Women Are Better at Statistics than They Think
2022-08-07
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1Students seeking college degrees in sociology and psychology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha are required to take a class in mathematical statistics.
2Statistics is a kind of math that studies numbers that represent pieces of information.
3Many of the students say they feel anxious about the statistics class.
4In other words, the class causes them worry and concern.
5Two University of Nebraska professors sought to understand their students' anxieties, or fears.
6They hoped to be able to help educators improve their teaching of statistics and lessen students' worries.
7Kelly MacArthur teaches statistics in the department of sociology and Jonathan Santo teaches the class in the department of psychology.
8They spoke with VOA Learning English about their study and its surprising results.
9The two researchers explored several areas of the relationship between statistics anxiety and classroom results.
10They looked at how anxiety levels changed from the start of the class to the end.
11They also looked at how those levels related to exam results.
12And, they explored the role that gender plays in statistics anxiety and actual class results.
13MacArthur and Santo found that, in general, female students were much more anxious about the class than males were.
14Yet, based on their study, women did not need to be as worried as they were.
15The researchers found that the female students scored 10 percent higher than male students on the final exam.
16Males and females had scored more similarly on exams at the start of the term.
17MacArthur and Santo studied 111 students who answered a series of questions at the beginning and end of the school term.
18They wanted to see how worried their students were about the class, and then follow their progress over a number of months.
19At the start, the professors said, more men than women answered the questions confidently.
20But by the end, the number of women who were confident about their abilities increased.
21Their exam scores rose, too.
22Why is this?
23Frances Anderson is one of Santo's former students.
24She is working on an advanced degree in educational leadership.
25She remembers being fearful of statistics classes even though she had a history of doing well in math classes.
26"After the first, I think it was one or two lectures, I felt completely incompetent. I felt like all of the other students knew what was going on, I didn't know anything."
27Anderson said she thought she would fail the class.
28She even called some friends crying, saying "there's no way that I have the ability to do this."
29After the concerns at the start, Anderson said she made friends with other students who offered help.
30She also spent one-on-one time with Santo going over the material and followed issues of interest so she could ask "deeper questions" that helped her understand the class better.
31But the biggest reason she sought extra help? She did not want to be seen as an impostor -- someone who did not belong in the class.
32"I think it's almost like 'someone's going to catch you' and so you're trying to work to stay ahead of that. So it's sort of like well, I know if I just stay like one foot ahead, it won't be possible."
33Anderson said her fear of being seen as not good enough made her work very hard.
34MacArthur and Santo wrote about their study in the Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education.
35They noted that problems with statistics classes can "present a barrier to graduation."
36Santo said the level of concern about statistics has always surprised him.
37He said he often tries to let his students know that math in statistics classes is more "practical," or useful in everyday life.
38But he said it is important for students to accept that they are dealing with math questions that do not have clear answers.
39That is different from other kinds of math problems.
40Santo said students are used to doing work that results in a "right" answer.
41But in a statistics class for psychology or sociology, they should accept the idea that research data does not always produce clear results.
42Santo also said statistics professors should find ways to make students feel comfortable asking for help.
43"For these students, if they're stressed out to the point that they're avoiding it or avoiding talking to their teachers, or avoiding asking for help, that's going to have a long-term impact on their grades."
44Anderson said sometimes students set up roadblocks for themselves.
45In this case, she said, the students create a barrier to success by thinking they are not good at math.
46Anderson offered suggestions for people to get past those roadblocks:
47Ask questions and find other people who are facing similar roadblocks.
48"The only unsuccessful students I've ever seen are those that don't ask questions," Anderson said.
