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OCR for page 13
Research Needs in Science
and Mathematics Education
Improving the quality of teaching and leaving in
mathematics, science, and technology is a problem with
many dimensions. In the last 20 years progress has been
made in developing a basis for better education in
science, mathematics, and technology. Experimentation
with curriculum content and instructional strategies has
yielded valuable insights. Cognitive studies are pro~rid-
ing more understanding of the nature of learning and
effec~cive instruction. Organizational studies have
identified barriers and opportunities in implementing
change in schools. Advances in the basic disciplines of
the sciences and mathematics and in information engineer
ing provide new resources for curricula and instruction.
In this chapter the needs of otathematies and science
education are considered, together with a set of research
goals to meet those needs. The discussion is organized
around four areas: the mathematics and science curric-
ulum, the knowledge and skills- of teachers, settings for
learning, and change in schools. Though some of the
research goals pertinent to these areas are well served
through work within specific disciplines, others require
collaboration among several disciplines and between re-
search and practice. Examples of needed interdisciplin-
ary research are outlined, drawn in part from the com-
mittee's preceding report (Committee, 1985), to illus-
trate their potential contribution to progress in science
and mathematics education.
THE MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE CURRICULUM
Current curricula and instructional practices have
evolved through a slow process of accretion of goals,
13
-
OCR for page 14
14
educational experience, institutional mechanisms, and
organizational behaviors. For example, biology as a
lOth-grade course was institutionalized in the 1920s
(Moyer and Mayer, 1985~. Schools consider changing
long-established practices only if al~cernati~res can be
demonstrated to be superior. Patience sad persistence is
reseeded for the development of such alternatives 9 for
demonstrating their effectiveness through exemplary
progrPrnn in a variety of school settings, and for the
process of adoption asked adaptation that enables their
installation in enough appropriate sites to mak@ a
difference in education
The commit~cee identified three curriculum- related
areas that are likely to profit from interdisciplinary
research and development. (1) improving he teaching of
reasoning and understanding and the context of instruc-
tion; (2) introducing new content into science and me the
matics curricula; and (3) developing linkages between
curriculum and testing.
Improving Instruction
Teaching Reasoning and Understanding
o
A critical problem with the o~athematice curriculum in
grades K-l2 asked the science curricula in grades 7-12 is
too much emphasis on facts and too little emphasis on
basic concepts and method of mathes~a~cical and scientific
reasoning O As for the science eurricul~ in elementary
school, it hardly exists, and where it does9 it is more
often a reading-progr~ about science or an eclectic
selection of ~scier~ce projects rather than an organized
science program.
The problem of too much rote learning and too little
teaching for understanding also exists at the level of
introductory college courses (Arons, 1981, 1983) - ~ the
only science courses most teachers take to prepare for
leaching O And teachers teach as they are tauthe. They
also use the textbook as their central instructional tool
(Stake and Easley9 1978~. Analysis of current science
textbooks has documented that the learning of special or
technical vocabulary, ices, rote memorization, is a
central feature of these ~cox~cs (Yager, 1983) . It should
not be surprising ~cha~c recent studies on the overall
outcomes of schooling show gains in elementary knowledge
and skills by younger students--the ~basics. the schools
OCR for page 15
15
have been stressing--but that higher-level processes are
being acquired less well Champagne and Klopfer, 1977;
National As sesament of Educational Progress, 1983a). Not
only do schools emphasize the learning of facts, but the
current methods of presenting science and mathematics
appear to alienate female children and minority children
of both sexes, who often decide in elementary school and
again at the Junior high level that these subjects are
not for them.
Although research to date has not fully explained how
young children develop scientific reasoning and concep-
tual knowledge, powerful levers are available for the
improvement of curriculum and instruction. One is the
advance of cognitive and instructional sciences, areas
that were ~ ust emerging 25 years ago . The knowledge base
they have created permits the development of instruc-
tional materials and systems that can facilitate the
learning of concepts and skills now largely absent in
mathematics and science education. Also, current techno-
logical developments are stimulating application of new
understandings about cognitive learning to mathematics
and science: see, for example, the discussion in the
committee's prev~iow report of the work by Larkin and
Reif (1976~; Anderson (1981~; Riley et al. (1983~;
Schoenfeld (1979~; Champagne et al. (1980~; Gleotent
(1982~; and McCloskay (1983~. Such research has produced
better understanding of the components that make good
instruction effective, which include: (a) models of
correct performance (e.g., of physics or mathematics
problem-solving), (b) models of uninstructed performance
(e. g., "preconceptional of scientific phenomena that
interact with theories being taught), and (c) models of
effective instruction (e.gO, principles of design for
effective instruction).
