Learning

Origins of an Adaptive Evolutionary Advantage

What is learningDefinition: an adaptive change in behavior

because of experienceSeveral species have more or less capacity

for this function.Text examples of bees, ants, rats, birds, etc.

DifferencesThe before mentioned animals have different

capacity for learning.Most are limited to a specific type of

information processingVery functional, “choosy” of necessary

knowledgeWhy is it that humans are one of the few

species that have the capacity to learn on higher levels (abstract thought)

Origins of Learning DiversityA brief overview of human evolution

After a the rise of mammals the birth of hominids with Homo Antecessor (800,000 years ago)

Then Homo Heidelbergensis (Likely ancestor to Neanderthals 500,000 years ago, tall cannibalistic loner species)

Neanderthals arrive around 160,000 years ago (extinct at about 28,000 years ago, wide spread across Europe and Asia

Origins of Learning Diversity ContinuedHomo Sapiens emerge 100,000 years ago in

Africa.Homo Sapiens, Heidelbergensis, and

Neanderthals all coexist for over 50,000 years in the same land area.

Why did Homo Sapiens end up as the dominant species?

Human Cognition (Douglas Adams)

Cave Paintings Killed the NeanderthalsDominance did not happen until Neanderthals died

out 28,000 years agoNote also this is about the time cave paintings begin

to appearCave Paintings are indicators of a deeper cognitive

process, self-consciousness as well as passed on learning

Consciousness brings about those questions proposed by Douglas Adams

Cave Painting

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are needed to see this picture.

Cave Paintings Con’t

Cave Paintings Con’t

Cave Paintings: AnalysisCave paintings show cognition and awareness of self,

others, community, and natureThis brings about the problem solving thought process

necessary to surviveThis would bring about the necessary tools to achieve

language, abstract problem solving, and thinking, development into the later stages of human developmet

(10,000 years agriculture - birth of civilization) (Further implications) in many old stories we hear of

ogres and giants. These may have been derivations from stories of old about Heidelbergensis (tall, strong, cannibalistic humanoid competing for resources)

Where to go from here?Next major thought: sex differences in this learning

Why Hunter Gatherer theory?Male Spatial Skills vs. Female Verbal Skills

These skills stem again from “choosy” learning behavior. Depending on necessary actions, certain skills are emphasized

Learning in Males

Hunter-GathererIncreased aggression

Developed mental rotation task skillsMathematics, navigation, etc.

Self-motivationAs opposed to group-motivation

Sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system

Males’ Learning StylesMen and boys prefer:

Field independence

Abstract conceptualization

Right-to-the-point lectures

Teaching Today’s Males“Sitting not required” rule

in some primary schoolsMore emphasis on mental

rotation tasks (math, science)

Begin reading and writing later

Allow for self-motivationConfrontationKeep them guessingCooler classrooms

Teaching Today’s Males continuedEnsure that the material

interests themFormalityKeep them in touch with

realityCheck overconfidence

We know that our ancestors have affected what actions we take today

Keep evolution in mind during the educational process

Increase success-rate of males in schools

Gender Differences and their Implications in Education and Modern Society

The Current DebateWomen tend to be better communicators, better listeners, better at forming consensus.

The prospect for marriage increased by 35 percent for guys for each 16-point increase in I.Q.; for women, there is a 40 percent drop for each 16-point rise.

On the other hand…Innate differences between men and women might be one reason fewer women succeed in science and math careers.

Women do not have the same ''innate ability" or ''natural ability" as men in some fields.

He resigned shortly after making these comments.

President of Harvard

Evolutionary PerspectiveFrom an evolutionary perspective, sex differences in

advanced math and science have not evolved in any direct way but could be indirectly related to differences in interests and to specific brain and cognitive systems that differ for females and males. —Halpern

Evolutionary theories predict sex differences that arise from patterns of intrasexual competitions (for both males and females) and intersexual choice (for both females and males), including pressures that accompany the male-biased activities of hunters and warriors who traveled long distances in novel territory. —Halpern

Hunter/Gatherer PerspectiveTracking and killing animals would necessitate

good spatial skills. Accordingly, men do have superior spatial abilities to women. This would have assisted ancient men in finding their way home after a hunt.

