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1st
appeared 27 January 1999
Direct Action by Scientists Needed to Improve
Science Education
M.R.C. Greenwood, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
(AAAS) and chancellor of the University of California, Santa Cruz, urged her fellow
scientists at the association's annual meeting last week to become directly involved in
efforts to improve science education and the public's understanding of science.
Greenwood advocated changes throughout the educational pipeline and proposed a national
campaign to promote the involvement of scientists on school boards.
While recent scientific discoveries and advances give scientists ample cause to celebrate,
the United States may be slipping behind other nations in its ability to inspire and
educate the next generation of scientists, said Greenwood.
"We can already see indications that the next generation is not receiving the
preparation necessary to maintain the excellence that US science currently enjoys,"
Greenwood said, pointing to the results of recent surveys that show, for example, US 12th
graders near the bottom in international comparisons of science and math ability.
Greenwood urged scientists, engineers, and other scientifically literate professionals to
get involved in kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) education by serving on school
boards. She proposed an AAAS program called "Project 20/20" to sustain and
support these school board members with information and advice to help them protect and
enhance scientific content and accuracy in schools.
"There is a tremendous opportunity to be a positive influence and to touch the widest
possible array of the public by helping to determine such essential issues as curriculum
reform, textbook choice, and pedagogy," Greenwood said.
Greenwood reiterated the familiar woes of the K-12 education system. With respect to
science education, the problems range from teachers with inadequate training to
superficial textbooks that are "an inch deep and a mile wide," she said. In
addition, science education is threatened by creationists and other vocal minorities
antagonistic towards science.
"Today, there are biology teachers who admit that they are too intimidated to teach
evolution, so they omit the topic entirely from their curriculum," Greenwood said.
Greenwood also noted the particular scarcity of resources for schools with high minority
populations, warning that the country risks losing a cadre of talented minorities and
women through inattention to the value of diversity.
The education system is faltering in colleges and graduate schools, too, Greenwood said.
She called for changes in graduate education to give young scientists the training they
need to pursue a broad array of career opportunities in addition to traditional academic
careers. Disputing the notion that universities are overproducing PhD scientists,
Greenwood said the real challenge is to prepare graduate students for a changing job
market.
Greenwood acknowledged that concern over science education and public understanding of
science is hardly new. She also noted the many valuable education initiatives undertaken
by scientific organizations, universities, government agencies, and industries.
Nevertheless, she said, scientists need to reexamine their own behavior and enterprises in
light of the needs of the broader society.
"We are living in a dynamic time in which our personal and professional lives change
rapidly," Greenwood said. "Education for our children, and lifelong education
for all of us, must be paramount in this evolving era."
Links:
US High School Seniors Trail the World in Science
Scientists Urged to Improve Education at Home, Share Knowledge for Those
Abroad
UCSF Science and
Health Education Partnership
AAAS website
Source: Tim Stephens, UC Santa Cruz |