It appears that problem-solving, comprehension, and
effective reasoning are based on subJect-specific knowl-
edge. l~erefore, it seems best to teach reasoning skills
i n the context of specific sub] acts that students are
learning. This finding implies that research on reason-
ing needs to involve experts in a particular discipline
as well as cognitive scientists and experienced teach-
ers. As an example, sus~cained collaborsti~re work
involving physicists and cognitive scientists has pro-
duced an effective means of teaching beginning students
the difficult problem-solving techniques required for
exploiting Newton's laws (Reif and Heller, 1982~.
OCR for page 16
16
In summary, to solve the problem of presenting ancient
tific and o - kinematics subject matter in ways that enhance
understanding and knowledge about natural phenomena and
build competence in quantitative Winking requires the
involvement of cognitive scientists, scholars in the
scientific and mathematical disciplines, teachers,
designers and developers, ant computer experts.
The Context of Instruction
Advanced scholarship in a subject is based on
theories and concepts that maice a domain accessible to
sub; ect°matter experts . However, a theory for the expert
may not be good as a pedagogical theory for ache novice.
Recent work in cognitive psychology has described how
acquired knowledge is organized and represented and how
cognitive models can facilitate reasoning and thinking as
students use and test these models to solve problems and
revise what they already Stow (Estes et al., 1982;
Rumelhart and Norman, 19819 Resnick, 19-87), but such
research has had little influence on the rigidly hierar
chical conception of science and o~athematics that under-
girds most classroom instruction. However,, effective
teachers use their experience on how students learn to
shape the subject matter they present (Brophy and
Evertson, 1976; Collins and Stevens9 1982~. This craft
knowledge provides an important source for developing
instructional theory for teaching science and mathematics
deco students at different levels of competence and
education.
"other source of knowledge is research on how young
children learn (Ts~comina, 197S; Donaldson, 1978 ,, DeLoache
arid Brown, 1979; Carey, 1985~. This research suggests
that a fundamental way of changing how much time a child
takes for a par~cicular task is to change the context of
the task by a~ibedd-ing it in so~ larger activity in~rolv-
ing familiar situations. Knowledge is lacking on how the
insights gained from the work with young children can be
applied at hither levels of the curriculum in ache areas
of science 9 mathes~atics, and technology. However, there
is evidence that science curricula combining activity-
based instruction win appropriate text o~aterials are
more effective than traditional curricula in teaching
hi~er-order skills (Shymanaky et al., 1983; Holdzkom ant
Lutz, 1984) 0
OCR for page 17
17
Because of the great importance of curricular orienta-
tion and context to the learning of mathematics, science,
and technology, ache committee urges special emphasis on
this research area. Priorities include research on how
important tasks can be embedded in contexts that reduce
time needed for learning; under what circumstances and in
what ways hands-on experience and laboratory experiments
as well as models based on systematic laws can be used to
enhance learning; and what makes theory~oriented instruc-
~cion work. The kinds of collaboration needed to carry
out this sort of work, since it is more applied, are even
broader than those required for developing a better under
standing of reasoning processes and will require--in
addition to subject m~t~cer experts, cognitive scien~cists,
computer experts, and experienced teachers--the involve-
ment of sociologists, psychologists, and anthropologists
Integrating New Content Areas
Educating for Scientific Literacy
lathe goal of elementary science education should be to
prepare children to understand science and mathematics,
to teach them a few representative concepts, to acquaint
ached with abstraction, and to introduce them to scien-
tific reasoning and the nave of scientific evidence.
The temptation to include tithe most important basic
concepts" in each scientific discipline probably needs to
be resisted, became the list will soon be very long O In
the committee ' ~ view, it is more important for students
to learn a few concepts well, with sufficient underatand-
ing to teach the concept to another person, than to have
superficial exposure to many concepts. True understand-
ing will make it much easier for students to master addi
tional concepts later and will make science enjoyable
rather than intimidating.
The secondary school curriculum needs to address the
goal of improving scientific literacy for all students
National Science Foundation, 1983~. School leavers, no
matter when they stop their education, need to find
employment in a labor market increasingly driven by tech-
nological innovation. For everyone, an understanding of
the scientific method, of the ways in which inferences
are drawn from evidence, of-the nature of controlled
experiments and scientific proof will be essential for
making individual and public choices in coming decades.
-
-
OCR for page 18
18
A general conceptual ~terstasading will be more useful
than a small amount of specific, technical knowledge that
soon will be out of date.
People will also need a con-
tlnulng capability for learning and comprehension of
science and mathematics throughout life. Consequently,
curriculum and instructional alternatives of be con-
cerned with methods of learning chic prepare people deco
take advantage of the lifelong availability of info~a-
tion technology.
Curricula depend upon and are built around ed.uca-
tional materials.
Texthoo" are a central factor in
de~cermining what is learned on what the schedule (Stake
arid Easley, 1978~. The content of textbook is influ-
enced by their authors' sense of appropriate learning
goals, the publishers' perception of ache demands of the
education market, and the priorities Id procedures for
textbook approval arid selection of states and local
school districts.
