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~athemaUcs' Scicncc, and
Technology Lducabon:
^ Search Agenda
Comae on Search ~ ~athemadcs,
Science, and Schnook Education
Com~s~on on Beba~or~ and
Social Sciences and Education
National Research Council
NATIONAL ACADEMY PASS
Washington' D C. 1985
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report
was approved by the Governing Board of the National
Research Council, whose members are drawn from the
councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the
National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of
Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for
the report were chosen for their special~competences and
with regard for appropriate balance.
m is report has been reviewed by a group other than
the authors according to procedures approved by a Report
Review Committee consisting of members of the National
Academy of Sciences, m e National Academy of Engineering,
and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was established by the
National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the
broad community of science and technology with the
Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and of
advising the federal government. The Council operates in
accordance with general policies determined by the
Academy under the authority of its congressional charter
of 1863, which establishes the Academy as a private,
nonprofit, self-governing membership corporation. The
Council has become the principal operating agency of both
the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy
of Engineering in the conduct of their services to the
government, the public, and the scientific and
engineering communities. It is administered jointly by
both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. The
National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of
Medicine were established in 1964 and 1970, respectively,
under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences.
This report was prepared with support from the
National Institute of Education under contract no.
400-83-0059.
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Committee on Research in Mathematics,
Science, and Technology Education
JAMES G. MARCE (CHAIR), Stanford University (political
science)
ARNOLD B. ARONS, University of Wash, ng ton (physics)
W.O. BAKER, Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc., retired
(chemistry)
JEROME S. BRUNER, New School for Social Research
(psychology)
MICHAEL COLE, University of California, San Diego
tPSychology)
ALLAN M. COLLINS, Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc.,
Cambr idge, Mass . (communication sciences, psychology )
MARGARET B. DAVIS, University of Minnesota (biology)
FREDERICK ERICKSON, Michigan State University
(anthropology)
ROBERT GLASER, University of Pittsburgh (education,
psychology)
ANDREW M. GLEASON, Harvard University (mathematics)
MICHAEL A. GUILLEN, Harvard University (mathematical
physics)
JILL H. LARRIN, Carnegie-Mellon University (mathematics
and science education)
ROBERT G. LOEWY, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
(engineering)
CORA B. MARRETT, University of Wisconsin (sociology)
SAMUEL J. MESSICR, Educational Testing Service, Inc.,
Princeton, N.J.
(psychometrics)
PAUL E. PETERSON, Brookings Institution, Washington,
D.C. (political science)
MARE TAAGEPERA, University of California, Irvine
(chemistry)
DAVID E. WILEY, Northwestern University (education)
SENTA A. RATZEN, Study Director
ROLF R. BLANK, Research Associate
CAROLYN STEWART, Administrative Secretary
. . .
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Contents
PREFACE
1 INTRODUCTION: A BASIC ORIENTATION FOR A FOCUSED
RESEARCH AGENDA
2 RESEARCH ON REASONING
Developing Competence, 8
The Search for Generality in Reasoning Skills, 11
RESEARCH ON INSTRUCTION
Research on Teachers, 15
Research on Curricula and Curricular Materials, 19
Research on Testing, 24
4 RESEARCH ON SETTINGS
Research on Classroom Settings, 26
Research on the Political and Social Context
of Mathematics and Science Education, 30
Research on the Home as a Setting for Education, 34
Research on Out-of-Classroom Settings, 36
RESEARCH ON NEW LEARNING SYSTEMS
Research on Interactive Computer Software, 39
Research on Microsystems, 41
Developing a Systems Approach to Improving
Mathematics and Science Education, 43
v
· .
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1
s
15
26
39
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6 SUMMARY OF A RESEARCE AGENDA
Research on Reasoning, 52
Research on Instruction, 53
Research on Settings, 5S
Research on New Learning Systems, 58
REl?ER=CE;
APPENDIXES
A: Background Papers
B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
and Staff
vat
51
61
85
86
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Preface
This is a report to the National Institute of Education
from the National Research Council Committee on Research
in Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education. The
report is based on a review of current work in relevant
fields, several papers commissioned by the committee, and
our understanding of existing knowledge and promising
directions for research I see Appendix A for titles and
authors and Appendix B for biographical sketches of
committee members). It reflects our assessment of where
we are and where we might go and outlines some strategies
for extending and utilizing research to improve precol-
legiate education in mathematics, science, and technology.
The background for the report can be read in any con-
temporary newspaper. Concerns about the quality of
mathematics, science, and technology education have
become commonplace in the United States. Unflattering
comparisons between the performance of American youth and
youth in other countries, and between the current ineffec-
tiveness of schools and their traditional quality, are
regular topics for journals, legislatures, and street
corners. The educational system has responded by raising
requirements for high school graduation, by stiffening
standards for teacher certification, by developing
incentives for attracting able teachers, by exploring new
technologies for instruction, and by challenging the
validity of the critiques.
Our report neither describes nor endorses a program
for educational reform. Judgments about the allocation
of resources to education and their utilization are the
province of political leaders and educators. Our inten-
tion is simply to suggest a strategy for research and
development that would provide somewhat better answers to
the practical questions of educational change: How should
V11
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new courses be designed and taught to ensure student
achievement? What makes an effective teacher? Or a good
school? How can modern information technology contribute?
How can parents and the public assess the extent to which
educational goals are being reached?
This volume is the result of the efforts of many
people. We have drawn gratefully on the assistance of
our colleagues and would like to acknowledge particularly
the contributions of the National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics, especially Joseph Crosswhite and Sigrid
Wagner, who provided an extensive bibliography and other
materials on research in mathematics education, and of
the National Association for Research in Science Teaching,
especially David Butts. We want to thank the National
Institute of Education for its support of this project
and the National Science Foundation for support of the
committee. We also want to express admiration and thanks
to the National Research Council staff, who made our work
possible. Senta Raizen, study director, made a major
contribution to the substance and organization of this
report. Rolf Blank, research associate, was very helpful
in the later stages of its preparation. Christine
McShane, editor for the Commission on Behavioral and
Social Sciences and Education, added to the clarity of
the report and managed its production.
JAMES G. MARCH, Chair
Committee on Research in
Mathematics, Science, and
Technology Education
· . .
veal
