ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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>I get a lot of anecdotal comments about this. Empirical or not, the
>bottom line is, if the teachers can't come out because that is what
>they have been told, there is a valuable lesson there. I have found
>that some districts, ie the ones that typically do well on the
>tests, continue to visit. Those that are in trouble, ie the ones
>that do poorly on the tests, have come less and less. If you want
>empirical studies, just look at the list of schools who come and
>don't come, and note note the districts they represent, (which
>frankly, has high correlation to economics). It's pretty damn sad
>when the districts and kids who could really benefit from
>inquiry-based experiences can't get it because they are busy being
>taught how to respond to a test question so their school scores will
>go up. That's not learning, that's propaganda.
Now would you like to know how I really feel???
Beryl
>SEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
>*****************************************************************************
>
>I have one comment and one question about this discussion:
>
>1) (Comment): I agree with Alexis's statement that informal educators should
>be involved in education policy. I would also add that we should be involved
>with educational research (at least reading it) to inform our involvement
>with policy. Alexis noted that teachers might be "dropping the fun, hands-on
>stuff to focus more time on test materials and test-taking skills". Although
>some of the readers of this list might scoff, I think that one of the best
>things we might be able to do, vis-a-vis policy, is to help argue that the
>"fun, hands-on stuff" actually helps kids to learn what they "need to"
>learn. I haven't seen any empirical evidence to suggest that
>inquiry-centered activity (in the classroom or elsewhere) helps kids to
>perform better on standardized tests. That might be nice to have. Being
>comfortable with such research would require, of course, that the tests
>actually assess what the readers of this list would probably say qualifies
>as "important". Therein lies another possible policy challenge for us as
>informal educators: to provide evidence (or at least use other people's
>evidence) to support curriculum and testing decisions that come as close as
>possible to supporting a definition of "science literacy" that we can
>accept.
>
>2) (Question): For Beryl (and others who have noted that "teachers now have
>to justify
>the trip and pretty much guarantee that the visit will result in
>substantially higher grades"). Do you know of any empirical evidence to
>support this idea, or are your data based upon what you hear "informally"
>from teachers?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Bill
>
>Bill Watson
>Research Assistant, SCALE-uP
>The George Washington University
>Graduate School of Education and Human Development
>Department of Teacher Preparation and Special Education
>2134 G St. NW
>Washington, DC 20052
>Phone: (202) 994-1171
>Fax: (202) 994-0692
>[log in to unmask]
>www.gwu.edu/~scale-up
>
>
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Informal Science Education Network
>[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Alexis Abramo
>Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2005 1:25 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: school program numbers
>
>
>ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
>institutions.
>****************************************************************************
>*
>
>I have been doing some informal polling among teachers I know and have
>found that in addition to the high cost of transportation, many schools
>are also experiencing a reduction in the overall budget, and therefore
>have less money to spend on "extras."
>
>Additionally, I believe there are two reasons to blame the No Child Left
>Behind legislation.
>
>First, because of NCLB's focus on testing, many teachers are dropping
>the fun, hands-on stuff to focus more time on test materials and
>test-taking skills.
>
>Second, and maybe more importantly: the focus on testing and meeting a
>minimum academic level means that schools must spend more of their
>budgets getting every kid up to speed. I wholeheartedly agree that we
>need to make sure all students reach a minimum level but there is an
>unintended result. Creating academic requirements without providing
>financial resources to help reach them means that schools are
>transferring their limited resources away from enriching activities for
>all students and focusing them on students who need to catch up.
>(Witness: the drop off in arts programs, field trips, etc.)
>
>Another good reason why even informal educators should get involved with
>educational policy!
>
>
>Alexis Abramo
>Education Program Coordinator
>Sciencenter
>601 First St.
>Ithaca, NY 14850
>[log in to unmask]
>607-272-0600 ext. 20
>
>[log in to unmask]
>
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>More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
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>To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
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>[log in to unmask]
--
Beryl Rosenthal, Ph.D.
Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs
MIT Museum
265 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139
Tel: 617-452-2111
Fax: 617-253-8994
[log in to unmask]
"A great place to explore ideas, invention, and innovation:
http://web.mit.edu/museum"
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More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
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