~.
Neither scientists from the dis-
ciplines taught in school nor cognitive acien~cists have
been much involved in the process in Scenic years. In
contrast. the attempts to reform mathematics and science
curricula in the late 1950s and 1960s (~e Chapter 3) did
Isolde scientists and astheo~aticians, and such attention
was paid deco the balance between emphasis on facts and
emphasis OR concepts and learning how to learn. Shout
tiae then new curricula often were difficult for studen~cs
asked misma~cched to teachers' coaDetencies. ~ar~cicularly in
_, · .
the elementary grates, they led to so~ improvement in
the learning of inferential and critical thinking skills
le%~-tr~ -- -1 ~ qua\
`~, A_ An., ~___,. However, those curricula have
been replaced by more traditional materials, and the
effects have not beast maintair~ed.
The other component of teaching science, hantls°on
experience in ele~cary school and laboratory experi-
ments in the upper grades9 is in danger of disappearing
from many schools. At the same time, the potential of
computers to strengthen science and mathematics education
resins largely untapped. The educational computer soft
ware that is commercially available shows little of the
creativity of pilot programs developed by scientists
working with cognitive researchers.
~ concerted interdisciplinary research effort is
needed to improve the science and mathematics curricula
and their use. First, scientists and learning special-
ists mat agree on the appropriate content for de~relop-
ment of higher~order skills . Second, new sub] ect-ma~cter
content within various fields ant at various grade levels
OCR for page 19
19
must be explored as potentially more appropriate than
traditional topics. As a specific instance, systematic
attention must be given to changes in the knowledge struc-
tures and the processes of the sciences and mathematics
as a result of readily available computation and the
implications of these changes for the school curriculum.
Just as the advent of calculators made traditional drill
in using logarithm tables superfluous, the agent of more
powerful computers has implications for all the science
and mathematics courses taught in school. Third, the
substantive content in current textbooks and software
must be reformulated to support the learning of reason-
ing, thinking, and problem-sol~ring skills as well as
lower-order recall and memorization tasks. And fourth,
curricula design out take into acco~c the role of
hand~-on experience and the laboratory in the learning of
science. Each of these efforts involves the cooperation
of several disciplines and specialties.
Technology Education
In addition to these research issues on curricula
content for science and mathematics, there are specific
questions surrounding two aspects of technology educa-
tion: the subject matter appropriate to understanding
technological system and the teaching of computer
science. Unlike the more traditional donating of science
and mathematics, technology and computer science do not
have well-established curricular With respect deco under
standing technological systems (as contrasted to the
basic science that gives rise to them), the traditional
school curricula is essentially a blank.
With respect to computer science, many schools are
now introducing "computer literacy. courses. Some
districts are even requiring such a course for high
school graduation. Often, such courses focus on teaching
programing in a particular computer language. In other
instances, computer literacy courses deal with the capa-
bilities and functioning of computers, either with or
without hands-on experience, and only include topics on
the effects of computers on the workplace and society.
Knowledge is lacking about the age and grade levels at
which computers and programing should be introduced and
about the effects of alternative curricula in computer
literacy.
OCR for page 20
~ ~ d~
20
Interdisciplinary research is ne:eded~co provide
characterizations of the cognitive skills and knowledge
needed for understanding of and successful performance in
technological systems and to develop usable school
curricula in this area and in computer literacy.
Vocational Education
A special case in the school eurricul~ that involves
both scicnti£ic literacy and technology education is ache
rela~cionshlp of vocational instruction to the com~en-
tional oasthe~aatics and science experience in elementary
and secondary schools. As work in industry entailing
computers and robots becomes extensl~re, the boundaries
between vocational and academic learning will become ever
more blurred. Employers are increasingly concerned with
instruction in technical utters that involves some com-
bination of apprenticeship, vocational training, and
precollege academic learning. I of the unresolved
questions is how asked where these learning activities
should be provided°-in schools, in industry, or some
Combination of industry and schools. For examples is a
1984 survey the Industrial Research Institute identified
some 161 cooperative ventures between its member induce
trial research laboratories arid high schools and colleges
chat emphasize mathema~cics, science, and technology train-
ing in practical set~cinge. As of 1983, nearly 2 out of 3
of the nations mayor companies were involved in coopers
Live programs or provided internships for students from
local schools (Lund and McGuire9 1984~. In~cerdisci-
plinary research projects could utilize the existing
collaborative education and training ventures to assess
their potential for instruction in science and mathe-
matics and in Marion vocations.
Curricula and Testing
Most present classroom methods of deducing what stu-
dents know emphasize ache recall of facts--as does most
leaching O If tests are not to trivialize instruction
even further, new approaches to assessing student achieve-
ment oust be developed thee aim at conceptual understand-
ing, the ability to reason and than with scientific or
mathematical subject otter, and competence in ache key
processes that characterize science or mathematics
(Frederiksen, 1984; Romberg, 1986~.
