MODULE #7Helping Diverse Groups Succeed

in Math

Math Stereotypes

Blacks and Women Typically underperform in Math courses

How can we help these groups succeed?

Claude M. Steele has studied “How stereotypes Affect Us and What We can do” in his book titled,

WHISTLING VIVALDI

Published in 2010

HELPING DIVERSE GROUPS

“Philip Uri Triesman is a mathematician who has created innovative workshops for teaching college math to students from groups whose math abilities are negatively stereotyped—first to black students at the University of California at Berkeley and then to women students at the University of Texas at Austin….

Black students in his early workshops at Berkeley, for example, outperformed all other groups in their first-year calculus courses. A substantial portion of all of the American women who have gone on to study math at the graduate level in the United States come from Treisman’s math workshops at the University of Texas.”

Pages 99-100: Whistling Vivaldi

How did he do it?

“With their permission, he began to literally following his students around to observe their lives outside of class. He observed how, where and with whom they studied…. Soon a group difference came into view, one in which blacks and Asians differed the most, with whites in the middle.”• Asians studied in groups, bringing many heads to the

problems. They spent less time studying, and performed better.

• Blacks studied alone, spending more time than whites or Asians, feeling that they had to work by themselves to learn. They performed the worst.

• Whites studied independently, but sought help when stuck.

- “Whistling Vivaldi” pages 100-101.

Lessons Learned

• All students benefit from group work. Including all students helps them perform better in the classroom.

• Teachers would do well to incorporate more group work among diverse students to help everyone succeed.