In this new report the Carnegie-IAS Commission on Mathematics and Science Education challenges the nation to mobilize for coordinated action to:
* Establish common standards for the nation in mathematics and science—standards that are fewer, clearer, and higher—along with high-quality assessments
* Improve math and science teaching—and our methods for recruiting and preparing teachers and for managing the nation’s teaching talent
* Redesign schools and systems to deliver excellent, equitable math and science learning
The American Museum of Natural History added its support to the Carnegie Corporation of New York–Institute for Advanced Study Commission on Mathematics and Science Education in its call to "do school differently," kicked off by today's release of the Commission's report The Opportunity Equation: Transforming Mathematics and Science Education for Citizenship and the Global Economy. Ellen V. Futter, President of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and a member of the Carnegie Commission, joined prominent educators, funders, policymakers, mathematicians, and scientists to present the Commission's findings at a press conference in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, June 10.
The Commission's report details what innovations are needed and who must implement them to transform math and science education in America. The report also highlights success stories that can serve as models for improvement. One of the major recommendations, building community assets into schools through intensive partnerships with math and science institutions, specifically credits the Urban Advantage Middle School Science Initiative spearheaded by AMNH with producing "significant learning gains in middle grades science."
"We are at a unique moment in history," said Ellen V. Futter. "There is a powerful confluence of the President's leadership in education, the Commission's report, and the growing recognition of the critical nature of science and mathematics education to our country's long-term prosperity. It yields a clarion call for all sectors of our society to mobilize and work together in new ways to address the challenge of improving science and math education.
"Partnership programs like Urban Advantage are exemplars of this mobilization, broadening the definition of the 'schoolhouse' to encompass the assets and expertise of science-based cultural institutions like ours, and working in tandem with school systems and government to elevate teaching and learning on the local and national level. These programs also prepare the next generation to enter the 21st century workforce."
The Commission report provides a roadmap for the transformation of the nation's education system and clearly illustrates the roles various sectors must play if the U.S. is to ensure every student has knowledge and skills from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics upon high school graduation. The report praises AMNH and the Museum of Science in Boston as "leaders in a growing universe of museums that are developing new curricula and professional learning resources." The report goes on to cite Urban Advantage as a program "giving hundreds of thousands of students and teachers access to museum collections and staff expertise—along with powerful insights into what people find most fascinating about science."
Urban Advantage is guiding teachers and students on how best to use the incomparable science resources and expertise of eight New York institutions: the American Museum of Natural History, which spearheaded and also leads the initiative; Brooklyn Botanic Garden; The New York Botanical Garden; New York Hall of Science; Queens Botanical Garden; Staten Island Zoological Society; and the Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium.
Urban Advantage, now under the umbrella of the David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Center for Science Teaching and Learning at AMNH, has grown dramatically since its inception in 2004 to include 24,793 students and 257 teachers from 147 schools throughout New York City, serving all five boroughs. The Urban Advantage program directly addresses two major issues in New York City education: the critical shortage of teachers with adequate qualifications and preparation in science, and the challenge of preparing 8th-grade students for their science "exit projects," a city-mandated performance requirement.
According to a preliminary evaluation of the program, 77 percent of participating teachers reported signs of improvement in the quality of Urban Advantage students' knowledge of science content, 81 percent of students reported that their experience with exit projects had increased their ability to understand scientific ideas, and 80 percent of teachers reported an increase in students' interest in science as a result of visits to UA institutions and implementation of exit projects. Based on the 2007 and 2008 results from the New York State Intermediate Level Science Assessment, Urban Advantage Demonstration Schools reported higher gains in student achievement than the citywide average.
This is a moment of urgency and opportunity, a chance for the United States to close the gap between the current state of educational achievement and the educational system our future demands. The world has shifted dramatically — and an equally dramatic shift will be needed in our schools.
Download the report:
http://www.opportunityequation.org/report/urgency-opportunity/
Could animated slides be stifling learning?
We've all sat through one of those presentations where the animated slides are more interesting than the speaker. Bold and brassy titles slide into view, tasty slices of pie chart fill the screen one by one, and a hail of arrows spikes the points the lecturer hopes to highlight.
But, are these custom animations and slide fades and dissolves actually adding anything to the lecture, or do they have a dark side that detracts from the message and impacts negatively on the message being presented?
Microsoft PowerPoint has, over the last couple of decades, become the tool of choice for creating instructional slideshows. Long gone for most are the overhead projector with its fickle fan and its high-temperature and temperamental bulb, the smudgy marker pen, and the transparent plastic sheet.
Instead, lecturers, speakers and anyone else with a visual message to present with their talk uses PowerPoint and its ilk to present their digital slides. According to the authors of a study in the International Journal of Innovation and Learning published this month, many instructors use these options regularly with the impression that such effects enhance student learning by allowing concepts to be introduced incrementally.
Stephen Mahar of the University of North Carolina Wilmington and colleagues have explored the impact of custom animation in PowerPoint lectures and examined the idea that custom animation may, in fact, negatively impact student learning.
To test their hypothesis, the team recorded two versions of a PowerPoint lecture. The presentations differed only in the presence of animation to incrementally present information. They then showed students either the animated or non-animated lecture and then tested the students recall and comprehension of the lecture.
The team found a marked difference in average student performance, with those seeing the non-animated lecture performing much better in the tests than those who watched the animated lecture. Students were able to recall details of the static graphics much better. Animated slides meant to present information incrementally actually require greater concentration, which makes it harder to remember content as well as reducing overall exposure time to the "complete" slide, the researchers found.
Although students appear to like the use of animations in lectures delivered using PowerPoint, there is now strong evidence that animation is nothing more than an entertaining distraction.
The team points out that their study was applied only to the teaching of new concepts. It is possible that teaching a technique might work more effectively with animated, rather than static, slides. Follow-up work will investigate that possibility.
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