Top of the World, in Science
How does the U.S. fare in producing top-tier science students? Depends on how you look at it.
Williamson Evers on Anti-Intellectualism in America
Williamson "Bill" Evers, a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and a conservative, expounds on why students in the U.S. don't perform as well in math and science as students do in some other countries. His views are published in a Q&A in the Stanford Review. (It's promoted on Evers' Ed Policy blog, which he infrequently updates.) Textbooks in the United States lack depth, and teachers here aren't as well prepared as teachers in some countries, Evers contends. In addition, Evers notes that U.S. culture has a current of anti-intellectualism, as Americans admire characters such as ...
Carnegie Corporation on "Transforming" Math, Science Ed
A new report calls for a "mobilization" of the public and private sector to improve math and science education. Are its goals realistic?
Compulsory Education Is Topic in Carnival of Education
Joanne Jacobs and Robert Pondiscio over at Core Knowledge blog are both skeptical about the practicality of former New York City schools Chancellor Harold Levy's proposal that compulsory schooling should include one year of postsecondary education. If you missed their posts this week, you have another chance to read them as part of this week's Carnival of Education, a collection of posts by education bloggers. Pondiscio writes: "College entrance is still something largely driven by interest and merit. Might that have something to do with the generally sound state of U.S. higher ed and the relatively poor state of ...
Evolution, Enthusiasm, and Science Learning
Academic scholars, as well as educators, have debated the link between students' enthusiasm for academic work and its connection to learning. If an activity can be made fun, will that help a child pick up new knowledge? David Geary, a professor of psychological sciences at the University of Missouri, explores this topic in a recent, provocative study in the journal Educational Psychologist. Some of you may be familiar with Geary through his work as a member of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, but he has an extensive background in cognitive developmental psychology. His study, published late last year, examines what ...
Three More States Sign on to '21st-Century Skills"
From Guest Blogger Stephen Sawchuk Nevada, Illinois, and Louisiana are the latest states to join the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, according to a release from the partnership this morning. That brings the number to 13. As part of membership, the states agree to retool their standards, tests, and professional development to integrate into core-content classes an emphasis on tech literacy, communication, and entrepreneurship. It's especially interesting that Illinois is on board, with Obama in the White House and EdSec Arne Duncan at 400 Maryland Ave. So far, I haven't been able to get a really good read on where ...
And the Sequel to Reading First?
Alyson Klein reports over at Politics K-12 that members of the U.S. House of Representatives are writing a bill that could replace the federal Reading First program under the No Child Left Behind Act. Our colleague Kathleen Kennedy Manzo already blogged about a literacy bill being drafted in the U.S. Senate that would do the same. I'm working on an article about these literacy bills for the next issue of Education Week....
Schwarzenegger Makes His Case for Digital Ed
California's governor makes the case for taking his state's math and science textbooks digital.
Online Chat: Informal Science Education
EdWeek will host a chat with two experts at 1 p.m., on Tuesday on how zoos, museums, TV shows, films, and "informal" approaches to science ed can help students.
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