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What are the most "liked"
or "disliked" curriculum topics and/or activities according to the Maxima Girls?
Science
The participating
Maxima girls gave a long list various topics and/or activities
they most liked or disliked in science. The activities the students
enjoyed the most in science were "doing experiments"
(52%) and "doing research" (29%).
About 25% of the girls stated that they liked learning about specific
topics, all of which were directly connected to research
project-related activities (see Summer
Institutes web pages and Maxima in the Classroom web pages) or connected
to the lesson plans developed by teachers during the Maxima Institutes.
Similarly, 29% of the girls explained that they enjoyed "doing
research" or "finding out new stuff"
(doing research on the internet, encyclopedias and writing/typing
reports).
Among the topics
specifically named by the girls were: learning about the planets,
launching water rockets, doing the rover activity, learning about
space and astronauts, doing the sea animals reports*, learning
about the solar system, doing experiments with plants, doing
research on animal habitats, mixing chemicals, and doing experiments
with bubbles).
*These reports included
building a papier-mache model of their chosen sea animals.
Mathematics
The participating
girls also named a long list of topics they liked or disliked,
but the most prominent topics they enjoyed in grades 4 and 5
mathematics were solving multiplication and division problems.
Approximately 35% of the girls liked solving multiplication problems
and 32% liked doing division problems. Similarly, 17% liked doing
addition problems, whereas, 12% liked subtraction problems. It
is important to note that these percentages are not exclusive.
Among the topics or activities they disliked the most were doing
math word problems or math word games (12%) and doing reviews
(12%). The girls did not like doing reviews because they found
them to be "boring."
Highlights from
Findings:
Girls' Attitudes Toward Science and Mathematics
- A large percentage of the girls stated that "doing experiments"
and "doing research" were the kinds
of activities they most enjoyed about their science classes in
grade 4 and grade 5. It is interesting to note that the Maxima
girls seemed to connect science with "doing hands-on"
and "doing research" to learn about
science. Whereas, mathematics was only connected to solving problems
on specific topics such as multiplication and division. The girls
did not associate math with doing experiments and/or research
even though many of the sociotransformative constructivist (sTc)
activities carried out during the summer institutes--and replicated
in the teachers' classrooms-- emphasized the integration
of science with mathematics and technology (see, for example,
NASA Wants You
in the Activities web page). These
findings indicate that more efforts must be made to help students
appreciate how mathematics and science are closely related and
necessary for scientists to do "hands-on experiments."
- Most of the girls
had a strong positive attitude toward science and mathematics,
and it remained so throughout the project. The fact that the
girls named a variety of sTc activities and/or lessons that were
previously prepared by the teachers during the summer institutes
indicate that these types of activities can assist in keeping
girls' interest in science and mathematics high. These findings
are promising in terms of countering the current trend: that
is, the tendency for girls to lose interest in science and mathematics
as they progressed through their academic preparation. We argue
that if the girls' interest in science and mathematics is maintained
through the implementation of socially relevant, gender inclusive,
inquiry-based and empowering (sTc) activities, they would be
more inclined to pursue science, mathematics and/or technology-related
careers in the future.
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