Category: Maths and Science Learning

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Maths and Science Learning Secondary School Education

Can female tutors inspire girls in STEM interest, engagement, and performance?

Persistent gender disparities in STEM remain, even when girls perform equally well as boys in STEM subjects. These disparities suggest the importance of challenging existing preconceived views about gender differences in STEM and highlight the need for role models who may help change these views. A recent study investigated whether female tutors in STEM-related subjects improve girls’ STEM interest, engagement, and math performance.

The researchers partnered with a New England school district where five high schools offered Algebra 1 tutoring to ninth-grade students. The students were placed into small tutoring groups ranging from one to three students, and then randomly assigned to match with either a female or male tutor. Initially, tutoring was planned as an in-person, school-day program. However, due to difficulties hiring enough local tutors, it was ultimately delivered in person at two schools and virtually at three others. 422 students were in the final analysis sample, taught by 23 tutors.

Results indicated that ninth-grade girls who learned from female math tutors reported markedly higher interest in STEM compared to those who learned from male tutors (a 0.73 standard deviation difference). Moreover, they were also 3.9% more likely to earn at least a C- in Algebra 1. No significant difference was found for tutoring assessments or attendance, likely due to measurement issues. Thus, the study highlighted the positive STEM role model that female tutors can play, particularly during the early high school years. The findings indicate that ensuring additional female tutors for gender matching in STEM at the outset of students’ high school careers may be a promising strategy to mitigate gender inequality in STEM.

 

Source (Open Access): Bleiberg, Joshua, Carly D. Robinson, Evan Bennett, and Susanna Loeb. (2025). The Impact of Tutor Gender Match on Girls’ STEM Interest, Engagement, and Performance. (EdWorkingPaper: 25-1178). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://doi.org/10.26300/n6xz-cs89… Read the rest

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K-12 Education Language Development Maths and Science Learning

How early do STEM and verbal abilities stereotypes start among children?

In a recent meta-analysis on children’s gender stereotypes about STEM and verbal abilities, data from 98 studies across 33 nations involving more than 145,000 children were integrated. The findings reveal that verbal stereotypes favoring girls’ abilities (b = 0.19) are stronger than aggregated STEM stereotypes (b = 0.09). A closer look shows that at age 6, stereotypes reflected in-group bias—boys favoring boys, and girls favoring girls. These gender differences declined with age, and by age 16, the stereotypes tended to align with traditional gender roles: boys were favored in STEM ability, and girls in verbal ability.

Girls showed stronger pro-female verbal stereotypes than boys, and while verbal stereotypes increasingly favored girls with age, STEM stereotypes remained more stable. Girls’ STEM beliefs shifted from pro-female to pro-male around ages 10–12, while boys’ verbal beliefs flipped to pro-female around ages 8–10. By age 8, verbal stereotypes already significantly favored girls. STEM stereotypes varied by domain, with stronger male-favoring beliefs in computer science, engineering, and physics (b = 0.25), and weaker or negligible biases in general math (b = 0.06) and science (b = 0.09). Background also mattered: children identified as Black held weaker STEM stereotypes than those identified as White, especially among girls. Black children’s views were largely gender-neutral, while White children slightly favored boys.

These results suggest that stereotypes emerge early, and may shape children’s interests and academic choices. Addressing these beliefs calls for cross-disciplinary collaboration and greater research focus on understudied areas like computing, engineering, and verbal ability development. Interventions could aim to challenge or broaden stereotypes and mitigate their impact, guided by a clear understanding of when such beliefs typically take root.

 

Source (Open Access): Miller, D. I., Lauer, J. E., Tanenbaum, C., & Burr, L. (2024). The development of children’s gender stereotypes about STEM and verbal abilities: A preregistered meta-analytic review of 98 studies. Psychological bulletin, 150(12), 1363–1396. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000456… Read the rest

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K-12 Education Maths and Science Learning

The effects of integrated STEM education in K12

Integrated STEM education, which combines science, technology, engineering, and mathematics into interdisciplinary learning, has gained growing attention for its potential to prepare students for real-world challenges. A recent meta-analysis by Chen and colleagues synthesized 109 studies (experimental or quasi-experimental designs) conducted between 2010-2022 to examine its effectiveness in K-12 settings. The researchers examined the effects of integrated STEM education through three primary types of interventions:

  1. Comparing integrated STEM education to non-integrated approaches in STEM programs (70 studies)
  2. Implementing extra teaching and learning (T&L) strategies (like guided prompts and process modelling) versus not using them in integrated STEM programs (23 studies)
  3. Incorporating specific learning technologies (e.g., simulations, virtual reality) versus not using them in integrated STEM programs (16 studies)

The findings reveal that all three approaches yielded positive effects. Integrated STEM education showed large effects on cognitive skills (g=0.94), knowledge acquisition (g=0.62) and perceptions (g=0.37). Notably, quasi-experimental studies demonstrated larger effects compared to randomized controlled trials. Programs with shorter duration and smaller sample size tended to obtain relatively larger effect sizes. Design-based tasks enhanced student perception but were less effective for knowledge acquisition compared to inquiry-based tasks.

Extra T&L strategies exhibited small to medium effects on cognitive skills (g=0.71), problem-solving task (g=0.52), and perceptions (g=0.34). Using technologies in integrated STEM showed medium effects on knowledge acquisition (g= 0.61), social skills (g=0.54) and perception (g=0.47).

