From: karenk@exploratorium.edu
Date: Tue Jan 07 2003 - 13:17:29 PST
Message-Id: <200301072117.h07LHQj09565@isaac.exploratorium.edu> From: karenk@exploratorium.edu Subject: Advanced Placement Classes Date: Tue, 7 Jan 2003 13:17:26 US/Pacific
Happy New Year, Everyone!
Those of you who teach AP classes know well the challenges of cramming so much
college-level material into a year long class, the frustration of being on such a
timetable
as to perhaps have to emphasize "covering the material" rather than guiding your
students toward a true understanding of the nature of science and scientific concepts,
and the pressures on your students (and you) to perform well on the AP exam.
It may interest you to know that the National Research Council (the same organization
that developed the National Standards for Science Education) has recently completed a
report on the state of AP and International Baccalaureate classes in this country. Not
surprisingly, they agree with the sentimements above.
You can find the full text of the reporty at:
http://books.nap.edu/books/0309074401/html/
A summary of the findings of the Biology content panel can be found in the online
journal, Cell Biology Education. The article is at: http://www.cellbioed.org/articles/
vol1no4/article.cfm?articleID=30#b17
The article makes for interesting readings and includes links to a host of other
educational research articles by the NRC and other influential groups. Some particularly
interesting excerpts follow:
"The Panel’s general conclusions and recommendations are not new. Similar ideas can
be found in several recent reports (NRC, 1990, 1996a, 2000b; U.S. Department of
Education, 2000), as well as in much older reports. During its work, the Panel unearthed
the following four recommendations from an earlier committee:
1. More emphasis on “reasoning out” rather than memorization
2. More attention to developing a “problem-solving” and a “problem-raising” attitude on
the part of students
3. More applications of the subject to the everyday life of the pupil and the community
4. Less coverage of the territory (progress no faster than pupils can go with
understanding)
Do these recommendations look familiar? They were made in a report from the Central
Association of Science and Mathematics Teachers in 1910 (Hurd, 1961, pp. 25–26)."
The article does end on an optimistic note, which follows. Enjoy!
---Karen Kalumuck
"Must meaningful change in our educational system always remain only a dream?
The Panel believed that such change may be more possible today than ever, for several
reasons. First, we have new understanding of how learning takes place and the
conditions that promote it (NRC, 1999a). Second, there has been increasing acceptance
of the NSES, which includes standards for both pedagogy and content that are designed
to create these conditions (NRC, 1996a, 2000a, 2002b). Third, we have the Internet,
whose enormous power to make knowledge and educational materials available to
everyone, at low cost, is just beginning to be tapped. Fourth, the public appears to be
becoming increasingly aware that education, of scientists in particular, must be improved
if the United States is to compete effectively in the global economy.
"Improving advanced high school biology courses is only one small part of the task, but
the Panel believed that there is hope for systemic reform, particularly if persons
involved
in teacher professional development continue to promote the new standards and if those
of us teaching undergraduates can manage to set an example by adopting these
standards ourselves. Likewise, we must persuade more well-trained young people to
consider primary or secondary school teaching as a rewarding and honorable career."
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