Exploring Gender Differences in a Symmetry Software Intervention for Young Children

Symmetry is a foundational geometric concept that receives minimal attention in early childhood mathematics. Differing informal play experiences involving symmetry exploration may contribute to gender differences in symmetry understanding. This study sought to explore whether boys’ and girls’ performance on symmetry tasks differs after a symmetry software intervention. A significant gender effect benefiting boys was found on post-test rotation tasks but not on reflection or translation tasks, controlling for pre-test scores. A gender effect was also not significant for identifying or explaining symmetric transformations at post-test. The findings have implications for learning opportunities and modes of assessment for all children.