Some subscribers to Phys-L might be interested in a recent post
"Science Magazine - Special Section on Science Education" [Hake
(2013)]. The abstract reads:
*********************************************
ABSTRACT: Articles in Science magazine's "Special Section on Science
Education" are listed at <http://bit.ly/YoZeiq> and are FREE after
registration at <http://bit.ly/104XZ2b>. Bruce Alberts, in his lead
editorial "Prioritizing Science Education" at <http://bit.ly/120FUoS>
wrote (paraphrasing and adding URL's): "Most college faculty have not
yet faced up to the urgent need to improve on the standard
one-size-fits-all lecture format - see 'Grand Challenge:
Undergraduate Teaching: Transformation is Possible If a University
Really Cares' [Mervis (2013)] at <http://bit.ly/128og0N>."
Unfortunately, aside from Mervis' (2013) panegyric to the education
research of physics Nobelist Carl Wieman, Science magazine makes no
mention of Physics Education Research (PER), even despite the Science
article "Teaching in a research context" [Wood & Gentile (2003)] at
<http://bit.ly/SyhOvL>. They wrote: "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."
*********************************************
"There is substantial evidence that scientific teaching in the
sciences, i.e., teaching that employs instructional strategies that
encourage undergraduates to become actively engaged in their own
learning, can produce levels of understanding, retention and transfer
of knowledge that are greater than those resulting from traditional
lecture/lab classes. But widespread acceptance by university faculty
of new pedagogies and curricular materials still lies in the future."
- Robert DeHaan (2005)
REFERENCES [URL's shortened by http://bit.ly/ and accessed on 02 May 2013.]
DeHaan, R.L. 2005. "The Impending Revolution in Undergraduate Science
Education," Journal of Science Education and Technology 14(2):
253-269; online as a 152 kB pdf at <http://bit.ly/ncAuQa>.
Hake, R.R. 2013. "Science Magazine - Special Section on Science
Education," online on the OPEN! Net-Gold archives at
<http://yhoo.it/YhNWtV>. Post of 02 May 2013 10:24:00-0700. The
abstract and link to the complete post were transmitted to several
discussion lists and are on my blog "Hake'sEdStuff" at
<http://bit.ly/121RPmd> with a provision for comments.