News in Brief
Don’t Make Math Dull!
Norman Shamas, Web@ Devil, 10/9/07
Math. This word invokes disdain, fear, and possibly the contemplation of suicide for most normal students. There are those lone students who thrive on math and even more oddly, they will major and make a living looking at numbers. This was my original plan when I came to college. Throughout high school I had always been able to understand math and its ideas easily. Not to mention I found math to be a very creative subject.
At this point in time I am sure most of you are wondering how much acid I dropped to be seeing math, (normally seen as very black and white), as a creative subject, one that invokes more than two colors. Well I shall lead you through my thought process on the creativity of math. Most personality tests have a cheesy question along the lines of "is the journey or end result more important?" If you ask someone who truly understands math, they will tell you the journey is more important.
I will concede that math has a definite answer, but I will not give into the fact that math is analytical. Math teaches, up until proofs are introduced, that there is a simple right and a simple wrong. This takes the creativity out of math and stifles the education of people who want to pursue math.
Once proofs are introduced, math should begin to appear more creative. I have found out that teachers tend to do a bad job of this. The proof is the journey, and there are many different routes to the end. In 1637 a factual theorem was stated without a proof; this theorem is "It is impossible to separate any power higher than the second into two like powers" and is known as Fermat's last theorem. The author of this theorem, Pierre de Fermat, stated that he had a proof, but the margins were too small to contain it. Up until 1993 this theorem remained unsolved.
Now the creativity of math may not be apparent from this anecdote, so I shall explain. When this theorem was solved in 1993, math beyond the knowledge known in 1637 was used. This simply means that a new proof for the theorem was created as opposed to the one discovered by Pierre de Fermat. There are those mathematicians who are still trying to figure out the proof given by Fermat. The creativity is in the journey to the answer, there are many different paths to a single end. (Einstein would argue the correct one is the one that looks the most elegant.)
Now, it is established that math is creative, so why am I no longer a math major if I find math fascinating and creative? The answer lies in how math is taught. I stated that math is taught analytically, and I have found it even so with proofs. I have taken a couple of proofs classes here at ASU, and only one teacher was able to keep me motivated in math. His teaching method was one which promoted thought, not simple regurgitation; the other professors were about regurgitation. I understand that the majority of this is due to the fact that it is an undergraduate course and there tend to be engineering students as well as math students in the classes, but only one of the classes I took was for anyone other than math majors. Furthermore, for the class that I took that engineers could also take, there was an application-based class also offered. I could be asking for more than I should, but when an application class is offered along with a theory based class, the theory-based class should focus on theory and proofs not simple applications.
Now this is not a problem that is inherent in the ASU math program, but one that is a problem throughout America. I have friends who are attending schools with amazing math programs (Rice, Cal Tech, Duke) who have found the same problem with how math is taught. It is a shame that this problem drives away potential math majors; it is even more of a shame that it drives away potential math majors who look at math in a creative light. I don't have a way to fix it, but I think the first step is to recognize the problem.
Parents, Students Feel Less Urgency for Math, Science Upgrades
Michelle R. Davis, Education Week, Published Online: September 19, 2007
Though education experts, business leaders, and government officials have largely embraced the drive to raise the level of math and science courses across the country, students and parents are apparently satisfied with a less-rigorous level of instruction in those subjects.
That’s the conclusion of a
new study of the views of parents and students in Kansas and Missouri by the New York City-based research organization Public Agenda, which found a degree of contentment with current math and science curricula that contrasts sharply with the dissatisfaction expressed by experts.
“What we found when we looked at the views of parents and students was much, much less urgency,” said Jean Johnson, an executive vice president and the director of education insights at Public Agenda.
In the past few years, business leaders have stepped up their complaints about the state of math and science education, and federal lawmakers have ratcheted up their efforts to use legislation to force improvements. Last month, for example, President Bush signed into a law a bill that pushes for improved teacher recruitment and training to bolster math and science education through the use of federal grants. (“’Competitiveness’ Bill to Aid Math, Science Is Signed by President,” Aug. 15, 2007.)
But that heightened concern has not reached parents and students, according to the new report, “Important, But Not for Me: Parents and Students in Kansas and Missouri Talk About Math, Science and Technology Education.
'Fine as They Are'
The survey of about 2,600 students and parents found that, overall, only 25 percent of parents think their children should be studying more math and science, and 70 percent think things “are fine as they are now.”
However, minority parents were less satisfied with the math and science education their children received, with 44 percent of African-American parents and 64 percent of Hispanic parents saying they were satisfied, compared with 73 percent of white parents.
Among students, 72 percent said all students should not be expected to take advanced science courses like physics or advanced chemistry.
“There is room for concern here,” said Jodi Peterson, the assistant executive director of legislative and public affairs for the National Science Teachers Association, based in Arlington, Va.
Ms. Peterson cautioned that the survey was limited to one city and results might differ in other areas. Still, she added: “We have a big challenge ahead to educate parents as to why math and science is important for their kids.”
The survey found that parents believe math and science education is rigorous, Ms. Johnson said, because they see their children doing more challenging lessons than they did in school. Sixty-nine percent of parents said math is harder today, while 51 percent said science is harder than when they were in school.
