[Math EC Blog] Stereotypes: Turn Girls Off To Math.

Who: Girls from about kindergarten to high school.

What: This article explains 5 myths that are proved wrong when it comes to girls and STEM (science, technology, engineering, math). The one myth that caught my attention was Myth #3. It stated that science and math teachers aren't biased towards their male students. But because this is a myth, apparently it isn't true. This is the real reason. [Taken directly from the article:] "In fact, biases are persistent, and teachers often interact more with boys than with girls in science and math. A teacher will often help a boy do an experiment by explaining how to do it, while when a girl asks for assistance the teacher will often simply do the experiment, leaving the girl to watch rather than do. Research shows that when teachers are deliberate about taking steps to involve the female students, everyone winds up benefiting. This may mean making sure everyone in the class is called on over the course of a particular lesson, or asking a question and waiting 10 seconds before calling on anyone. Good math and science teachers also recognize that when instruction is inquiry-based and hands-on, and students engage in problem solving as cooperative teams, both boys and girls are motivated to pursue STEM activities, education and careers."

Where: Everywhere.

When: I'm not positive when these tests were taken, but it's pretty recent.

Why: People just felt like proving myths about girls and education wrong, I guess.

My Opinion: I know for a fact that when my math teacher helps me with problems, and my science teacher too (even though she's female), they help me the same as they do for boys. Still, all teachers will have favorites, even if they don't show it. But both male and female students do not seem to be helped any different from each other. Besides, statistics can't tell how all teachers help their students, and not every teacher is the same. There may be some teachers out there that help boys more than girls in math, science, and other topics, but mine don't.

Click here for the article.