OCR for page 21
21
Work on two different kinds of Scents is needed.
Assessments of student achievement that reflect the
expectations of the life- long social and economic roles
of an individual need to be developed. And more limited
tests that bear on the curriculum of a particular grade
or course need improvement. Scares or school districts
should be assisted in developing tests that measure
student reasoning and problem-sol~ring skills. If more
adequate tests were available ~ school district evalus-
~cions and certifications could be tied to overall test
scores as well as to patterns of variance in achievement
across social class, race, language, gender, and economic
characteristics of pupils. Thus, test outcomes would be
directly related to what a school is expected to achieve,
and test results would have meaningful impact on the
schools .
There is a new and promising line of research that
links traditional psychometrics to the growing under-
standing of reasoning skills (Hunt et al ., 1973 ; Glaser,
1981; Sternberg, 1977, 1984) . Cheap, powerful computers
provide possibilities for more effective interactive
testing--making tests more accurate and less time-
cons~ning for students as well as less labor-ir~tensive
for those administering them (Weiss, 1983--but further
research is required to explore those possibilities.
Tests play a role in the lea' sing process itself.
They tell students what in the curriculum is important
and shape the -teaching and learning process (Frederiksen,
1984; Romberg, 1986) . If, for example, testing is con-
fined to recalling facts, students will concentrate on
memorizing those facts, ignoring the more sophisticated
levels of understanding and reasoning to which teachers
and text materials may be rendering lip service. Teach-
ers and school administrators also use tests as a guide
to curriculum emphasis, especially when student perfor-
mance on given tests is wed as ~ measure of teacher and
school performance.
Research needs in testing include the development of
practical tests that reliably assess reasoning ability,
possibly using interactive teasing made possible by
microcomputers; improving the testing of mathematics and
science achievement to reflect important instructional
goals and objectives; and techniques for educating
teachers to become better writers of test questions,
particularly of questions that test for higher-order
intellectual skills and levels of learning. Cognitive
scientists, psychologists, mathematicians, physicists,
OCR for page 22
22
chemists,, and biologists onset all be involved in such
efforts .
lisle KNOWIEDGE AND SKITt5 OF TEACHERS
Teachers must understand the material they are pre-
ses~ting in order to teach it effectivelyO the natural
curiosity of children leads them to ask basic questions.
This tendency will be encouraged by teachers who under-
stand basic concepts theo'selves arid who can we this
understanding to lead students to a comprehension of
fundamental ideas of physics, chemistry, biology, and
mathematics. Subject-matter understanding is essential
because it allows a teacher to use whatever examples are
at hand to show students how evidence is used to build
knowledge. Furthermore, a teacher Aunt understand the
nature of scientific reasoning and know the difference
between evidence and inference. Teachers must also under-
stand how students acquire knowledge and understanding in
science and mathematics. New curricula and teaching
materials will be useless without teacher understanding.
The committee has identified three areas that would
benefit greatly by interdisciplinary research on science
and mathematics leaching I (1) the content of teacher
education; (~) elementary teachers' knowledge and under-
standing; and (3) assessment of initiatives related to
the teaching profession.
Content of Teacher Education
SubJect-matter courses taken by prospective teachers
visually the standard courses offered by science depart
meets--often cover too much content at too rapid a pace
ant seldom pay explicit heed to developing reasoning
capacities (Axons, 19831. Hence, prospective and practic-
ing teachers often lack a genuine understanding of con-
cepts and lines of reasoning that characterize the sub-
]@Ct(~) they are teaching and9 having missed effective
training themselves' are unable to cultivate and enhance
the basic reasoning capacity of their students. Thus,
additional teacher understanding of science cannot be
achieved simply by sending teachers back to the uniters
sities to take a few more science courses. Moreover,
methods courses in education are not very helpful in
elucidating how students learn specific subject matter,
OCR for page 23
23
because these courses do not often include recent ad.
vances in the cognitive sciences. Thus, courses in the
universities, whether located in schools of education or
in the disciplinary departments, are inadequate to train
teachers in science and mathematics education.
Teacher competence involves adequate cognitive
mastery of the subject matter to be taught and, in the
case of science, proficiency in handling experimental
materials that can lead students to form new concepts
from observation and evidence. Even the best curricula
will be ineffective unless teachers are trained to deal
with various modes of abstract reasoning, for example:
the logic of arithmetic involved in ratios and division,
the logic of control of variables, dealing with proposi-
tional statements, recognizing gaps in available informa-
tion, making inferences and predictions from mental
models, doing hypothetico-deductive reasoning, and the
like (Arons, 1981~. In fact, the processes and problems
involved in educating teachers to acquire these capaci-
ties are not very different from those i m olved for
younger learners.
