Gender Difference Research In Math Study In Junior High School

Difference research is the oldest and most basic content in education research, in which thegender-based difference research in Math learning plays one important part. Since the1990s, ICMI hascalled for many seminars focusing on “Gender and Math Teaching” and “Gender Difference in MathLearning in the Middle School”. The integrated assessment projects, PISA,TIMSS,PIRLS，for instance, allproduced the gender analysis of Math competence through testing their math, science and reading. At themeantime, the math teachers also have some vague understanding in gender difference in math learning: itseems that boys are superior to girls in advanced math as a whole. The author tracks the students of a gradein the junior high school he works to investigate the gender difference in math learning, the reason behindit and the possible solution to it.The author focuses on:1. A questionnaire was conducted with the students of the same grade in junior middle school for thebasic information of the both gender in math learning, their idea, interest, attitude and metacognition ability,etc., to realize that the boys are superior to girls in their average score and their number of A students, butthey are also more polarized.2. Interview with some students, the green hand, the experienced and the expert in teachers. It is laterdiscovered that interest is the basis of learning math well. Boys prefer deduction and girls excel incalculation and detail. Teachers prefer to discuss math problems with boys but they deny any genderdifference in math competence, only in learning methods.3. The facts lead to gender difference in math learning: the gender difference in brain development,hormone level, pubertal development, memory and thinking pattern, cognitive performance in math, andthe social environment, which includes the gender difference in income, education, health and politicalstatus.4. A method, based on the former interview and investigation, is proposed to compensate the genderdifference in math learning: teachers will start from inspire the students in learning math, strengthen theboys’ advantage in logic and spatial imagination to change their bad learning habits of valuing result overprocess; meanwhile, teachers will strengthen the girls’ advantage in intuition, lead them to attend to themath structure, improve the interaction between teachers and girls and construct a cooperative, equal,self-regulated study platform.Therefore, the math teacher in junior high school should hold that their math teaching is not the eliteteaching but the general teaching and our goal is to teach the math of general value, which provides achance for every student to achieve personal development in math field.