Lesson #2 - Augsburg College

Gender and Multiculturalism in Math Education
In the history of teaching and learning math there have been some disturbing gaps in achievement between
students of different demographics. The first important achievement gap to recognize as a math teacher is between
boys and girls. Statistics show blatantly that women are under-represented in the field of mathematics in
our society; you can tell by entering a male-dominated college classroom, and the problem only worsens as you
move to a graduate level classroom. Most argue that girls are socialized away from the math and science fields,
beginning as early on in school as kindergarten. A girl is encouraged to be artistic and emotional and pursue
careers working with people, while a boy is socialized to be pragmatic and objective—qualities that lead very
nicely into science and math.
This gender gap plays out in schools nation-wide and our Northfield schools are no exception. Some have
suggested that we should be doing more to set girls up for success in math. A program like Challenge Math is
an ideal environment in which to do so. By placing them in a Challenge Math group, teachers are recognizing
and validating the mathematical abilities that many of our girls have. These students like math, and by leading
your own Challenge Math group with the gender achievement gap in mind, you have the opportunity to nurture
and reinforce girls’ confidence as mathematicians so that they can be proud, not embarrassed, or their math
smarts and set an example for younger students.
The racial achievement gap is in many ways like the gender gap, but it quickly becomes more complicated.
The phrase ‘achievement gap’ originally referred to the comparison of academic achievement between black
students and white students. Nationally it was and is still confirmed that black students perform less well in
all areas of school than white students. This discrepancy is even more severe in mathematics, and now it extends
to all minority students, not just black students. With immigration to the U.S. growing exponentially and
students for whom English is a second language being in a majority of elementary classrooms, the achievement
gap occurs due to a compilation of different ‘minority’ labels regarding race, class, and culture. Northfield
schools like Bridgewater, Sibley, and Greenvale are a perfect example both of the increasing Latino immigrant
population and of the achievement gap between minorities and white students in math and in general.
Thinking about both achievement gaps may leave you feeling discouraged but we feel strongly that, on the
contrary, these gaps can be successfully addressed and countered in Challenge Math. Because Challenge Math
teachers are volunteers, we have a fresh outside perspective not tainted by a given student’s reputation among
teachers or history at school from previous years. If you believe that every student has a different ideal learning
style, and when they’re given the opportunity to learn in that way, they can succeed, then you can single-handedly
erase the achievement gaps in one small group of students.
You might not believe it at first, but you can easily make success a part of each student’s Challenge Math
experiences. If Jake is good at handwriting, make him the data recorder and he can participate in a way that
makes him feel competent and confident. If Suzy doesn’t like brainstorms because she’s often the last to shout
out answers, make a rule that no one can speak twice until everyone speaks once. You will quickly become
an adult upon whom students rely for praise, and that’s great! Students who suffer at the bottom end of the
achievement gaps can and will thrive in the informal small group setting of Challenge Math.
Teaching Methods
The field of mathematics instruction has changed dramatically in recent history from a system that asks,
“What is the right answer?” to a system that asks, “Why is the answer right?” This shift has taken hold at various
levels of instruction, but it is not yet universal. Many students still think that math is boring, and some
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