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Re: [Phys-l] good colloquium : improving science education



Ok, motivational speeches have been around for a long time, but they don't
change the audience paradigms.

The real problem is that the American system of education has a number of
flaws.
1. It prizes content over thinking. The important object should be to
improve the ability of students to think. This can be done with a variety
of content, but it has to be pitched to the student level of thinking. 75%
of HS graduates in the US do not reliably use proportional thinking!
2. The content is not integrated well. Hands on activities do not work
unless they are well integrated with other content, and are designed as
exploration rather than verificiation. This comes straight out of analysis
of the TIMMS video tapes of classroom teachers, with some PER results thrown
in.
3. Most American teachers ask low level questions compared to their
colleagues in other countries.
4. When math teachers are told that the student thinking is not up to par
so they can't understand what they are doing, the standard reply is that we
can't go over ratios because that was already taught. BUT IT WASN'T
LEARNED!

So does Sally know about these factors???? I am always amazed how people
can say they know how to reform education, when they have not read any of
the relevant research. Would you believe someone knows how to build a
reactor without having the necessary reactor physics background? Only a few
crackpots would. So Sally is a magnificent individual, but does she have a
background in the necessary research, and classroom experience with that
research? Most teachers don't have experience with research based
education.

If you really want to reform science teaching look to ADAPT, TEAL, SCALEUP,
MODELING, McDermott programs, Active Physics (Laws, Thornton, Sokoloff),
Etkina...

John M. Clement
Houston, TX




1) In general, Berkeley puts its colloquia up on the web

http://www.physics.berkeley.edu/index.php?Itemid=223&id=37&option=com_cont
ent&task=view

They have dozens of them, going back several years.

Hint: If you aren't at or near some place with a high-class
colloquium series, you should seriously consider watching
online colloquia.



2) I found the most recent one to be particularly good. I wish
everybody could see this, especially every teacher and every parent.

Title: Regent's Lecture: Reach For The Stars
Speaker: Sally Ride

Future rocket scientists aren't the only ones that need a good
foundation in science and math. In today's world, all students do --
but our education system is failing them. Nearly two-thirds of 18
year-olds are showing up for college or career unprepared. Fully 80%
of the jobs in the next decade (including basic living wage jobs)
will require technical and analytical skills--and without a grounding
in science and math, today's students will not be prepared to compete
for those jobs. Dr. Ride will describe her own path into the space
program, and discuss the need to improve science and math education
for all students -- not just future rocket scientists.

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