49I'm Dan Friedell
1Students seeking college degrees in sociology and psychology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha are required to take a class in mathematical statistics. Statistics is a kind of math that studies numbers that represent pieces of information. 2Many of the students say they feel anxious about the statistics class. In other words, the class causes them worry and concern. 3Two University of Nebraska professors sought to understand their students' anxieties, or fears. They hoped to be able to help educators improve their teaching of statistics and lessen students' worries. 4Kelly MacArthur teaches statistics in the department of sociology and Jonathan Santo teaches the class in the department of psychology. They spoke with VOA Learning English about their study and its surprising results. 5A surprise 6The two researchers explored several areas of the relationship between statistics anxiety and classroom results. They looked at how anxiety levels changed from the start of the class to the end. They also looked at how those levels related to exam results. And, they explored the role that gender plays in statistics anxiety and actual class results. 7MacArthur and Santo found that, in general, female students were much more anxious about the class than males were. 8Yet, based on their study, women did not need to be as worried as they were. The researchers found that the female students scored 10 percent higher than male students on the final exam. Males and females had scored more similarly on exams at the start of the term. 9Sample questions 10MacArthur and Santo studied 111 students who answered a series of questions at the beginning and end of the school term. They wanted to see how worried their students were about the class, and then follow their progress over a number of months. 11At the start, the professors said, more men than women answered the questions confidently. But by the end, the number of women who were confident about their abilities increased. Their exam scores rose, too. 12Why is this? 13One student's opinion 14Frances Anderson is one of Santo's former students. She is working on an advanced degree in educational leadership. She remembers being fearful of statistics classes even though she had a history of doing well in math classes. 15"After the first, I think it was one or two lectures, I felt completely incompetent. I felt like all of the other students knew what was going on, I didn't know anything." 16Anderson said she thought she would fail the class. She even called some friends crying, saying "there's no way that I have the ability to do this." 17After the concerns at the start, Anderson said she made friends with other students who offered help. She also spent one-on-one time with Santo going over the material and followed issues of interest so she could ask "deeper questions" that helped her understand the class better. 18But the biggest reason she sought extra help? She did not want to be seen as an impostor -- someone who did not belong in the class. 19"I think it's almost like 'someone's going to catch you' and so you're trying to work to stay ahead of that. So it's sort of like well, I know if I just stay like one foot ahead, it won't be possible." 20Anderson said her fear of being seen as not good enough made her work very hard. 21Study results 22MacArthur and Santo wrote about their study in the Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education. They noted that problems with statistics classes can "present a barrier to graduation." 23Santo said the level of concern about statistics has always surprised him. He said he often tries to let his students know that math in statistics classes is more "practical," or useful in everyday life. But he said it is important for students to accept that they are dealing with math questions that do not have clear answers. That is different from other kinds of math problems. 24Santo said students are used to doing work that results in a "right" answer. But in a statistics class for psychology or sociology, they should accept the idea that research data does not always produce clear results. 25Santo also said statistics professors should find ways to make students feel comfortable asking for help. 26"For these students, if they're stressed out to the point that they're avoiding it or avoiding talking to their teachers, or avoiding asking for help, that's going to have a long-term impact on their grades." 27Anderson said sometimes students set up roadblocks for themselves. In this case, she said, the students create a barrier to success by thinking they are not good at math. 28Anderson offered suggestions for people to get past those roadblocks: 29Ask questions and find other people who are facing similar roadblocks. 30"The only unsuccessful students I've ever seen are those that don't ask questions," Anderson said. 31I'm Dan Friedell 32Dan Friedell wrote this story for VOA Learning English based on his interviews with Santo and Anderson and a story in The Conversation. 33________________________________________________________________________ 34Words in This Story 35degree -n. a certificate showing the completion of school 36gender -n. male or female 37score-n. a way to keep track of points or goals or how someone does on an exam, in school often the number of points out of 100 38confidently-adv. describing someone who does something without worry or concern 39advanced-adj. something that is at a higher level than something else 40lecture-n. a talk or presentation by a professor or teacher 41incompetent -adj. used to describe a person who is not good at something 42impostor -n. a person pretending to be someone else 43barrier -n. something that blocks movement from one place to another 44stress -n. a state of mental tension and worry 45impact -n. an influence or effect 46_______________________________________________________________________ 47What do you think of the students' concerns about statistics? 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