New undergraduate and in-service courses that empha-
size conceptual learning and comprehension in science and
mathematics need to be designed. What is needed is not
only new course development, but also new educational
research oriented toward specific subject matter. Cogni-
ti~re scientists and sub] ect-~tter scientists oust col-
laborate in studying how scientific knowledge is acquired
by older students, i.e., prospec~ci~re or practicing
leachers O Communication between these groups for the
purpose of teacher education has been minimal up until
now9 but it must be increased. And both sides will have
deco master knowledge of the ocher discipline if they are
to collaborate fruitfully in research on scientific
learning and in developing improved courses useful for
teacher education.
Elementary Teachers' Knowledge and Understanding
Conventional views of public education presume that
Ache teachers of elementary school science and mathematics
understand the subjects sufficiently well to transfer
comprehension to the great diversity of students they
face in the classroom. Evidence from teacher examina-
tions (Vobe~da, 1985), and research on teacher perfor-
mance and student achievement ~ Schalock, 1979; Fisher et
OCR for page 24
24
al., 1980; Lain hardt and Greeno, 1984; Limpest, 1986)
does not bear out this presumption. Assessments of
teacher performance should take into account teachers'
perceptions of how and what students are learning and
teachers' ability to recognize the failure to learn.
Thuds teacher education would concentrate on the relax
tively new area of teachers' interpretation of students'
thought processes and ability to use new skills rather
than traditional estimates of factual knowledge. To
develop such education, further investigations by
subJect°matter experts in mathematics and science and
behavioral and cognitive scientists are needed con whether
and how teachers effect student learning.
One approach to i-mpro~ring mathematics and science
learning in elementary school in the use of specialist
teachers. Specialized teaching, starting in grades 4 or
S. characterizes the education system of many other
industrialized nations, particularly those in which
students outperform U.S. students. A few such specialist
teachers work in selected school districts in several
states, but at present the practice is uncommon in U.S.
elementary schools. If the use of specialist teachers
were to spread in grades 4-6, what training would be
appropriate for them? How could school systems w e
specialist teachers without the investment of additional
E6SOUrC68 that Day It be available? What should be the
role of the specialist leacher O student contact? works
ing with regular grade teachers? both? Cooperative
efforts involving several specialties from the natural
and social sciences as well as experienced teachers and
administrators are needed to develop better approaches to
the education of those who teach mathematics and science
in the elementary grades, whether they are specialist or
regular teachers.
Initiatives to Improve the Teaching Profession
Many of the current initiatives for improving educa-
tion are aimed at making teaching a more rigorous profess
sign. Thus, 32 states have changed teacher certification
requirements, 28 states have changed teacher education
curricula, and 20 states have raised entrance require-
ments for teacher education programs (Goertz et al.,
1984~. Other policies that have been proposed are to
require liberal arts mayors for all teachers and a 5-year
rather than 4-year degree program (Scanner and Guenther,
OCR for page 25
25
1981; Boyer, 1983; National Commission for Excellence in
Teacher Education, 1984; Holmes Group, 1986; Carnegie
Fond on Education and the Economy, 1986), and to ensure
teacher competence through a nationally recognized
licensing examination (Shanker, 198S). Still other
proposals are intended to make precollege education a
more attractive profession in order to encourage entry
into teaching of individuals of high ability and keep
competent teacher and administrators from leaving the
schools. The se proposals include salary increases and
structural changes in compensation for teachers and the
creation of more conducive working conditions in schools.
Few of the policy changes that here been implemented
are based on research evidence about the decisions of
individuals deco enter teaching (Mu~-..ane, 198S ~ or the
acquisition of knowledge and skills deemed necessary for
science and mathematics teaching. Some of the new poli-
cies may procure effective; others may have some us~desir-
able consequences. For examples Seers and Wolfe (1977)
found a statistically significant negative correlation
between teachers' scores on the National Teachers Exam
and their students' test score gains. Possibly more
critical than initial certifications - the ob] eat of many
of the policy changes--is recertification, since specific
college learning, even if pertinent to teaching, fades
unless used and renewed. A 3-year cycle of evaluation
for recertification might be considered, during which
teachers would be asked to produce their own evidence on
their competence.
The current experimentation with incentives, teacher
education programs, and cretentialing sharpens the need
to understand better (a) who gets access to various
teacher preparation program, (b) the content of these
programs, (c) the regulation of access to teaching posi-
tions, and (d) the maintenance of teacher competence.
These factors are poorly understood even for the current
pool of teachers. Gaining a better understanding will
require cooperative work by economists, sociologists,
sub] act-matter specialists, teacher educators, and
educational administrators.
