Headline News, Science Views II (1993) / Chapter Skim
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2 EDUCATION
2 EDUCATION
Pages 15-40
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From page 17... ...
Teenagers of the past depended on a pad and pencil instead of on a cash register. In practical terms, what's the difference?
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From page 18... ...
Elementary school students, for instance, can use calculators and other tools to explore subjects currently reserved for higher grades, such as geometry. Suppose youngsters spent as much time learning about volume and area, by pouring liquids from one container to another, as they now devote to long division.
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From page 19... ...
students now have to become first in the world in mathematics and science achievement. At their "education summit" last year, President Bush and state governors set the year 2000 for students to accomplish this goal.
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From page 20... ...
Biology classes should be helping students develop an interest in the world around them and an understanding of societal issues such as AIDS and the environment. But from the early grades to high school, biology education is hampered by poorly trained and supported teachers, irrelevant curricula, inappropriate standardized tests, and textbooks that often are inaccurate or misreading.
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From page 21... ...
Some of these approaches contain useful ideas. But few specify or assure the kinds of fundamental change that are most necessary to improve [Learning, those that must take place in the classroom.
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From page 22... ...
He helped minority students at Garfield High School in Los Angeles to excel in calculus. lust across town from Garfield, a group of regular third graders at the Marcus Garvey School in Watts triumphed in a math competition over a group of sixth graders from a magnet school for gifted students.
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From page 23... ...
One lesson we can learn from Escalante and others is to bypass the basics and focus on intellectual challenges. Uri Treisman, who helped African-American students in Berkeley to achieve dramatic increases in mathematics scores over a short period, went straight to calculus.
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From page 24... ...
President Bush, for one, said at the National Academy of Sciences that "we can't expect kids to meet the test of worldwide competition unless we first establish worId-cIass standards that define the knowledge and skills we expect students to learn and master." Won't new standards put even more pressure on teachers to rigidly follow a prepared curriculum that turns off their students? As one who has been active in mathematics education reform, that is a concern ~ hear frequently from teachers, parents, students and others.
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From page 25... ...
In most mathematics classes, for example, tests largely measure computation and routine procedural skills rather than a student's ability to apply mathematics in the real world. Multiple choice and short-answer tests, with their emphasis on quick responses, are used excessively.
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From page 26... ...
Classroom teachers are in the best position to make these evaluations, and we should place more trust In them. Teachers need help improving their own assessment methods, not pressure to conform to commercially developed tests of questionable relevance.
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From page 27... ...
An obvious question is why more of these experts don't help students in local elementary, junior high and high schools to overcome their ignorance of science and become the worId's best in the subject by the end of the decade, as President Bush has proposed. Scientists teaching kids about "real science" might work wonders.
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From page 28... ...
Even if they don't become scientists, they must know how to evaluate facts and make judgments, skills essential in a democratic society. Although several obstacles impede scientists from becoming more active, the fact is that a growing number are working hard to help improve local schools.
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From page 29... ...
fU] y 26, 1992 Ramon Lopez, a space physicist in the astronomy department at the University of Maryland, College Park, has worked closely with local public schools.
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From page 30... ...
A recent survey by the American Association of University Women found that most girls between the ages of ~ and IS have a negative view of math and science and of their ability to perform as well as boys in these subjects. Their
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From page 31... ...
"Big Sister" and other mentoring programs can provide women with role models that help them visualize their own scientific success. At the University of Washington, for example, undergraduate and graduate female students are matched with scientists and engineers on the faculty and in the surrounding community.
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From page 32... ...
Dresselhaus is Institute Professor of Electrical Engineering anc] Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technoitogy and treasurer of the National Academy of Sciences.
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From page 33... ...
~ have two recommendations at the federal level to improve matters. The first is to set aside a modest percentage of federal educational budgets to enable successful eclucation reform programs, such as STavin's, to broaden their scope to include ongoing redesign.
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From page 34... ...
Teachers need sustained professional development programs in their schools to keep up to date on subject matter and teaching methods. My main recommendation for readers is to join a community reform movement, such as the one in Erie.
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From page 35... ...
There is neither a theoretical basis nor empirical evidence, for instance, that subliminal self-help audio tapes can alter complex human behaviors. Many people believe they have been helped by such tapes, but the available research suggests that any changes for the better are due to processes such as "expectancy effects," when a person is so ready to change that it matters little what's on the tape.
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From page 36... ...
Proven stress management techniques such as relaxation training, providing information about what to expect, and enhancing a person's sense of control all can help people cope with pain. There also is evidence that some mental rehearsal and preparation techniques are effective in helping performance.
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From page 37... ...
The Georgia Institute of Technology advises local businesses through its Industrial Extension Service. Worcester Polytechnic Institute's Manufacturing Engineering Applications Center develops products for
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From page 38... ...
Nonetheless, at least some universities are now in dancer of becoming victims of their own sales pitches 1 1 · . r ~ "' ,: They end1essly cite a tew notable successes Silicon Valley in California, Boston's Route 128 and Research Triangle Park in North Carolina as evidence of the economic leverage of their own proposals.
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From page 39... ...
And companies and governments must avoid raiding universities for their intellectual breakup value. We can enhance our national industrial competitiveness only with careful planning, patient effort and hard work.
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