Changing the Culture of Science Education at Research Universities #2

Blog followers might be interested in a recent post “Changing the Culture of Science Education at Research Universities #2” [Hake (2011b)]. The abstract reads:

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ABSTRACT: In response to my post “Changing the Culture of Science Education at Research Universities” [Hake (2011a)], Math-Teach's Robert Hansen wrote: “If you want to fix education you don't start at the end. . . . .You start at the beginning.”

Similarly, according to a report in Inside Higher Ed by Stephanie Lee (2009), Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corporation, said: “The quality of math and science learning at colleges and universities ultimately begins with solid instruction at the K-12 level. While higher education remains strong, it is clear it cannot continue without a strong foundation.”

In response to Gregorian, “Steve” in a comment on Lee’s report wrote: “From experience I know that the quality of math and science learning at colleges and universities ultimately DOES NOT begin with solid instruction at the K-12 level, it begins with the quality of math and science learning at colleges and universities. For far too long higher education has 'passed the buck' by not producing qualified teachers.”

Right on, Steve, consistent with the NSF’s (1996) report “Shaping the Future” and Don Langenberg's http://bit.ly/gRxINE incisive: “Although we in higher education are very skillful at ignoring the obvious, it is gradually dawning on some of us that we bear a substantial part of the responsibility for this sad situation [the state of K-12 education].”

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To access the complete 13 kB post please click on http://bit.ly/gZSf8W.

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

“. . . I know from both experience and research that the teacher is at the heart of student learning and school improvement by virtue of being the classroom authority and gatekeeper for change. Thus the preparation, induction, and career development of teachers remain the Archimedean lever for both short- and long-term improvement of public schools.”

Larry Cuban (2003) in Why Is It So Hard To Get Good Schools? (page 1)

REFERENCES [URL's shortened by http://bit.ly/ and accessed on 06 March 2011.]

Cuban, L. 2003. Why Is It So Hard To Get Good Schools? Teachers College Press, publisher's information at http://bit.ly/gSn3P2. Amazon.com information at http://amzn.to/gvxHIb. Note the “Look Inside” feature.

Hake, R.R. 2011a. “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 were transmitted to various discussion lists and are also online on my blog “Hake'sEdStuff” at http://bit.ly/hnkAuJ with a provision for comments.

Hake, R.R. 2011b. “Changing the Culture of Science Education at Research Universities #2,” online on the OPEN! AERA-L archives at http://bit.ly/gZSf8W. Post of 6 Mar 2011 15:16:50 -0800 to AERA-L & Net-Gold. The abstract and link to the complete post were transmitted to various discussion lists.