decades.  I agree with Harry’s assertion on this deep level, but I also think it would be a great way to build interest in math among smart students.

Another strategy that I think would be useful in reaching smart students is offering a high school course in abstract math.  The emphasis in this course would be mathematical logic.  Students would learn various styles of proof and learn how to express abstract ideas both verbally and on paper.  This class could probably be offered as a one semester course (in a traditional 55 minute class structure; I’m not very familiar with the block scheduling system so I don’t know how it  would fit in there).  I believe a class like this would offer a new and interesting challenge to smart students.  It would also serve as great preparation for college math and develop logical thinking skills which are useful in all areas of life.

Technology in the Math Classroom

First, a disclaimer: Technology can be FRUSTRATING!

Now that we’ve got that out of the way…

One of the recurring themes in my education classes thus far has been that technology in the classroom is beneficial to the learning environment.  However, this has been a bit of a controversy when it comes to math.  Some teachers believe that students should go “back to the basics” and do everything by hand.  On the other hand, some teachers think that students should take full advantage of all technological resources available to them.  This is the topic of my research brief, so I do plan on looking in depth at this issue as the summer progresses.  At the outset, I believe that while students should be able to do basic math without a calculator, it is a good training for on the job math to teach them to use all available resources.  I decided to make this topic a blog entry because I also believe that introducing various types of technology into the classroom may be a great way to build interest among the students.  Today I plan to take a look at a few examples of technology that either already are being implemented in the classroom or those that easily could be.

Smart Board

Geometry classrooms at my high school were equipped with SMART Boards during my 10th grade year.  I didn’t get to see these smart boards in action because I took geometry as a freshman, but I heard a lot of good reviews.  One thing I heard from a lot of classmates was simply that the boards were cool.  You could draw on them with your finger, pull up images from the computer, or use a software program to manipulate graphs and shapes.  Teachers and students at my school agreed that this technology helped the students stay interested in the class and helped the teacher be more effective.  The following video demonstrates a possible way for a teacher to make use of this technology in the classroom.

Geometer’s Sketch Pad

I must admit that I am not very familiar with Geometer’s Sketch Pad.  This was not something that my high school math teachers utilized, and I was not exposed to it in college.  I have heard various people associated with MAT mention this product, so I was interested in doing a little research about it.  I learned that this software allows students to create and manipulate various shapes in many different ways.  Obviously, this technology has a place in the geometry classroom, but teachers suggest that it has also been valuable in calculus and algebra classes.  The following video demonstrates how to perform the simple task of measuring an object using Geometer’s Sketch Pad.

Computer Programming

The final type of math classroom technology I want to look at is computer programming.  I do not specifically know of any high schools that offer such a class, although I would guess that there are some out there.  I had to take two programming classes as part of my undergraduate math degree from Tennessee, and I felt like I would definitely have enjoyed those classes in high school.  Students could learn the basics about several  programming languages so that they would be prepared for whatever they might encounter in college or in the work place.  This would be a great way to put students who feel unconfident and uncomfortable about math in a setting where they feel like they can succeed.

When Will I Ever Use This Stuff? Part 2

In part 1 of this series, I talked about many great jobs that require math.  In part 2, I will explore 2 different aspects of every day life that require math:

1. Cooking
2. Picking a Cell Phone Plan

Cooking

First, take a look at this video demonstrating how important math is in the kitchen:

Now, suppose that your son plays little league baseball on a team with 11 other kids, and its your turn to bring the post game snack.  You decide you want to bring 3 chocolate chip cookies for each kid.  You consult your favorite recipe book and realize that the recipe only yields 12 cookies.  Because you know that 11 + 1 = 12 and that 12 x 3 = 36, you know that you need to make 36 cookies.  You do some more math (36 / 12) to figure out that you need to multiply the amount of ingredients in the recipe by 3.  Now you take a look at the recipe:

2 T plus 2 tsp butter at room temperature
2 T brown sugar
2 T granulated sugar
2 T egg, well beaten (beat 1 large egg in a small bowl; then measure out 2 T)
1/4 tsp vanilla
3/8 c flour
scant 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 c mini chocolate chips

3 x 3/8 ?   3 x 1/4 ?   3 x 1/3 ?  I hope you paid attention to the unit on multiplying fractions.  If after such experiences you decide that cooking is not for you, well then good luck calculating the tip when you eat out.

Picking a Cell Phone Plan

I would bet that 99.999% of you reading this blog have a cell phone.  It is safe to assume that when you chose your cell phone plan, you had several different options to choose from.  Did you know that a proper application of algebra could’ve ensured that you chose the best plan for you?  Let’s say that you had to choose between Plan A and Plan B.