The authors discussed several practice implications that may benefit integrated STEM education. While quasi-experimental studies showed larger effects, the variation in effect sizes between research designs suggests the need for more rigorous randomized controlled trials to validate these findings.

 

Source: Chen, B., Chen, J., Wang, M., Tsai, C.-C., & Kirschner, P. A. (2025). The effects of integrated STEM education on K12 students’ achievements: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 00346543251318297. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543251318297… Read the rest

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Achievement Maths and Science Learning Primary School Education

The effects of CGI professional development on student achievement in grades 3-5

A cluster-randomized trial examined the Year 1 effects of a three-year professional development program for math teachers, the Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) 3-5 Program, on third through fifth graders’ achievement in fractions learning.

The study involved 149 teachers in grades 3-5 from 31 schools in 9 districts in Florida who were assigned randomly to the CGI condition or to a wait-list control group. Teachers in the CGI group participated in workshops on number operations, and algebraic thinking, with a focus on fractions. These workshops took place over 5 days in the summer, 2 in the fall, and 2 in the winter. The training focused on math problem types and student strategies and included teacher-student interactions where teachers applied what they learned, with later reflection and sharing with colleagues. Teachers in the control group continued with business-as-usual instruction.

Students were pre- and posttested using the Elementary Mathematics Student Assessment. Results showed that students of teachers in the CGI program outperformed the control group at post-test (ES=+0.19), which authors cited as a medium effect size equivalent to 1/5 of a school year in grade 3, and 1/3 of a school year in grades 4 and 5. A cost analysis, using Kraft’s schema to relate effect size to program cost, yielded a low per-student cost of $137.25. While CGI 3-5 is designed to be a 3-year program, this study provides important evidence of its one-year effects.

 

Source: Schoen, R. C., LaVenia, M., Tazaz, A. M., Gersten, R., & Smolkowski, K. (2024). Effects of a mathematics teacher professional development program on grades 3–5 student achievement: A multisite cluster-randomized trial. The Elementary School Journal, 125(2), 322–346. https://doi.org/10.1086/732783… Read the rest

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Higher Education K-12 Education Maths and Science Learning

The effect of student-centered strategies on learning outcomes in math teaching

Mathematics education has undergone significant evolution over the years, transitioning from traditional teacher-centered methods to more dynamic student-centered approaches. Grounded in constructivist learning theory, contemporary mathematics teaching fundamentally relies on learners’ autonomous knowledge-building activities. Consequently, student-centered strategies are widely expected to positively impact the learning process.

To investigate the potential relationship between student-centered strategies and mathematical problem-solving skills, researchers from Turkey conducted a meta-analysis of relevant literature in both Turkish and English. A total of 55 studies and 69 effect sizes were analyzed, revealing a large effect size (Hedge’s g = +0.87). Further analysis indicated that this positive effect is consistent across primary, secondary, and tertiary education levels, with longer interventions (exceeding nine weeks) yielding the most substantial impact. Based on these findings, the authors concluded that student-centered strategies, methods, or techniques in mathematics teaching are particularly effective in enhancing students’ problem-solving skills.

 

Source (Open Access): Uyandıran, A., & Tarım, K. (2024). The Effect of Student-Centered Strategies, Methods and Techniques Used in Mathematics Teaching on Problem Solving Skills: A Meta-Analysis Study. Çukurova Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 53(1), 131-166. https://doi.org/10.14812/cuefd.1292823… Read the rest

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Maths and Science Learning Primary School Education

Inhibitory Control and Math Skills: What’s the Connection?

A recent three-level meta-analysis by Zhu and colleagues synthesized 241 effect sizes from 86 samples of primary school students (mean age = 8.67 years) from studies conducted between 2001 to 2023 to investigate how two types of inhibitory control relate to various math domains (e.g., numerical, arithmetic, logical reasoning, general). The researchers distinguished between two main types of inhibitory control: (1) Interference Inhibition involves filtering out distracting information, like resisting the bias that a larger denominator means a larger fraction; and (2) response Inhibition focuses on controlling impulsive actions, like carefully considering a problem before blurting out an answer.

After removing two outlier effect sizes, the meta-analysis revealed a small positive correlation (r=0.19) between inhibitory control and overall math ability indicating that better inhibitory control is correlated with better math skills. The relationship was significantly stronger for interference inhibition (r=0.21) than response inhibition (r=0.14). Subgroup analyses revealed that the correlations between interference inhibition and various math domains (ranging from r=0.18 to r=0.27) were generally stronger than those for response inhibition across these domains (ranging from r=-0.01 to r=0.19).

The relationship between inhibitory control and mathematical ability was not moderated by domains of mathematical ability and inhibitory control task. However, pairwise comparison indicated that the link between arithmetical ability and interference inhibition (r = 0.23) was significantly stronger than the correlation between arithmetical ability and response inhibition (r = 0.12). Moreover, inhibit control measured by the Random generation task (r=0.39) was more strongly associated with math ability than when measured by the Go/No-go task (r=0.17) and other tasks (r=0.16). No significant moderation effects were found among demographic characteristics such as age, developmental status, and sample region.

This research highlights the stable influence of inhibitory control on math ability across various mathematical domains, measurement tasks, and demographic characteristics. The practical implications of these findings are discussed within the paper.

 

Source: Zhu, X., Tang, Y., Lu, J., Song, M., Yang, C., & Zhao, X. (2024). Inhibitory control and mathematical ability in elementary school children: A preregistered meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 37(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-024-09976-w… Read the rest