SETTINGS FOR LEARNING
Uha~c factors influence students ' willingness or
interest in learning science and Attics? To what
extent do experiences in the elementary grades influence
OCR for page 26
26
choice of courses at the secondary level and later
careers? Research suggests that the school emirorment,
family, and co~uni~cy all influence students' a~cti~des
and confidence in their own abilities to comprehend
science and mathematics.
Three area in this domain appear particularly in
need of interdisciplinary research: (1) assessing Ache
effects of school and classroom settings; (2) understand-
ir~g parental effects on st:udent learning; and (3) examine
ing educational models that cross institutional bounda-
ries O
School and Clasarooo' Settings
Schools should be responsible for n~o~civating stu-
dents. The success of some schools in improving the
perfo~ne. or comment of students should be studied
to learn how schools can persuade students that scien
tific li~ceracy, like learning to read, is expected of
allO Research points to a number of ques~cions that need
deco be addressed (~e reviews by Chipman ant Thomas, 1984;
Chipman et al.9 19859 Eccles°Parsons et all 1983; Ameri-
can Association for the Advancement of Science, 1984)0
How does Ache school anviror~nt influence the perception
that science and mathematics are difficult? Are teacher
expectations and at~citudes or i~titu~cional expectations
influential? Do the different reaction of different
cultural and gender groups to science and Mathematics
result at 1~t is part from the attitudes of coaches
and school administrators toward them? How should
schools and classroom be organized for effective
learning of o~a~ches~a~cics and Science?
Schools organize elassroo~ in various ways (Bidwell
and Kasardla, 1975~. Group placement based on ability is
common to reduce heterogeneity and match ins~cruction to
the students' skills. Such placement has been shown to
be Vocable over ti~--once in the low group, it is hard to
get out--and to hare differential impact on high- and
low-group students. Studies conalatently and robustly
document that ability grouping has detrimental effects
within classrooms on average and low-ability groups
(Persell, 1977; Good and Marshall, 1984~. Inappropria~ce
grouping may amplify relatively minor differences at the
beginning of let grade into orator differences in later
grades; it certainly affects students' perceptions about
their ability to do mathematics and science (Hallinan and
Sorensen, 1984) .
OCR for page 27
~1
Successful methods of classroom' instruction fre-
quently involve breaking classes into smaller activity
groups that combine theoretical understanding with
hands-on familiarity. Unfortunately, these conditions
have only been maintained in specialized program
(Goodlad, 1984; Hawkins and Sheingold, 1983; Mall and
Diaz, 1982; Peterson en al., 1984~. Even programs with
demonstrated success, like the acti~rity-based elementary
school science curricula of the 1960s, currently languish
and are used only when individual teachers make heroic
efforts or an especially well~educated parent group
creates a demand. therefore, research is needed on how
to make student activity groups successful, especially in
multi ~ ethnic classrooms, over a range of mathematics and
science tasks. In particular, the combined effects of
curriculum, school organization, teacher training, and
small group dyn~ice--especially the question of group
heterogeneity--need to be better unde£stoodO That kind
of research requires not only sub ~ eat -matter experts and
cognitive scientists, but also sociologists, anthro-
pologists, and social psychologists who have studied the
environments of classrooms and whole schools.
Another important area of research concerns the
relation between those used for instruction and student
learning. A recent study by Stevenson et al. (1986)
showed that the mathematics achievement of American
children compared with the achievement of Japanese and
Chinese children consistently declined from Ist through
Sth grades, and that differences in the amount of instruc-
tional time and direct instruction by the teacher appear
to be important factors. In the 5th grade, American
children spend 64.5 percent of their classroom time
involved in academic activities; Chinese children spend
91.5 percent and Japanese children spend 87.4 percent.
American teachers spent proportionally less time during
the school day on ache subject matter (21 percent) than
did the Chinese teachers (58 percent) or the Japanese
teachers (33 percent). The Chinese and Japanese children
also spent a considerably larger portion of the school
day on mathematics than did the American children, who
averaged less than 20 percent of the school day on
mathematics .
School organizational factors that affect teachers'
use of time, such as scoff support and professional
autonomy, and factors that increase or decrease teacher
incentives and motivation to improve their teaching must
be better understood before interventions to increase
teacher effort can be designed.
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2-8
Parental Effects on Student Learning
lathe values' attitudes, and beliefs of African
parents are important elements in how much and how well
American children learn. Parental attitudes appear to
make a difference for both minority and other students
and for males and females (Gemill en al. 9 1982) 0 A
review of researcia ore gender and mathematics (Fox' 1977)
shows that support and encouragement from parents is
crucial deco participation in mathematics, but that parents
give less encouragement to their daughters thence their
Sony A survey on science dirts ire conjunction with the
National Assessment of Educational Progress (BLEEP)
(~uef~cle et al., 1983) found that Americar~ female
students were 1~s likely to participance in science-
related activities at home char were Ales. Females
watches fewer science program on television, read fewer
booles on science, and were less likely to work on science
projects or hobbies Several analyses suggest that the
presence of educational resources in the home facilitates
learning (e.g.,, Wslberg en al.9 1981; Ralcow, 1984), but
resources matter only if they are used.
