Unit Two Who’s Afraid of Maths Anyway.ppt

Unit Two  Who’s Afraid of Maths Anyway ? Background Information Liberal arts Liberal arts refer to college or university subjects such as literature, history, and political science. Examples of prevocational and preprofessional studies include programes in the health sciences, engineering, architecture, and computer programming. In the United States fewer than a third of all college students graduate with bachelor’s degree in liberal arts subjects. Nonetheless, liberal arts education still has passionate advocates. Defenders of the liberal arts claim that a broad-based non-specialized education prepares young people for the variety of experiences and occupations they can espect to purse over the course of a lifetime. If you had a choice, would you choose to be a man or a woman? Why or why not? Statistics show that in mathematics, at least, girls are equal to boys. Arecent report suggests that girls only stop studying mathematics because of social attitudes. One of the report’s author’s says, “While it is socially unacceptable for people not to be able to read and write, it is still acceptable for women to say that they are ‘hopeless’ at maths. Our research shows that, although girls get marks which are as good as the boys’, they have not been encouraged to do so.” The explanation for the difference, which is apparent during the teenage years, goes as far back as early childhood experiences. From their days in nursery school, girls are not encouraged to work on their own or to complete tasks, although boys are. For example, boys and not girls, are often asked to “help” with repair work. This encouragement leads to a way of learning how to solve problems later on in life. Evidence shows that exceptional mathematicians and scientists did not have teachers who supplied answers; they had to find out for themselves. Questions Why do girls avoid mathematics courses? Why don’t boys stop learning math? Why don’t girls want to take up maths and s