[Phys-l] Changing the Culture of Science Education at Research Universities

[Richard Hake <rrhake@earthlink.net>]

Some subscribers to Phys-L might be interested in 
a recent post "Changing the Culture of Science 
Education at Research Universities" [Hake 
(2011)]. The abstract reads:

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ABSTRACT: Those concerned with the effectiveness 
of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math 
(STEM) education might be interested in a recent 
Opinion Piece <http://bit.ly/eSLoCl> in "Science" 
titled  "Changing the Culture of Science 
Education at Research Universities" [Anderson et 
al. (2011)].

"Science Daily" <http://bit.ly/eJYce5> reported 
(paraphrasing): "The reward systems at 
universities heavily favor science, math, and 
engineering research at the expense of teaching, 
which can and must change. That's the conclusion 
of UC Irvine biology professor Diane K. O'Dowd 
and research professors at Harvard, Yale, MIT, 
and elsewhere."

According to "Harvard 
Magazine"<http://bit.ly/frK2Ot> (paraphrasing): 
"The first recommendation of Anderson et al. is 
'Educate faculty about research on learning.' 
'No scientist would engage in research without 
exploring previous work in the field, yet few 
university educators read education research. 
Universities can demonstrate that they value 
teaching by treating it as a scholarly 
activityŠŠ. predicated on ŠŠ. education theory, 
tested practices, and methods to assess 
learning.' "
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To access the complete 7 kB post please click on <http://bit.ly/eqw6ow>.

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)
<rrhake@earthlink.net>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi>
<http://HakesEdStuff.blogspot.com>
<http://iub.academia.edu/RichardHake>


"We have not been very systematic about our quest 
to improve teaching, even though we value it 
highly and frequently do well at it. I am struck, 
for example, by the lack of conversation about 
what pedagogy means, and what makes it 
successful. It is our profession, yet it is 
mysteriously absent from our professional 
discourse. Here we are, engaged in an activity 
that is vital to ourselves, our students, and our 
public - yet we speak of how to do it, if at all, 
as though it had no data base, lacked a history, 
and offered no innovative challenges."
        - Donald Kennedy (1990).


REFERENCES [URL's shortened by <http://bit.ly/> and accessed on 04 March 2011.]
Anderson, W.A., U. Banerjee, C.L. Drennan, S.C.R. 
Elgin, I.R. Epstein, J. Handelsman, G.F. Hatfull, 
R. Losick, D.K. O'Dowd, B.M. Olivera, S.A. 
Strobel, G.C. Walker, I.M. Warner. 2011. 
"Changing the Culture of Science Education at 
Research Universities," Science, 14 January: 
331(6014): 152-153; online as a 172 kB pdf at 
<http://bit.ly/eSLoCl>; supporting online 
references suggested by R.R. Hake are at 
<http://bit.ly/g24Iqm>.

Hake, R.R. 2011. "Changing the Culture of Science 
Education at Research Universities," online on 
the OPEN! AERA-L archives at 
http://bit.ly/eqw6ow. Post of 4 Mar 2011 
08:04:14-0800 to AERA-L, Net-Gold, and PhysLrnR. 
The abstract and link to the complete post are 
being transmitted to various discussion lists.

Kennedy, D. 1990. "Stanford in its second 
century," an address to the Stanford community at 
the Meeting of the Academic Council, April 5, 
Stanford University Campus Report (April 11): 
17-18.