Girls and Hands On Science Do Better than Boys

See this Ed Week Blog on NAEP breakdown of performance by type of task. Seems girls perform slightly better, though statistically significant, when using manipulatives. Important data, yes. Implications? Reasons why? The use of manipulatives has always been listed as important learning tools, so that is nothing new. But to see that there might be something gender based with results could mean that educators should consider incorporating more manipulatives as needed for understanding. Sure. Could you even go so far as to say that you will have single gender groupings to provide the needed support and use specific strategies to support your students? http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2012/06/although_girls_trail_boys_in.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2