Subject:
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Re: More Thoughts about Girls and Legos
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.edu
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Date:
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Wed, 16 Aug 2000 18:23:27 GMT
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Viewed:
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6652 times
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In lugnet.edu, Richard Wright writes:
> One email
> posting that stated that the "cognitive differences between men and
> women" is one explaination for the gender gap in the sciences. ( The
> argument runs that there are cognitive differences such as math and
> spatial abilities between men and women, and these differences may be
> important to achievement in science.)
Well, I'll have to go and semi-agree with the statement. However, I think that
what the statement was implying vs. what it said by the letter was a bit
different. I think that I would say something along the lines of "male and
female minds generally develop differing approaches to thought problems; and
in general, as a result, males are more attracted to the prospect of
constructing and building with Lego than women."
> Yes, there are some cognitive differences between men and women...but I
> cannot seriously believe that someone would argue that this would
> explain why there are significantly fewer women in the fields of science
> and technology.
Well... I'd say that's exactly why! If I said that differences in skin
defensive mechanisms between whites and blacks exist, causing statistically
fewer blacks with skin cancer than whites due to excessive sun exposure,
that'd make perfect sense. It's relatively the same thing. Women in general
are less turned on by the prospect of building with Lego than men. And as a
result, they don't become active in building.
> Working in an engineering lab with Lego elements, I have observed that:
>
> 1) Female students enjoy working with Lego elements as much as male
> students.
>
> 2) Female students enjoy exploring mechanical engineering, architecture
> and robotics as much as male students.
>
> 3) Female students display as much prociency developing projects in the
> Lego lab as male students.
All the above really demonstrate the same point, which I agree with. Although
women IN GENERAL do NOT enjoy the above as much as men, let it never be said
that women CANNOT enjoy the above as much as men. It's simply that there are
fewer women that DO enjoy it.
> 4) It is motivation that is the key. Given motivation, students will
> demonstrate persistence to master the material. In addition to having a
> great hands-on constructive ( Legos, which provide the opportunity for every
> student to experience success ), it was the classroom environment (
> making it "girl-friendly"---for example deemphasizing competitive
> activities while encouraging group projects, providing support and
> positive feedback, and having female role models ) and the building
> curriculum ( open ended projects and lots of free time available to explore
> different aspects of engineering ) that made the difference. These elements
> are the building blocks to motivating more female students to explore science
> and technology.
I highly agree here. And I think the key to getting women involved in the
building/scientific/technology world is motivating them to actively WANT to do
it. And therein I think is the underlying issue.
It's too bad that a classroom environment isn't really the right place to
experiment, though. In a class, there are common motivations that all students
share: doing a good job, being competitive with others (like it or not, it's
usually there), getting good grades, and earning praise from others (teachers
and other students alike). In such an environment, I think studies would show
a more equal motivation between the sexes.
However, OUTSIDE the classroom is where I think the differences make their
presence known. Young girls simply more often enjoy playing 'house', doing
something decorative, or playing games with others. Young boys more often
enjoy competitive sports, building functional tools, or, again, playing with
others. Suffice to say that males, more often than females are motivated by
their own accord to actively be involved in building, and likewise technology
and science.
And back to the original point, I believe that this is due to psychological
differences in the genetic makeup of males and females. It's not an issue of
competency, it's an issue of motivation, which is highly influenced by simple
cognative differences in males and females. But there are most certainly
exceptions to the rule-- not only genetically, but also exceptions caused by
experience (upbrining, really). As such, women may certainly be motivated in
the same way as men in terms of building and technology-- it just happens less
often.
But then again, I'm hearing myself say it and it doesn't sound quite like what
I want to say. I think what I'm trying to say is something along the lines
of 'Few humans enter into the world of science and technology. Most humans are
little motivated or competent enough to want to become actively involved. Of
those that are motivated and competent, a greater percentage are males than
females, mainly due to male's generally greater motivation in the area'.
Anyway, I think that's my standpoint on the issue... (not really being a
psychologist or anything, though-- just my layman's thoughts on the issue)
DaveE
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: More Thoughts about Girls and Legos
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| (...) Interesting list... maybe it's because it's a "classroom environment" list that "wanting to learn something" is missing as a motivation? A comment on our education systems generally... Kevin ---...--- Personal Lego Web page: (URL) Air Market: (...) (24 years ago, 17-Aug-00, to lugnet.edu)
| | | Re: More Thoughts about Girls and Legos
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| Howdy, (...) Not so. There may be psychological barriars, but I suspect they are learned ones. In the Lego Lab environment I observed the same interest in building and creating with both genders. The differences came from teaching strategies and the (...) (24 years ago, 18-Aug-00, to lugnet.edu)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | More Thoughts about Girls and Legos
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| Howdy, ...I was just reviewing the debates that ran on gender issues and science at the Nature website late last year. ( (URL) ) One email posting that stated that the "cognitive differences between men and women" is one explaination for the gender (...) (24 years ago, 16-Aug-00, to lugnet.edu)
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