Research on student learning in different countries
provides insight into the importance of parental influ-
encesO American elemes~cary students spend far less time
of homework than Japanese and Chinese students (Stevenson
6t alO 9 1986; Fetters et al. ~ 1983; Walberg et al., n.
doJo For example, in the Sth grade, A`aerican mothers
estimated that their children spent 46 Minutes a clay on
homework; for the Chinese9 the estimate was 114 minutes
and for the Japanese, 57 minutes. At the same the,
howler 69 percent of African mothers believed the
small ueount of homework of their children was use
right, and the Chinese and Japar`~ac Lao the rs were not
dissatisfied with larger amounts of homework assigned to
their children (Stevenson en al., 1986~. Troost (1985)
also found that Japanese parents have a high participa-
tion rate in schools and that parents ant schools are
consistent in placing 0th demar~ds on studen~ca. African
students receive less assistance fro. parasite than s~cu-
dents in china and Japan; a lower percentage have deal"
in the homes and fewer receive mathematics or science
workbooks from parents (Stevenson et al., 1986~.
Mothers in different countries have different
perceptions about the factors important in student
achievement: Japanese mothers assigned the highest
ranking to the child's effort; American mothers gave the
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29
highest ranking to ability. The critical role of effort
in achieving success, as perceived in Japan, no doubt
contributes to the development of after- school schools
(juku) and greater time spent by Japanese parents
discussing school work with their children (Fetters et
al., 1983; Stevenson et al., 1986~.
Research on the home in relationship to mathematics,
science, and technology education has provided some impor-
tant ins ights, but it is limited in several respects .
Variables selected for analysis and the measures of these
variables vary considerably among research studies ~ and
many fail to look simultaneously at both home and non-
home influences. Also, most of ache studies relating
parental and home influence to achievement use tests of
basic skills; possibly, the result would be different if
tests of reasoning were used instead. Moreover, the
studies seldom examine how effects of home and parents
differ for various groups of students. Cooperative
efforts will be needed among researchers who have been
working from the perspectives of their own specialities.
A theoretical framework must be constructed that relates
critical variables pertaining to parental and home influ-
ence to different types of learning outcomes specifically
ire science and mathematics; effects for different seg-
ments of the student population need to be disaggregated
by age, ability, ethnic group, and type of school dis-
tr~ct; and studies should distinguish factors associated
with the home from those in the wider comity (e.g.,
influences of peers, neighborhoods, mass media) but
examine their interactions and Joint effects on the
learning of mathematics and science.
Educational Models That Cross Institutional Bour~dlaries
Research reviewed in the paper on contextual factors
in education prepared for the committee (Gore and
Griffin, 1987 ~ makes it clear that coordinated attention
should be given to educational activities that cross ache
boundaries between school and out-of-school learning.
For example, after-school learning activities could
effectively increase active learning time for mathematics
and science, using such settings as community centers,
churches, libraries, and school facili~cies themselves. A
variety of prototypes that suggest the range of possible
activities and institutional arrangements already exists
(Moll and Diaz, 1982; Woodson, 1982~. What does not
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30
exist and needs interdisciplinary research to develop is
an overall understanding of the potential and limitations
of different configurations and sponsorships for such
activities. Joint school-comaunity program and
school-muse~ program. (Fantini and Sinclair, 1985) also
hold promise for o~then.^tice and -science education.
The American Association for the Advancement of
Science (1984) summarized a large s~uoibar of exemplar
educational program searing women and olinori~ciesO to
report inclu-s much informal knowledge based ore practi-
cai eXpeEionca with educa~cional program that are success
ful with these populations O Many of the program exhibit
a key structural property°°they create a ~ys~cem of educa-
tios~ that is integrated bow vertically (from early edu-
eation through later years) and horizontally (they coor-
dinate and draw support frog' a range of depar~cments,
inSti~tio~9 and bureaucracies) For exile, the
Com~ity Educational Resource asked Research Center of the
University of California San Diego, brings adults, col-
l@ge students, and high -school students into a single
activity setting after school, creating ver~cical integra-
tion. Horizontal integration is achieved by involving
multiple parties: university, school ~y~tem9 comity.
The problem with such be dary°crossing systems, even
where they are demonstrated suceesses9 is that they are
difficult to fit into existing bureaucratic arrange-
men~cs. As the AAAS report notes9 demonstrations of
success based upon short-term funding of experience does
not ensure continuation by the sponsoring institutions.