Women are better at “spatial location memory.” In ancestral times, this would have meant being able to find and remember the location of berries and such. Objects recognition is also superior in women. The hunter/gatherer perspective does not account for language-based proficiencies among women.

Possible Physiological Explanations

I'm a man who discovered the wheel and built the Eiffel Tower out of metal and brawn. That's what kind of man I am. You're just a woman with a small brain. With a brain a third the size of us. It's science.—Ron Burgundy

Actually, in general, females have a higher percentage of gray-matter brain tissue, whereas males have a higher volume of connecting white-matter tissue. The higher white-matter volume seems associated with better spatial performance in males, while the greater bilateral symmetry seems associated with better language processing in females. Hormones also have been documented to affect cognition through their organizing effects on the brain.

Implications for EducationAlthough no single finding has unanimous support,

conclusions from multiple studies suggest that females, on average, score higher on tasks that require rapid access to and use of phonological and semantic information in long-term memory, production and comprehension of complex prose, fine motor skills, and perceptual speed.

Males, on average, score higher on tasks that require transformations in visual-spatial working memory, motor skills involved in aiming, spatiotemporal responding, and fluid reasoning, especially in abstract mathematical and scientific domains.

Women are also underrepresented in the low-ability end of several distributions, including mental retardation, attention disorders, dyslexia, stuttering, and delayed speech.

Aptitude DifferencesThe relationship between mental rotation ability and gender

differences in Scholastic Aptitude Test-Math (SAT-M) across diverse samples was investigated. Talented preadolescents, college students and high- and low-ability college-bound youths, totaling 760, were administered the Vandenberg Mental Rotation Test. Gender comparisons showed male outperforming female students in both mental rotation and SAT-M for all 3 high-ability groups but not for the low-ability group.

This suggests that spatial ability may be responsible in part for mediating gender differences in math aptitude among these groups.

Another study examined 1,100 boys and 1,100 girls who matched the U.S. population using the Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, Successive (PASS) cognitive-processing theory, built on the neuropsychological work of A. R. Luria (1973). Girls outperformed boys on the Planning and Attention scales of the Cognitive Assessment System by about 5 points.

The Professional World

16 Women currently serve in the United States Senate

74 Women currently serve in the House

8 Women are currently governors

• In 2005, 92% of registered nurses, 82% of all elementary and middle schoolteachers, and 98% of all preschool and kindergarten teachers were women.• By comparison, only 13% of all civil engineers, 7% of electrical and electronics engineers, and 3% of all aircraft pilots and flight engineers were female.

Could Society be to Blame?Sociocultural forces also influence sex differences in math and

science abilities, academic-course choices, occupational choices, and occupational success in math and science careers.

Compared with girls, boys seem to benefit more from enriched neighborhoods and to be hurt more by deprived neighborhoods.

Schools certainly influence students’ learning and performance; research has documented systematic, subtle differences in the ways that teachers treat males compared with the ways they treat females in math and science classrooms.

Many women in math and science areas do report significant sex discrimination, and these experiences likely shape the direction their careers take.

Finally, women’s roles may be part of the equation, as women still bear more responsibility for child care than do men and they work fewer hours. It also seems that being successful in a nontraditional career, such as engineering, may penalize women in the marriage market.

The Jury is still out…On Evolution: Although a large body of data was

presented that supports this theory, numerous criticisms have been raised as well. Many of its predictions remain to be tested, although several patterns are consistent with observed differences in interest and ability profiles.

On Society: Cross-cultural research demonstrates that the magnitude of sex differences in math performance varies across nations. In no country is the overall sex difference large prior to the end of secondary school, when the size of the sex difference begins to increase, although larger differences sometimes emerge earlier in specific mathematical areas (e.g., geometry). Moreover, the magnitude of the sex difference correlates negatively with measures of gender equality in the country.

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