Studied gender and social comparison effects in computer-based problem solving in studies involving 62 11- and 12-year-olds working in pairs on computers without verbal interaction (co-action) and 96 children working in co-action or interaction pairs. Polarization of sex differences was found in the co-action condition but not the interaction…

Open-ended tasks were used to examine gender differences in complex mathematical problem solving. The results of this study suggest that, overall, males perform better than females, but the gender differences vary from task to task. A qualitative analysis of student responses to those tasks with gender differences showed that male and female…

Comparison of performance in 3 practical problem-solving tasks by eighth graders in Singapore (170 boys, 107 girls matched for aptitude, attitude, and prior knowledge) indicated that girls distinctly preferred content familiarity and outperformed boys in several processes/skills when familiar with content. (SK)

The differences in responses of grade 6 boys and girls to selected items on a standardized test are examined. Data are the responses of approximately 36,000 children during 1978-79 to two test forms of the California Assessment Program's Survey of Basic Skills: Grade 6 (SBS:6). Performance on specific arithmetic items is studied and involves the…

Tasks graded in terms of fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration of responses were administered to fourth graders in order to identify relationships between these measures of creativity, intelligence, and evaluation skills. With intelligence controlled, the relationship between creative thinking scores and evaluation ability was near…

A 2-year study of mathematics performance of sixth-grade students was conducted to: (1) determine the extent to which previously reported sex differences in California data exist and influence student response; (2) examine the predominant successful and unsuccessful strategies used by sixth-grade students in solving story problems; (3) discover to…

The majority of research investigating gender-related differences in problem-solving ability has focused on the product of word problem solving--the problem solution. This paper reports an investigation of potential gender-related effects on sixth-graders of an explicitly stated problem-solving plan. Two versions of the test were given: the…

Two research reports are included in this document. The first is a study of children's anxiety. A sixteen-item trait anxiety scale was used on a population of students in grades 4 through 6. The first ten items measured anxiety about making mistakes in performing physical education activities, and the remaining six items measured general anxiety.…

Structured naturalistic observations and student surveys were analyzed to determine (1) the extent to which small group instruction was used in elementary school classrooms; (2) the academic conditions under which small group instruction was used; and (3) the effects of small group instruction on student attitudes, particularly those related to…

Reports a study to test the hypothesis that intermediate grade teachers (n=96) will reflect an expectation of male success in the scores they assign to students' work in mathematical problem solving. MANOVA involving the variables of student gender, teacher grade level, and teacher gender indicated no gender bias on the part of teachers. (MDH)

Using data from the Survey of Basic Skills administered to approximately 300,000 California sixth graders, this study examines sex differences on two types of mathematics items. Probability for success is greater for girls in solving computations and for boys in solving story problems. Relationships to other influential factors are examined.

Conditions under which confidence estimation facilitates problem solving were examined in a study assessing spelling, mathematics, and reasoning. Participants who used a confidence estimation procedure and whose teacher valued and nurtured warranted uncertainty performed better on spelling and improved more than did other participants. (Author/RD)

Describes a study of fifth- and sixth-grade students that investigated the patterns of peer interaction among students working cooperatively in small groups on a computer-based problem-solving task and the effects of gender and group composition on peer interaction. Suggestions for future research are included. (Contains 86 references.) (LRW)

Investigated gender-related differences in the process of solving routine word problems using a nine-step strategy in (n=153) sixth- and (n=149) eighth-grade students. Females were slightly better than males at following the prescribed problem-solving process. Includes test items. (39 references) (MKR)

EQUALS is a teacher education program that helps elementary and secondary educators acquire methods and materials to attract minority and female students to mathematics. It supports a problem-solving approach to mathematics which has students working in groups, uses active assessment methods, and incorporates a broad mathematics curriculum…