T~ova~cive educational successes have had long~term
failure built into Ocher ( - urinary Associa~cion for the
Advancemen~c of Science, 1984, Stage et ale ~ 1985) o This
history suggests a need for analysis ova how to create
mixed institutional systems for mathematics and science
education that can be sustained in the face of existing
bureaucra~cic and social structures.
CHANGE IN SCHOOLS
Although structural and professional aspects of
schools appear to work against significant educational
change, some schools achieve sizable and lasting improve-
ments in science and mathematics teaching. What are the
structural features of those schools that encourage
educational reform7 How did ache desires improvements
take place?
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31
General research on change in organizations suggests
that both the mix of organizations and the character of
individual organizations change over time, but that those
changes are not ordinarily attributable to the fore-
sithted-intention of organizational leaders (March and
Simon, 1958; Cyert and March, 1963; Cohen and March,
1974~. Rather, they reflect birth and growth of dif-
ferent organizational forms (Greiner, 1972; Kimberly and
Miles, 19803, incremental trial-by- trial learning from
experience (Herriott et al., 198S), and diffusion of
ideas (Rogers, 1962~. Education organizations, for
example, respond to the pressures exerted by interest
groups and emerging societal issues rather than in accord
with plans and initiatives of governing boards or admin-
istrators (Dreeben, 1976; March, 1981; Cusick, 1983 ~ .
Research is needed to pinpoint those aspects of
schools or school systems that work for or against
educational reform. As noted, few elementary schools
retained the hands-on science experiences recommended in
the curriculum reforms of the 1960s. Was this important
and valuable facet of science teaching dropped because of
funding problems, space limitations, class size, teacher
attitudes, or administrative attitudes? Mat is happen-
ing to laboratory instruction in high school science
courses? Why? Why are computers being so little used in
effective and imaginative ways for science and matiae-
matics teaching?
Models for Change in Schools
To foster development of capabilities for change, NSE
should consider supporting the design and pilot io~plemen-
tation of modified kinds of schooling to serve as inter-
pretive models for effective education. These models
should be designed and implemented in existing school
districts in order to demonstrate what kind of capability
ts needed and how it can be created. In addition, basic
research is needed to identify mayor organizational and
social factors affecting change within educational insti-
tutions. A research program should examine factors
affecting the generation of new alternatives for o~athe-
matics, science, and technology instruction and learning;
the dissemination of information about such alternatives
and experience with Echo; incentives within educational
sys~ces~s for considering and adopting new alternatives;
and capabilities for implementing effective new
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~ - ~.
32
alternatives. loo avoid the predation that chang,. is
always good, a research program should also consider both
the conditions under which educational institutions fail
to adopt effective stew programs or methods and the
conditions under which they adopt programs or methods
that should not have been adopted
The problem of affective we of microcomputers in
schools is a variation an the problem of fostering change
ire organizations. Computers represent a means for prow
sensing scierlce in an attractive more with broad appeal
that can emphasize abstractions9 scientific reasoning,
and experimentation. Computers can also be used as
~is~alligent tutored to make instruction more effective.
Excessive practical use of computers would, however 9
require I different classroom organizations new teach-
ing materials, easily available and usable software, and
different teacher skills in managing differena~c social
interaction. It is not enough to focus Just on training
teachers,, or on developing software, or on changing learn-
ing groups. All these factors ~t be related. Tnterdis-
ciplinary research is needed to exploit findings on how
schools can produce better learning through educational
system that mith~c be quite different-card more effective
--than familiar ones.
Information and Evalua~cion of Alternatives
Efforts to develop new curriculum material or instruc-
tios~al systems are by themselves nose sufficient to have
powerful posi~ci~re effects on the extent and quality of
mathe~ties and sciences instruction. Another necessary
but flOt sufficient condition for improvemen~c is that
schools be informed about alternatives. Evaluation and
dissemination of educational materials and practices
should be supported in the areas of mathematics, science,
and technology. Interdisciplinary collaboration drawing
upon the knowledge and expertise of mathematicians,
physicists, chemists' biologists, asked social scientists
as well as mathematics and science educators will be
needed to evalua~ce existing educational materials in
science and mathematics from both a scientific and
pedagogical perspec~cive. The reviews and evaluations
should include curriculum materials and instructional
al~eQrnatives developed with the support of NSF and other
public and private funding agencies, textbooks and
ancillary o~a~cerials prepared by publishing houses, and
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33
materials produced by state departments of education or
local public and priorate schools. Tests of student
achievement should also be examined, particularly those
used to make Judgments about statewide or nationwide
performance in mathematics and science.
In addition to evaluation of materials, exemplary and
innovative educational practices should be evaluated,
including new ways of using computers, use of specialist
and resource teachers, and preser~rice and insenrice
education. Evaluation result- should be given careful
scrutiny by scientific and pedagogic experts and then
widely disseminated to schools districts, teachers ~ prin-
cipals9 and other concerned with educational improvement.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
cognitive scientists
