Re: Science Article on Scientific Teaching

[Bob LaMontagne <rlamont@POSTOFFICE.PROVIDENCE.EDU>]

Oh great! Another new magic bullet to meet our science
education needs - "scientific teaching". Why didn't someone
think of that before?

I started teaching physics around 1970. At this point I
can't remember all the magic bullets that have been
proposed to replace the ancient method of lecturing.
Reaching way back, I can remember the "Keller Plan". Of
course, it was promoted as being being "systematically
tested and shown to reach diverse students". I can't
remember one of these plans that weren't (or at least
claimed that they were).

I often wonder if the people who come up with these plans
ever step into actual classrooms. They are always promoting
alternatives to lecturing. I know of no one who actually
lectures anymore. At least not in the traditional sense or
for the full class period.

Teaching is an individual art. Every school and college has
its own unique mix of students and resources. To impose a
"plan" that everyone robotically follows in lock step
fashion is ridiculous. There are many wonderful suggestions
to improve our teaching that have shown up in the Physics
Teacher and other  trade magazines. Anyone who really cares
about their teaching has adapted these to their own
personal style. The heart of our teaching is a love of
physics. In my 30 plus years of teaching, I've not seen
anyone be more successful because of "technique" than the
simple love and expertise in physics itself.

Bob at PC

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 4/27/2004 at 10:12 PM Richard Hake wrote:

> Some discussion list subscribers may be interested in a
recent
> "Science" article titled "Scientific Teaching" by
Handelsman et al.
> (2004). For reports on this article see Reuters (2004) and
HHMI News
> (2004).
>
> The introductory paragraphs read [bracketed by lines
"HHHHHHHHHHHH. . . .
> ."]:
>
> HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
> Since publication of the AAAS 1989 report "Science for all
Americans"
> [AAAS (1989)] commissions, panels, and working groups have
agreed
> that reform in science education should be founded on
"scientific
> teaching," in which teaching is approached with the same
rigor as
> science at its best [AAAS (1990)] Scientific teaching
involves active
> learning strategies to engage students in the process of
science and
> teaching methods that have been systematically tested and
shown to
> reach diverse students [SOM (2004)].
>
> Given the widespread agreement, it may seem surprising
that change
> has not progressed rapidly nor been driven by the research
> universities as a collective force. Instead, reform has
been
> initiated by a few pioneers, while many other scientists
have
> actively resisted changing their teaching. So why do
outstanding
> scientists who demand rigorous proof for scientific
assertions in
> their research continue to use and, indeed, defend on the
basis of
> the intuition alone, teaching methods that are not the
most
> effective? Many scientists are still unaware of the data
and analyses
> that demonstrate the effectiveness of active learning
techniques.
> Others may distrust the data because they see scientists
who have
> flourished in the current educational system. Still others
feel
> intimidated by the challenge of learning new teaching
methods or may
> fear that identification as teachers will reduce their
credibility as
> researchers [SOM (2004)].
>
> This Policy Forum is needed because most scientists don't
read
> reports but they do read "Science." In addition, reports
generally do
> not offer a guide to do scientific teaching, as we do with
supporting
> online material [SOM (2004)].and table (see page 522). We
also
> present recommendations for moving the revolution forward.
> HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
>
>
> Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana
University
> 24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
> <rrhake@earthlink.net>
> <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake>
> <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi>
>
> "The academic area  is one of the most difficult areas to
change in
> our society.  We continue to use the same methods of
instruction,
> particularly lectures, that have been used for hundreds of
years.
> Little scientific research is done to test new approaches,
and little
> systematic attention is given to the development of new
methods.
> Universities that study many aspects of the world ignore
the
> educational function in which they are engaging and from
which a
> large part of their revenues are earned."
>
> Richard M. Cyert, former president of Carnegie Mellon
Univ. in
> "Problem Solving and Education: Issues in Teaching and
Research,"
> ed. by D.T. Tuma and F. Reif (Lawrence Erlbaum, 1980)
>
>
> REFERENCES
> AAAS. 1989. "Science for all Americans: A Project 2061
report on
> literacy goals in science, mathematics, and technology,"
American
> Association for the Advancement of Science; a description
is at
> <http://www.project2061.org/tools/sfaa/default.htm>:
"Science for All
> Americans" presents a unified vision of science literacy
that serves
> as a basis for discussions of the skills and knowledge
that our
> nation's students should have."
>
> AAAS. 1990. "The Liberal Art of Science,"American
Association for the
> Advancement of Science. See also AAAS (2004).
>
> AAAS. 2004. Education Homepage; online at
<http://www.aaas.org/education/>.
> Handelsman, J., D. Ebert-May, R. Beichner, P. Bruns, A.
Chang, R.
> DeHaan, J. Gentile, S. Lauffer, J. Stewart, S.M. Tilghman,
W.B. Wood.
> 2004. "Scientific Teaching," Science 304 (23): 521-522,
April; online
> (free to AAAS members only) at
> <http://www.sciencemag.org/content/vol304/issue5670/index.s
html#policyforum>;
> Supporting Online Material (SOP) material may be freely
downloaded at
> <http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/data/304/5670/521/DC1/1>.
The complete
> article may be downloaded for free at Handelsman's
homepage
> <http://www.plantpath.wisc.edu/fac/joh/joh.htm> / "Review
Articles"
> where "/" means "click on," or more directly by simply
clicking on
> <http://www.plantpath.wisc.edu/fac/joh/scientificteaching.p
df>
> (100kB).
>
> HHMI News. 2004. "Bye-Bye Bio 101: Teach Science the Way
You Do
> Science," Howard Hughes Medical Institute, online at
> <http://www.hhmi.org/news/042304.html>: "University
science education
> needs reform, and effective methods are already known. Yet
for years,
> many scientists and educators have actively resisted
changing their
> teaching methods. Now, a group of persistent reformers is
raising
> scientists' awareness of successful approaches to science
teaching
> and providing them with tools to implement those
strategies in their
> own classrooms and institutions."
>
> Reuters. 2004. "College Science Classes Are a Bore, Report
Says" 22
> April; online at
> <http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=7
53&e=4&u=/nm/20040422/sc_nm/science_classes_dc>:
> "Dr. Robert Beichner, a professor of physics at North
Carolina State
> University, and colleagues said educators were still not
aware that
> there are better ways to teach science. . . .  If schools
start to
> make the changes, they said, society will benefit as more
and more
> graduates will be scientifically literate -- even if they
do not go
> into the sciences themselves, Beichner and colleagues
predicted."
> SOM. 2004. Supporting Online Material for Handlesman et
al. (2004);
> online at
<http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/data/304/5670/521/DC1/1>.