The Importance Of Stereotypes In Math And Science

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There are many different stereotypes that plague the classroom each year, one of those stereotypes being that girls are bad at math and science. Being aware of this stereotype is very important because in our future classrooms some day we have to be able to deal with this problem. All I knew about this topic was that girls where considered lower when it came to math and science. I wanted to learn and understand more about why girls are considered bad at math and science. I wanted to know more about why it is a stereotype in the first place. I wanted to dig deeper into the background of this stereotype, and figure how we can help it. Why is the stereotype that girls are bad at math and science even a stereotype? What caused it to be a stereotype? …show more content…

Stereotype threat is possibly conforming to the Stereotype you think that you are representing. Females tend to do this in tests when they are reminded that they are a female taking a math test. If a female were to take a math test in a room full of men they are more likely to feel the pressure and conform to the threat, and not do so well. Gender bias is another thing that effects female students. It mostly affects them in their future, as a male is more likely to be hired for a math related job then a female. Prof. Zonnefeld even states that most girls will know all the answers in class, they won’t perform in class or answer because of the threats and biases. I asked Prof. Zonnefeld if she ever felt the stereotype threat, she said that once she hit college that was when she felt it. Most of her math courses in college where just her and some boys. She said that there were a lot of assumptions made because she was a female in a math class. The fact that again there are not very many female role models in the math and science fields, that makes them hide in their shells when it comes to math. Once they start to not answer questions and hide in their shells, their motivation level will go down and so will their grades. (Hill, C. 2018, Bohannon, J.

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