Plan A:  $30 a month flat fee plus 10 cents a minute

Plan B:  $10 a month flat fee plus 30 cents a minute

Most of you looking at this problem wonder what in the world it could ever have to do with algebra.  Well if you think of c as the total monthly cost of your bill and m as the number of minutes you use in a given month, then you can describe Plan A as c = .10m + 30 and Plan B as c = .30m  + 10.  Using basic skills learned in high school algebra class, you can compare the two linear functions to find the scenarios for which Plan A is cheaper and the scenarios for which Plan B is cheaper (in this case Plan A is cheaper if you use more than 100 minutes per month, Plan B is cheaper if you use less than 100 minutes per month, and Plan A and Plan B are the same if you use exactly 100 minutes per month).  Wouldn’t it be nice to know how to come to such conclusions to ensure that you are not wasting money?

When Will I Ever Use This Stuff? Part 1

In my first post I suggested that one of the most common misconceptions about math is that it is not useful after high school.  In part one of When Will I Ever Use This Stuff? I will take a look at the many jobs which require the use of mathematics.

The first thing to do is look at the jobs that obviously require a lot math by their nature.  The best place to start looking at such jobs is a study done by careercast.com.  This study set out to rank the best and worst jobs in America based on five criteria: environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands, and stress.  The number one job on this list?  You guessed it, mathematician.  The following chart from simplyhired.com shows the growth of mathematician as an occupation

I suspect that a lot of you may ask, “What exactly is a mathematician?”  I asked the same thing myself.  Dictionary.com defines a mathematician as an expert or specialist in mathematics.  Charles Darwin defined a mathematician as a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat which isn’t there.   In reality, its hard to specifically define what a mathematician is.  A pure mathematician work as a researcher, a consultant, or a teacher.  Applied mathematicians use math to work in specialized areas such as software development or engineering.  Now, let’s take a look at the top five jobs according to careercast.com’s study: 1. Mathematician 2. Actuary 3. Statistician 4. Biologist 5. Software Engineer.  Notice any common themes?  Four of the five jobs deal directly with math and three could be obtained with a math degree.  A look at this website, shown to me by a professor at the University of Tennessee, shows just how many options are out there for college graduates with a degree in math.

I can hear the responses that undoubtedly some of you are coming up with now.  If I want to avoid math then I will go into a medical profession.  If I want to avoid math then I will go into business.  If  I want to avoid math then I will go into (insert job field here).  Well, I have some bad news if thats your plan.  Almost ANY job you can think of requires math.  You might say, “Surely science is enough to be a doctor”, but Duke University would disagree with you.  Looking at the application requirements for the Duke School of Medicine shows that applicants are required to have taken calculus and one other college-level math course to be eligible.  ”I’ve got my tie and my ambition”, you say, “that’s all I need to succeed in business.”  (you’ll get the tie and ambition part if you watch the video)

Once again, Duke University would disagree with you.  MBA students in Duke’s Fuqua School of Business are required to take a probability and statistics course during their first six week term in the program.

The sheer number of great jobs out there that require math is mind boggling.  Makes it tough to argue that math is not a useful subject to learn for high schoolers.

Fun Ideas for the Classroom

In the first post, I looked at some possible reasons why students hate math so much.  Today, I’ll take a look at some possible ideas for the classroom that might help combat this problem.  In other words, ways to make learning math more fun.  Elementary school teachers can achieve this by having their students use M&Ms to count and letting them eat them at the end.  High school teachers have to try a bit harder.

Having Darth Vader as a guest teacher is probably not an option for most high school math teachers, but there are lots of options which are much easier to implement.  I had excellent high school math teachers who utilized many of these techniques.  Today I will take a look at two:

1. Relate the lesson to an extracurricular activity that interests the students
2. Allow students to gather data outside and solve problems using this data

Relate the lesson to an extracurricular activity that interests the students

High school students enjoy various extracurricular activities which could be utilized by a teacher to create a math project that interests the students.  A teacher could have the students study the frequencies of musical notes they use in chorus or band, or the students could study the angles and measurements used in the building of a set for a play in theatre.  However, the easiest extracurricular activities to incorporate into a math class are sports.  A quick search on google reveals just how easy it is to find connections between math and sports.  Some interesting things I’ve done in my own high school classes before include using the Pythagorean Theorem to find the distance between home plate and second base on a baseball diamond and calculating the parabolic flight of a fly ball.

Allow students to gather data outside and solve problems using this data

Sometimes a change in scenery goes a long way.  Simply taking a class outside and continuing business as usual can sometimes help keep the students’ attention and promote learning, but taking this one step further by allowing the students to be active outside can be even better.  A teacher could possibly allow students to collect their own data regarding one of the sports problems.  Another possible outside activity, which I did in high school, would be to use trigonometry to find the height of trees and buildings on the school campus.  This activity also requires the students to construct a simple tool to calculate the angle between the ground and the top of the object being measured.

In my own high school experience, I found these activities to be fun and beneficial to my learning.  I hope to make use of these and other fun activities in the future to help my students enjoy learning math.