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A study was conducted at the University of Maine at Orono (UMO) to examine gender differences with respect to mathematical problem-solving ability, visual spatial ability, abstract reasoning ability, field independence/dependence, independent learning style, and developmental problem-solving ability (i.e., formal reasoning ability). Subjects included 27 females and 48 males from two-year programs at UMO who had finished or tested out of a developmental algebra course in 1980-81. Subjects received a multiple-choice test of algebraic concepts and paper and pencil tests assessing various abilities and characteristics. A three-stage analysis of the scores revealed the following: (1) males did better than females in the algebraic concepts test; (2) females had more independent learning styles; (3) although the three tests with a spatial or figural component were significantly correlated with problem solving, one of the tests showed no gender differences at all and the other revealed differences less than the differences on the problem-solving tests; and (4) tests of the level of formal reasoning ability tended to produce higher results among males. The study report details methodology, limitations, and findings; provides suggestions for further research; and considers implications for instruction. Data tables and sample test items are appended. (KL)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert