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Re: [Phys-L] Grover Whitehurst Testifies Against Class Size Reduction



The abstract of my post "Grover Whitehurst Testifies Against Class Size Reduction" [Hake (2012)], reads in part [my CAPS]:

"HAIMSON POINTED OUT THAT:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . e. Whitehurst racked up 220 billable hours? That means Whitehurst must have worked nearly thirty 8-hour days on it. WONDER WHAT TOOK HIM SO LONG?"

In response Jim Huddle (2012) wrote [my CAPS]:

"Richard Hake points out that after Whitehurst had concluded that class size DOES matter, Whitehurst billed The Great State of Texas for 220 hours that he spent researching the opinion he gave in court, that class size DOESN'T matter. Then HAKE WONDERS "WHAT TOOK HIM SO LONG" to come to this new conclusion? I can only speculate, but my speculation is that Whitehurst learned to read in a very large reading class."

I agree with Huddle that Whitehurst may have been *taught* to read (NOT *learned* to read) in large classes. He may also have been *taught* to assess "what's in science education" (see the signature quotes) in large classes.

BTW, I should like take the credit, assigned to me by Huddle, for wondering "what took Whitehurst so long," but as I attempted to make clear in my post, that credit belongs to the perceptive class-size-reduction crusader Leonie Haimson <http://huff.to/12fHNyy>.

Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
Honorary Member, Curmudgeon Lodge of Deventer, The Netherlands
President, PEdants for Definitive Academic References
which Recognize the Invention of the Internet (PEDARRII)
Links to Articles: <http://bit.ly/a6M5y0>
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Physics educators have led the way in developing and using objective tests to compare student learning gains in different types of courses, and chemists, biologists, and others are now developing similar instruments. These tests provide convincing evidence that students assimilate new knowledge more effectively in courses including active, inquiry-based, and collaborative learning, assisted by information technology, than in traditional courses."
- Wood & Gentile (2003)

"In science education, there is almost nothing of proven efficacy."
- Grover Whitehurst, as quoted by Sharon Begley (2004)

REFERENCES
Begley, S. 2004. "To Improve Education, We Need Clinical Trials To Show What Works," Wall Street Journal, 17 December, page B1; online as a 41 kB pdf at <http://bit.ly/SSmaym>, thanks to David Klahr.

Hake, R.R. 2012. "Grover Whitehurst Testifies Against Class Size Reduction," online on the OPEN! online on the OPEN! AERA-L archives at <http://bit.ly/VYtD1l>. Post of 9 Dec 2012 18:34:56-0800 to AERA-L and Net-Gold. The abstract and link to the complete post are being transmitted to several discussion lists and are also on my blog "Hake'sEdStuff" at <http://bit.ly/QS016H> with a provision for comments.

Huddle, J. 2012. "Re: Grover Whitehurst Testifies Against Class Size Reduction," online on the CLOSED! Physoc archives at <http://bit.ly/Rpn5Lw>. Post of 10 Dec 2012 12:36:15 -0500 to Physoc. To access the archives of PHYSOC one needs to subscribe : - (, but that takes only a few minutes by clicking on <http://bit.ly/dVm2AM> and then clicking on "Subscribe or Unsubscribe" in the right-hand column. If you're busy, then subscribe using the "NOMAIL" option under "Miscellaneous." Then, as a subscriber, you may access the archives and/or post messages at any time, while receiving NO MAIL from the list!

Wood, W.B., & J.M. Gentile. 2003. "Teaching in a research context," Science 302: 1510; 28 November; online as a 213 kB pdf at <http://bit.ly/SyhOvL> thanks to Portland State's "Ecoplexity" site.