Exploring Gender Differences in a Symmetry Software Intervention for Young Children

Book Editors

Thomas E. Hodges, George J. Roy, Andrew M. Tyminski

Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

2018

Book Title

Proceedings of the Fortieth Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education

Publisher

University of South Carolina & Clemson University

Pages

263-266

Description

Symmetry is a foundational geometric concept that receives minimal attention in early childhood mathematics. Differing informal play experiences involving symmetry exploration may contribute to gender differences in symmetry understanding. This study sought to explore whether boys’ and girls’ performance on symmetry tasks differs after a symmetry software intervention. A significant gender effect benefiting boys was found on post-test rotation tasks but not on reflection or translation tasks, controlling for pre-test scores. A gender effect was also not significant for identifying or explaining symmetric transformations at post-test. The findings have implications for learning opportunities and modes of assessment for all children.

Notes

A link to freely available content has been provided.

ISBN

9780578408484

Published Citation

Fletcher, N., Luna Bazaldúa, D., & Ginsburg, H. P. (2018). Exploring gender differences in a symmetry software intervention for young children. In T. Hodges, G. Roy, & A. Tyminski, (Eds.), Proceedings of the 40th annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (pp. 263-266). University of South Carolina & Clemson University.

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