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Charlie, I wasn't citing Robert Tai's work because he was talking about
ISE, or K-12 formal education either. I think the work is significant for
both informal and formal education because it is about the powerful role
of student _expectations_ of future careers. Expectations have both feet
in the affective domain, and that was my point: that affective domain
characteristics like interest and attitudes are powerful, measurable, and
undervalued particularly in most of formal education. In ISE we do place
higher value on these characteristics. There is substantial evidence
(some of which is cited in my earlier post and the essay I cited) that
science centers and museums, along with many other channels of ISE, lead
to greater interest and more positive attitudes towards STEM.
Put all this together, and we have a plausible path from ISE to lifelong
interests and even careers in STEM. People like John Falk, Lynn Dierking,
and Robert Tai are doing longitudinal studies which may show just how this
all comes together, which would make that plausible path a stronger case
for ISE.
Personally, I don't think this line of exploration is either pro- or anti-
standards-based curriculum or standards-based testing. It is about
whether curriculum and testing, whatever their flavor, pay adequate
attention to affective domain characteristics. Watch for a forthcoming
report from the National Assessment Governing Board on new kinds of
testing which hold great promise for better testing in the future.
Susan comments on the damage being done by too much high-stakes testing.
I agree, but I think there are tests, and then there are tests. All tests
are not created equal. Really good tests are possible, by which I mean
not only do they can produce reliable, useful data, they actually
encourage learning on the spot, and they are even fun to take! Keep tuned.
Cheers,
Alan
________________________________________
Alan J. Friedman, Ph.D.
Consultant for Museum Development and Science Communication
29 West 10th Street
New York, New York 10011 USA
T +1 917 882-6671
E [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
W www.FriedmanConsults.com <http://www.friedmanconsults.com/>
a member of The Museum Group
www.museumgroup.com <http://www.museumgroup.com/>
>
>Date: Wed, 9 May 2012 01:01:35 -0700
>From: Charlie Carlson <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: Common Core Standards
>
>ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
>institutions.
>**************************************************************************
>***
>
>Alan,
>Thanks again for your thoughtful reply. I was already familiar with the
>Tai study.
>On May 7, 2012, at 8:17 AM, Alan Friedman wrote:
>
>> And there is that wonderful paper by Robert Tai and colleagues showing
>>that adolescentsı expectations that they would have a career in science
>>were an excellent predictor (better than math scores!) of graduating
>>college with a science or engineering degree (Science, May 26, 2006).
>>³Young adolescents who expected to have a career in science were more
>>likely to graduate from college with a science degree, emphasizing the
>>importance of early encouragement.² The study found that 8th grade
>>students with expectations for a science related career were 3.4 times
>>more likely to earn college physical science and engineering degrees
>>than students without similar expectations.
>>
>It was a really nice study, and many questions were raised. By my read,
>it was primarily directed towards the structuring of STEM course work
>across K-12 formal education. There is minimal and oblique reference to
>informal education and no reference to the impacts of science museum's
>per say. Quoting from the article:
>Although our current analysis does not provide proof of an uninterrupted
>causal chain of influence, our study does suggest that to attract
>students into the sciences and engineering, we should pay close attention
>to children's early exposure to science at the middle and even younger
>grades. Encouragement of interest and exposure to the sciences should not
>be ignored in favor of an emphasis on standardized test preparation (9).
>
>Tai and colleagues weren't writing about visits to science museum, nor
>extra-curricular activities directly, they were writing about the gutting
>of science and math curricula from the elementary school classroom in
>favor of standardized curricula and regimented testing under no child
>left behind.
>
>That mis-directed STEM corrosive social policy is just now beginning to
>change. And that's a good thing.
>
>To me, this study speaks to the need to conduct more detailed and
>longitudinally correlative studies of a museum visit. I'd love to see an
>n=3022 tracked from 8th grade through college. I haven't heard of such a
>study done at a museum.
>
>Science museums are wonderful places, I love and cherish them, I work at
>one. Visitors enjoy them. Visitors value them, and I'm certain they
>play an important role in promoting the enjoyment and understanding of
>science and nature. Where else are people going to see and do the stuff
>they can do except at a museum. I do have a problem with claiming the
>achievement of specific measures of learning however, most impacts are
>subtle and hard to test for and highly variable. I'm certain most people
>believe they have learned something and had a good time by the end of
>their visit, and I'm all in favor of more study.
>
>It is very unfortunate that science museums are as expensive as they are
>and typically do not have a good consistent revenue model. As it stands
>they are continuously forced to conform social systems which cause them
>to need to justify their existence in comparison to other forms of
>education and that's a difficult proposition.
>
>
>The opinions and thoughts expressed here are my own and should in no way
>be construed or attributed to the Exploratorium or related organization,
>and do not represent an institutional position.
>Charles Carlson
>Senior Scientist
>exploratorium
>3601 Lyon St.
>San Francisco, CA 94123
>[log in to unmask]
>Tel: 415-561-0319
>Fax: 415-561-0370
>http://blogs.exploratorium.edu/whyintercept/
>
>
>
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