However, both parents and students do believe that basic math and science is critically important, with nine in 10 people surveyed calling it essential. Parents saw algebra as a priority, with 79 percent of parents and 70 percent of students saying algebra is essential.
Knowledge Opens Doors
Margo Quiriconi, the director of education research and policy at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which cooperated with Public Agenda on the project, said students need to understand that a good grounding in math and science can lead them into high-tech companies in a wide variety of industries, including the animal sciences industry, which has roots in the Kansas City area.
“We need a workforce able to support that generation of new companies,” Ms. Quiriconi said. The Kansas City, Mo.-based Kauffman Foundation runs a program in five counties in the Kansas City region to improve math, science, and technology education, and also provides funding to Education Week for coverage of those topics.
Francis “Skip” Fennell, the president of the Reston, Va.-based National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, said it’s critical that teachers help students understand where intense studying of advanced math and science can lead them, such as to jobs with starting salaries above $75,000, for example, or those in which they crack codes for the U.S. government.
“Students need to know that knowledge of this subject really opens doors,” he said. “A challenge for teachers is always to make this subject interesting and viable to kids.”
A majority of parents surveyed said they believe their children’s teachers make math and science relevant in the real world. Only 20 percent of students blamed poor teaching for students who do not achieve in math and science courses.
One bright spot in the survey: 85 percent of students surveyed said they believe students can learn math and science if they spend the time, instead of seeing that ability as simply a result of innate aptitude.
And students said they were motivated to take advanced math and science courses in high school by several factors, with a majority saying they were spurred on by college requirements, the possibility of scholarships, and the prospect of good jobs and career opportunities.
American Students Behind International Peers in Math and Science
NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF STATE SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS COALITIONS
News Brief #4118 Category: Studies and Reports
According to a study by the American Institute of Research (AIR)—"Chance Favors the Prepared Mind: Mathematics and Science Indicators for Comparing States and Nations"—, international students in top performing countries rank well above their eighth-grade peers in the top performing states. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results from 2005 (science) and 2007 (mathematics) were compared to 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) country-by-country results. Calling the results "a mixed bag" Gary W. Phillips, a chief scientist at the Washington-based AIR says that the results reinforce the notion that U.S. policymakers need to focus on ways to improve mathematics and science skills in order to address a variety of problems the country is currently facing in the science and mathematics fields, and that the solution to these problems. “requires that we have a literate citizen-public.”
SOURCE: Education Week, 13 November 2007
WEBSITE: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/11/13/13international_web.h27.html (registration required)
Liberal Arts Schools Offering Engineering
NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF STATE SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS COALITIONS
News Brief #4111 Category: Postsecondary Education
Liberal Arts colleges and universities are increasingly embracing and expanding engineering programs as a way to attract female and minority students. This trend is partly driven by research showing a need for more well-rounded engineers in the workforce and community. It is also driven by the perception that the high-profile engineering schools have a "macho culture" as well as by the growing recognition that engineering needs to diversify. According to M. Dayne Aldridge, dean of the engineering school at Mercer University, "We went away from a prescription of exactly what the curriculum had to look like and went more to the outcomes approach. It made the engineering (field) more attractive to liberal art schools where communication skills ... are much more a part of the standard curricula."
According to the American Association of Engineering Societies, the field of engineering is growing with at least 76,000 bachelor's degrees conferred nationwide last year. That's 10,000 more than a decade ago.
SOURCE: The Washington Post 3 November 2007
WEBSITE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/03/AR2007110300708.html
Parents Count in Mathematics and Science
NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF STATE SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS COALITIONS
News Brief #4106 Category: Studies and Reports
According to a study entitled “I Can, But I Don’t Want To: The Impact of Parents, Interests, and Activities on Gender Differences in Math,” parental involvement and encouragement plays a significant role in a child's confidence and interest in mathematics and science. In particular, the study shows that parents buy more mathematics- and science-related items for their sons than for their daughters, a behavior which reinforces the gender stereotype that males are more talented than females in those subject areas. This further reinforces the overall trend of girls losing interest in mathematics and science as they progress from elementary to high school and the resulting lack of women pursuing those academic and career fields.
The study, a joint project between Pennsylvania State University and the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, is available here (PDF)
SOURCE: Education Week, 23 October 2007
WEBSITE: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/10/24/09dads.h27.html (registration required)
Teacher Preparation Programs Make Rookies as Effective as Veterans
NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF STATE SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS COALITIONS
News Brief #4107 Category: Teacher Preparation
A new study of teacher preparation programs in Louisiana shows that retooled teacher preparation programs can make new teachers as effective or more effective than veteran teachers. Between 2000-2003, Louisiana required all public and private teacher preparation programs. The study looked at 22 programs although it only had data for three of them. These three programs produced 155 mathematics, science, and social studies teachers during 2005-2006 who met or exceeded the performance of experienced teachers.
Some of the elements of the new teacher preparations programs in Louisiana include requiring teachers to take more content-specific Praxis tests, requiring the programs to be aligned with state and federal standards, and requiring the programs to all work toward national accreditation. Other states are expressing interest in the Louisiana program.
SOURCE: Education Week, 26 October 2007
WEBSITE: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/10/31/10louisiana.h27.html (registration required)