Articles tagged with Math

The week in blogs

Communicating with parents and the community takes time, writes Idette B. Groff, a board member for the Conestoga Valley (Pa.) School District. But it more than pays off in the end.

She offers this advice to parents as a guest columnist in the Washington Post’s Answer Sheet blog:

“If your district doesn’t keep you informed of opportunities to serve on short term district committees and provide opportunities to hear your input, tell them what you want. If they already do this, give a little time to be part of the process. It’s like being a part of the school board without having to invest as much time.”

How well does the U.S. stack up to other countries when it comes to teacher pay? A disappointing, 22nd out of 27, according to one measurement, writes Jack Jennings, president of the Center for Education Policy. Jennings, writing in the Huffington Post, is referring to an international comparison that looks at the ratio of the average salaries of 15-year teachers to the average earnings of other full-time workers with college degrees. It turns out that these U.S. teachers, on average, can expect to make just 60 percent of their college-educated peers. That compares to ratios of between 80 percent and 100 percent in many other countries.

Need another reason to invest in the STEM subjects (Science Technology Engineering and Math)? Read MIT President Susan Hockfield (“Manufacturing a Recovery”) in the New York Times.

Lawrence Hardy|September 2nd, 2011|Categories: School Boards, STEM Education, Teachers, Uncategorized, Week in Blogs|Tags: , , |

The week in blogs

Not only is it lonely at the top, it’s stressful too. You have to watch your back and fight off challengers.

Yes, of course, we’re talking about baboons.

According to fascinating new research described in today’s New York Times, it’s not all that bad to be a beta male. In fact, it may help you live longer and perpetuate the species.

“After all,” says the Times, “when the alpha gets into another baboon bar fight, who’s going to take the girl home?”

And what does all this have to do with K12 education? Wait, I’m thinking… Yes, here it is: Who’s better equipped to survive those interminable school board budget meetings without burning out? Who’s more skillful at collaborating, finding consensus, and “speaking with one voice?”  Who not only “talks the talk,” or “walks the walk,” but truly “walks the talk?” (Answer: Beta males? And females?  It must be true; it’s in the New York Times.)

In other education news — actually, on a more serious note — read the Times’ Michael Winerip on Matthew, a young student with an attention problem who was allegedly “fired” from a New York City charter school because he didn’t fit in.

“Matthew’s story raises perhaps the most critical question in the debate about charter schools,” Winerip writes.  “Do they cherry-pick students, if not by gaming the admissions process, then by counseling out children who might be more expensive or difficult to educate — and who could bring down their test scores, graduation rates and safety records?

Also see Joanne Jacobs on “Why Math Tutors Prosper,” Yong Zhao’s provocative call to “Ditch Testing” in light of the Atlanta cheating furor, and Charlotte Williams of the Learning First Alliance on desegregation during the Obama years.

Lawrence Hardy|July 15th, 2011|Categories: Charter Schools, Student Achievement, Uncategorized, Week in Blogs|Tags: , , , , |

Expert knowledge of subject not enough to make a good teacher

Photo courtesy Stockvault

Photo courtesy Stockvault

My high school physics teacher had a doctorate in the subject and was obviously brilliant.

But, oh, was she boring.

In college, I took a course in 19th century European philosophy, taught by a young professor with a positively encyclopedic knowledge of the subject.

And that’s what his lectures sounded like — like somebody reading the encyclopedia.

Just because you have great content knowledge doesn’t mean you can teach. It’s something the teachers unions have been saying for years in an attempt to defend the kind of pedagogical training they get in education courses.  But among today’s “reformers,” such arguments are often dismissed as empty defenses of teacher colleges, some of which, to be sure, are horrible.

Just take bright college graduates with good content knowledge, these reformers say — all those young people armed with surplus enthusiasm and no baggage — and let them work their magic.

Indeed, the idea sounds enticing to me and a wonderful quick fix — until I stop to remember my own student experiences. Now, according to a recent story in Education Week, researchers are questioning whether teachers who majored in math significantly improve students’ math skills at the elementary and middle school level.
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Naomi Dillon|December 22nd, 2009|Categories: American School Board Journal, Teachers|Tags: , |

Where does it STEM from?

1009ASBJIt’s another crisis in America, again impacting the country’s competitiveness in the world, and requiring education to step up and meet the challenge.

The push for more STEM curriculum or science, technology, math, and engineeering  instruction in schools is the latest calamity and call to action. It’s also the cover package of October’s ASBJ.

You’ll have to read my colleague, Larry Hardy’s story to get an overview of the issue and whether this really is a crisis.

In doing research and reporting for the accompanying sidebars, however, I discovered there really is some validity to the “crisis” designation— and its buried in the ground.

Game simulations, video conferencing, online learnings— schools have myriad new technology applications available today, enabling to make instruction in STEM subjects (any subjects for that matter) more relevant, dynamic, and customizable to each student.

Problem is, you can’t really access those applications unless you have the technological infrastructure to support them.
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Naomi Dillon|September 28th, 2009|Categories: American School Board Journal, School Buildings|Tags: , , , , , |

How do U.S. students compare to their peers in math and science?

In case you missed it results from the 2007 Trends in International Math and Science Study– better known as TIMSS 2007– were released yesterday. Overall, results were quite positive, particularly in math where the U.S. was outperformed by fewer countries in 2007 than 2003. Especially encouraging is that scores for most students increased including both low and high performing students. However results for science were a bit more mixed.

There is a lot more to learn about how U.S. students are performing than these simple rankings — which is why BoardBuzz recommends you check out this quick and easy to read summary of results from our very own Center for Public Education to gain a full picture of how U.S. students really compare internationally.

Furthermore, if you want to learn about how U.S. students compare to their peers in other countries on other international assessments? Want to find out about what students are actually taking these assessments in other countries? Or do you just want to learn more about what the results actually mean? Then check out the Center’s More than a horse race: A guide to international assessments of student achievement.

Jim Hull|December 10th, 2008|Categories: Educational Research, Governance, NSBA Opinions and Analysis|Tags: , , , |

Paris Hilton to star as mathmetician in new movie

Perhaps such a headline would send more young students running to sign up for math classes (although it might also have teachers fleeing)? Despite our oft professed condescension towards Paris Hilton, BoardBuzz was intrigued by this story on MSNBC about a recent study that ties the lack of students entering the math profession to the “geeky” social stigma associated with being a mathmetician.

Nearly all participants, both math-friendly students and those who steer clear of equations, think of a mathematician as a white male with white hair, who is obsessed with the number-laden subject to the exclusion of any social life. For instance, participants labeled Albert Einstein and John Nash (portrayed in the movie “A Beautiful Mind”) as lacking social skills and as weird or not normal.

Because of the “geek” status associated with mathematics, many who excel at math in their early years decide to pursue other fields in higher education and as a profession. And females are considerably less likely to describe themselves as excelling in math.

For the few brave souls that pursue careers in mathematics, the study found that they view the characteristics others describe as “geeky” as assets. An obsession with numbers is not crazy–it’s a skill. And being unconcerned with a social life shows devotion. Some also choose to embrace their “geekiness,” though also pointing out that underneath the geek stereotype, they are normal individuals.

So, how can we as educators help to change the stereotype associated with math and science? Maybe one day we will see more young boys and girls dreaming of becoming–not a rock star–but a math star (whether Paris makes that movie or not)!

Erin Walsh|May 13th, 2008|Categories: Curriculum, NSBA Opinions and Analysis, Student Achievement|Tags: , |
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