Global Perspectives for Local Action Using TIMSS to Improve U.S. Mathematics and Science Education (1999) / Chapter Skim
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3 What Does TIMSS Say About the Mathematics and Science Curriculum?
3 What Does TIMSS Say About the Mathematics and Science Curriculum?
Pages 30-43
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U.S. 13 year olds scored second among TIMSS countries in the area of"life cycle and genetics" topics that tend to be highlighted in middle school and junior high school curricula.
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Are students provided with the means necessary to achieve the demands made of them? This chapter begins by examining how much time students spend studying mathematics and science, the subjects introduced at different grade levels, and the curricular tracks into which students are divided.
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· How are the academic expectations embodied in the curriculum communicated to students? How do these messages affect student motivation, course taking, and achievement?
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89~. It should be noted, however, that Norway, which has an even greater percentage of students taking no science course in their final year, scored well above the international average in the population 3 science literacy test.
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Though integrated mathematics courses have become more common, in many schools algebra often is still reserved for grades 9 and 11 and geometry for grade 10. In contrast, a common pattern in European countries and Japan is to combine algebra and geometry in a single class and to introduce them at an earlier age.
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From page 35... ...
For example, in the videotapes made of 231 eighth-grade classes in the United States, Germany, and Japan, the content of each lesson was compared to the average grade level across all TIMSS countries in which particular topics received the most attention. By this measure, the mathematics content of U.S.
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From page 36... ...
TABLE 3-2 ScienceTopics Intended for Introduction at Different Grade Levels Grade Group Topics That Half the Countries Intended for Introduction 1 through 3 4 through 6 7 and 8 9 through 12 Bodies of water Weather and climate Plants and fungi Animals Organs and tissues Life cycles of organisms Composition Landforms Atmosphere Rock and soil Physical cycles Building and breaking Earth's history Earth and the solar system Other organisms Cells Energy handling Biomes and ecosystems Habitats and niches Ice forms Beyond the solar system Sensing and responding Variation and inheritances in organisms Evolution, speciation, and diversity Chemical properties of matter Atoms, ions, and molecules Subatomic particles Explanations of physical changes Evolution of the universe Biochemical processes in cells Biochemistry of genetics Macromolecules and crystals Wave phenomena Kinetic theory Quantum theory and fundamental particles Explanations of chemical changes Rate of chemical change and equilibrium Energy and chemical change Reproduction of organisms Animal behavior Nutrition Disease Physical properties of matter Conservation of land, water, and sea resources Interdependence of life Classification of matter Energy types, sources and conversions Heat and temperature Sound and vibration Light Electricity Magnetism Physical changes Time, space, and motion Pollution Conservation of material and energy resources Effects of natural disasters Chemical changes Types of forces Dynamics of motion Nature or conceptions of technology Applications of science in mathematics and technology History of science and technology World population Food production and storage Nature of scientific nnowledge Organic and biochemical changes Nuclear chemistry Electrochemistry Relativity theory Fluid behavior Influence of mathematics and technology in science Influence of science and technology on society Influence of society on science and technology Science and mathematics Source: Schmidt et al., 1997b, pp.
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From page 37... ...
are organized into broad themes that emphasize "the common core of learning that contributes to the science literacy of all students." Similarly, the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996) are organized into particular topics within content categories and grade bands, such as"position and movement of objects" within the physical science standard, or "science as a human endeavor" within the history and nature of science standard.
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State curriculum guides have relatively limited overlap, which causes publishers trying to gain maximum market share to include many more topics in their textbooks than can be covered, much less learned.
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fourth-grade science textbooks accounted for just over 25 percent of the total material covered. In lap en the five most heavily emphasized topics accounted for 70 to 75 percent of the material (Figure 3-5~.
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The science standards list as one of the program standards that: "The science program should be coordinated with the mathematics program to enhance student use and understanding of mathematics in the study of science and to improve student understanding of mathematics" (National Research Council, 1996, p.
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analyze a sample of the videotaped lessons. The Math Group worked from written descriptions of the lessons, with references to specific countries disguised, so that they did not know the origin of a particular lesson.
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lessons were much less coherent than those in Germany and Japan. Finally, in addition to analyzing specific features of the lessons, the Math Group assessed the overall quality of the mathematics in each lesson with regard to its potential for helping students understand important mathematics.
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