Science Friday Kids' Connection^tm -- in association with Kidsnet
Gender Differences in Learning and Cognition (December 2, 2005, One)

Program Summary | Guests | Related Links and Resources | For Discussion | Activities | Hear the program | About Kids Connection | SFKC Home

Program Summary

Beyond the obvious snips and snails and sugar and spice, are there really differences between boys and girls, or men and women when it comes to thinking and learning specific subjects? We’ve all heard the generalizations that boys are better at math and science and girls are better at language. Does this hold water? Is there any scientific, genetic, or physiological evidence that supports this kind of thinking or are we just programmed to see what we think is true?

Ira and a panel of scientists at the American Psychological Association’s Science Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., discuss gender differences and explore what science has to say about male and female brains when it comes to learning math and science or acquiring spatial and verbal skills.

Guests

Diane Halpern, past-president (2004) of the American Psychological Association and professor and chair of psychology at the Berger Institute for Work, Family, and Children at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California

Janet Shibley Hyde, Helen Thompson Woolley professor of psychology and women's studies at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin

Lynn Liben, distinguished professor of psychology at Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania

Nora Newcombe, professor of psychology and James H. Glackin Distinguished Faculty Fellow at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Related Links and Resources

BBC News, January 18, 2005: Harvard row over sex and science
Harvard, Office of the President, January 19, 2005:Letter from President Summers on women and science
National Academies Committee on Women in Science and Engineering: Gender Differences in Careers of Science, Engineering , and Mathematics Faculty
PBS NewsHour Extra, January 24, 2005: Harvard President's Comments Spark Debate About Gender & NewsHour Extra Teacher Resources

Related Pages from the Science Friday Kids’ Connection:

Women in Science
Marie Curie
Rosalind Franklin

For Discussion:

• In what ways do you think boys and girls are similar in school? In what ways are they different?
• Do you like math? Do you like writing? Why? What are some factors that influence your opinion? Teachers? Books? Subject material?
• Have you ever been expected to be good or bad at something just because of your gender? What was the situation and how did it make you feel?
• Is it possible that boys and girls learn things in different ways? In what ways do you think this might be true? Why?
• How would you go about testing your theory?
• How might things change if all kids were taught in one certain way?

Activities

What’s the diff? Want to know the real differences between boy brains and girl brains? She Brains He Brains and Female Brains Have More Folds from Neuroscience for Kids have good information on size and anatomy as well as the convoluted cortex. Take some tests at His Brain Her Brain involving such things as perceptual speed, object displacement, mathematical calculation and spatial perception to see for yourself how the male and female brain can differ.

I can’t help it, I was born that way. Shades of Gray, a lesson plan from the New York Times Network, asks students to examine their own strengths and weaknesses and then to consider what role gender may play. After exploring whether or not gender may have anything to do with aptitude, they gather information and write a paper that delves into gender equity in their own lives and schools. Interesting extension activities include examining bell curves and making a timeline showing how we’ve tried to measure intelligence through history.

Testing one, two, three. Wondering about gender bias and the tests given at your school? Check out what The National Center for Fair and Open Testing has to say about them. And if you want to brush up on how to combat gender bias in the classroom, see PBS Teacher Source

Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.

Hear the Program

RealAudio format (courtesy NPR Online)
Windows Media format (courtesy NPR Online)
mp3 download (Science Friday Podcast)