ABSTRACT
The history of women working at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is largely obscure. Yet, extraordinary women worked for NASA as human computers, conducting calculations by hand and plotting data. Learning about latitude and longitude is directly connected to aviation and aerospace. G. Hanna categorized gender research into two distinct waves or time periods. During the first wave, in the 1970s, researchers attributed the low participation and achievement of women in mathematics and science to differences in spatial ability and other cognitive factors. The second wave of research on gender differences in mathematics and science in the 1990s marked a major departure from the focus on innate biological factors. International and national assessments have been analyzed to measure gender gaps in achievement. The feminist pedagogy stressed four principles to foster gender-equitable, multicultural learning environments in mathematics classrooms: using students’ experiences, integrating writing, facilitating cooperative learning, and developing a community of learners.
