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[Phys-l] Nobelists and the education system



On Sun, 6 Dec 2009, John Clement wrote:

American education has produced a number of physics Nobelists.
How many were products of physics courses that would be approved by PER
enthusiasts?
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Seymour Sarason wrote in his book "The Predictable Failure of Educational Reform" a bit positing why the USA has so many Nobelists per capita. In essence, he attributes it (only partly tongue-in-cheek, I think) to how bad our science education system is: Students interested in real science are required to think outside the box from their earliest days of school. After many years of subverting the system, as it were, to develop their own scientific insights, these people are very good at creating new insights.

Barney

Bernard Ricca, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Graduate Program in Math, Science, and Technology Education
Department of Mathematical and Computing Sciences
Saint John Fisher College
3690 East Avenue
Rochester, NY 14618
585-899-3866 (Office)
585-899-3872 (FAX)
bricca@sjfc.edu