GSE/RES Helping to Even the Odds for Girls in STEM Fields: Understanding the Basis for Girls' Difficulties with Measurement

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Boston College will investigate the basis for gender and SES differences in mathematics learning - specifically measurement skill -- at fourth grade, when children begin to work consistently with a range of standard measurement tools.Objectives and MethodThe proposal takes a three-pronged approach to understanding the nature of gender and SES differences in measurement. The first goal is to identify the specific dimensions of measurement skill at fourth grade that reveal gender and SES differences. To achieve this goal, a systematic and comprehensive test battery covering a wide range of measurement skills will be developed (Year 1). Using this tool, students' performance will be examined to determine whether it varies depending on the cognitive demands of the task. Items that depend primarily on the knowledge of facts, procedures, and numerical formulas will be compared to items that depend on an understanding of measurement principles and spatial sense. The next major goal of the project is to identify the factors that mediate the gender and SES differences on the measurement test. Since measurement incorporates the cognitive aspects of both spatial and numerical reasoning, these skills will be examined as predictors of measurement performance (Year 2). Using path analytic techniques, it will be determined whether gender and SES differences in spatial or numerical skills (or both) function as mediators of the differences in measurement found for these groups. The final goal of the project is to design and evaluate a measurement intervention program based on the knowledge gained during the first two research phases. The intervention and control programs will be developed and pilot-tested in Spring/Summer of Year 2, and implemented in classrooms in Year 3. The new measurement battery will be used to assess pre-/post changes in performance for students in the intervention and control conditions. This study should shed further light on the nature of gender difference in measurement, by clarifying which types of measurement experiences reduce the critical gender and SES gaps.Intellectual MeritIn both national and international studies of mathematics achievement, measurement subtests show the strongest and most consistent gender differences favoring males, from fourth through twelfth grade (Mullis et al., 2000; NCES, 2004). When examining socio-economic status (SES) differences within the U.S., the measurement subtests again stand out as providing the greatest difficulty for low SES and minority students (Lubienski, 2003). Despite this evidence, little research has been done to investigate the basis for the pervasive gender and SES differences in measurement. Yet understanding the nature of this problem is critical because measurement skills are an important pre-requisite for success in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. Major organizations in mathematics and science education stress measurement as "one of the most widely used applications of mathematics" (NCTM, 2000, p. 103) and consider it to be one of the "unifying concepts of science" (NSTA, 2003, p. 6). Broader ImpactThe major focus in the field of gender differences in mathematics has been on attitudinal and social factors (NSF, 2004). Gender and SES differences in cognitive strategies and skills have been a very minor part of either the intervention research or the mathematics curricula within schools in the United States. If girls and low SES students are less likely to have a deep understanding of measurement principles right at the outset, this may contribute to difficulties later on in mathematics and science, as well as engendering a lack of self-confidence and interest in approaching STEM content. Thus, it is critical to understand the basis for these initial problems in measurement.The project has been designed to contribute to our understanding of traditionally underserved groups and to use this research-based knowledge to inform educational practice in relation to these groups. The findings from this research will be broadly disseminated, with the new measurement scales and the intervention program made available on-line. Given the critical role of measurement as a fundamental construct within STEM, this research may ultimately help to broaden the participation of underserved groups in these fields by providing research tested measurement materials available to school systems nation-wide.