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Fulfilling the Promise Biology Education in the Nation's Schools (1990) / Chapter Skim
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1. Introduction
Pages 1-4

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From page 1...
... This committee was assembled by the National Research Council's Board on Biology to confront a piece of the problem-the state of the high-school biology curriculum but we quickly recognized how interlocked are the practices that maintain the present unsatisfactory state of precollege science education. We also saw that the teaching of biology provides a paradigm, not only illustrating what is generally awry in conveying science to children, but also providing unique opportunities for improvement.
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From page 2...
... The committee has developed some firm conclusions about what is wrong with biology education and how it has failed to fulfill these goals. We are convinced, however, that successful efforts to improve the classroom teaching of biology must address numerous interacting forces that maintain the inadequate status quo.
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From page 3...
... · Standardized testing has become the primary method of assessment, and the results are commonly and inappropriately used to gauge the performance of both programs and individual students. Moreover, because the tests emphasize name recognition, they drive some of the less desirable features of the curriculum.
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From page 4...
... Substantial improvement in vitalizing science education will not be achieved by tinkering with the system. It will require recognition that the problem is complicated and will require the contributions not only of teachers, but of those who teach the teachers, teachers unions, educational administrators, makers of tests, publishers of textbooks, members of school boards, parents, politicians, and scientists.
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Key Terms

  • twelfth grade
  • enable students
  • biology education
  • science curricula
  • precollege science

  • students continue
  • providing unique
  • name recognition
  • biology provides
  • biology occupies

  • national challenge
  • inadequate state
  • lead healthy
  • quickly recognized
  • design effective

  • appropriate goals
  • requires national
  • simply mandating
  • pedagogical challenges
  • bodies work

  • economic diversity
  • interacting forces
  • teachers unions
  • school boards
  • status quo

  • teaching profession
  • growing awareness
  • public education
  • increasing cultural
  • educationally misguided


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