Actress Danica McKellar's probably not the person who comes to mind when you picture a mathematician. Danica's displayed high mental acumen in the field by proving her own theorem. And, she graduated summa cum laude in math though she first intended to study writing and directing in college.And because of her influence as an actress, McKellar's changing a stereotype that prevented many girls from success in math. Interestingly, young men are more likely to have higher opinions of their abilities in math and science than women. Added to that, men hold four times the number of full-time university faculty positions in math, science, and engineering. To illustrate this, "As McKellar sat in a sea of male classmates in her advanced classes," according to a recent article in Good Magazine, "she realized she was living the direct repercussions of these early gender inequalities."
What's the difference then? Educational researcher Patricia Campbell, who evaluates math and science programs for the National Science Foundation says, "We've gotten girls to take math. We've gotten girls to use math. But, we haven't gotten them to love it."
Myths about intelligence The problem's multifacted... On one hand it's related to myths gals may hold about their brains... If gals believe guys are smarter at math, they set up self fulfilling prophecies, since the brain picks up that message. The more you feed your brain that perception the less you'll calculate math with ease. To overcome this, if women understand their brains have equal potential and that the more they think they can do math, as Danica McKellar models, the more success they'll experience as they build new confidence.
Fear Danica goes so far as to say that, "Girls fear math." For some, fear leads to lower test outcomes. Recent research at Michigan State University reveals that "while under pressure those most likely to succeed will most likely fail." That's because "individuals higher in working memory capacity are more likely to be negatively impacted by performance pressure on math tests than those lower in working memory capacity." We've all experienced testing pressure and know of some friends who failed because worry incapacitated them. But anybody can bust the fear barrier and turn it around.
Plasticity of the Brain If girls knew more about their brain and how it works, it might help overcome these past stereotypes and fears. According to Barry Conners of Brown University, the plasticity of the human brain impacts its ability to change. So as young women begin with the premise "I think I can..." more positive outcomes they'll see. With positive outcomes, they'll build more dendrite brain cells for calculating math. And as they do, the more confident they'll become. Do you sense that gals may find a love for math as Danica has?
Taking Stats after 40 years When I was recently attending university, I was required to take statistics. Quite frankly I was scared because I had not taken a math course in 40 years. There were many things that influenced my "A" outcome at graduate level. The teacher used new approaches that drew from spatial intelligence. Don't forget that Einstein developed the theory of relativity because he visualized the curve of the arc. I began to understand stats because of the teacher's methodologies. And the more I began to use statistics in my research, the more confident I became. Women and men can grow new smarts, when they open their mind to learn... even when they're older!
Test taking tactics By practicing on sample tests, women and men learn strategies that help build confidence and more dendrite brain cells are built so that test tactics can be summoned when needed. In this way, people can overcome "fear" that could lead to failure at test time.
I'm glad Danica's a "Math Wonder." I anticipate we'll soon see more women engineers and mathematicians as they overcome former stereotypes and fear.
If stereotypes or fear have prevented your success in any area, good news is that you can bust the barriers.
Thoughts?
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