from the editor's desk : engineering education

Learning Science Facts Doesn't Boost Science Reasoning

Lee_Teschler — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:04:00 GMT

Here is a "well, duh" moment: A study of college freshmen in the U.S. and China found that Chinese students know more science facts than their American counterparts -- but both groups are nearly identical when it comes to their ability, or lack of it, to do scientific reasoning. The study suggests that educators must go beyond teaching science facts if they hope to boost students’ reasoning ability.

Am I being overly cynical here? This seems like it would be obvious to anyone who's sat in a science or engineering class. How many people did you know in school who seemed to know the material backwards and forwards but couldn't solve the problems on the exams?

Anyway, researchers figured this out after testing nearly 6,000 students majoring in science and engineering at seven universities -- four in the U.S. and three in China. Chinese students greatly outperformed American students on factual knowledge of physics -- averaging 90% on one test, versus the American students’ 50%, for example.

But in a test of science reasoning, both groups averaged around 75% -- and this for students hoping to major in science or engineering. How much worse it is for non-science majors they don't say.

You can read the full release on this here:

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/548591/?sc=dwtr;xy=5017520

Engineering PhD: park your ego at the door

Lee_Teschler — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Here is an interesting interview with an engineering PhD who made the jump to industry from academia. A lot of the comments seem to apply equally well to any kind of worker with a graduate technical degree. I particularly liked this one:

"Ph.D.'s tend to be less likely to compromise, less able to move forward without a complete analysis. They can be labeled obstinate and hard to work with in a corporate environment. That limits their career, and they often have a hard time understanding why, since, from their perspective, they are just pursuing the "right" answer as they have been taught, and no one seems to appreciate their superior arguments.

Another frustration is the occasional ego problem. Some Ph.D.'s consider themselves above certain types of work and entitled to special treatment. A good dose of humility is always appreciated."

Here is the link to the full interview from the Chronicle of Higher Education:

http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2008/09/2008092401c.htm?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

How to cheat on exams, courtesy of youtube

Lee_Teschler — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:06:00 GMT

What ever happened to just scribbling formulas on the palm of your hand? The YouTube clip is interesting and so is the discussion that follows.

http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/3160/students-show-how-to-cheat-via-youtube?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Finally some sanity about high school GPAs

Lee_Teschler — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:08:00 GMT

I always thought it was a little screwy that the grade I got in a high school typing class counted as much as my grade in precalculus. Looks like I wasn't the only one with this idea. Texas is apparently going to fold course difficulty into the calculation of high school GPAs. The move is quite controversial judging by the comments posted for this item in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

http://chronicle.com/news/article/4766/recalculation-of-high-school-gpas-sows-confusion-in-texas?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Not what you'd expect: More high school seniors take math/physics classes

Lee_Teschler — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:26:00 GMT

Well, so much for the idea that fewer and fewer students are studying math and the sciences. The National Center for Education Statistics compared surveys of high school seniors in 1972, 1980, 1982, 1992, and 2004. One result:

The percentage of seniors enrolling in calculus during their senior year grew from 6 percent to 13 percent between 1982 and 2004. The percentage of seniors taking no mathematics courses during their senior year declined from 57 percent to 34 percent over this time period. Seniors increased their senior-year enrollment in advanced science courses (chemistry II, physics II, and advanced biology) from 12 percent in 1982 to 25 percent in 2004.

Here is the link for the complete report, which is free:

http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008320

take a math course, make more money

Lee_Teschler — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:07:00 GMT

Here's a news flash: People who take higher level math courses tend to make more money than those who do not, regardless of what they majored in. As reported in the blogs of the Chronicle of Higher Education,

In raw terms, the two scholars found the usual salary disparities: Nursing and social-work majors earn $48,900 per year, on average, while engineering majors bring home an average of $102,290. But Mr. Hamermesh and Mr. Donald found that .....................regardless of their choice of major and regardless of their mathematics SAT scores — students earn significantly more money if they take more upper-level math and science courses.

Here is the link:

http://chronicle.com/news/article/4656/major-in-business-make-a-bundle-its-not-quite-so-simple?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Is math taught better with abstractions or examples?

Lee_Teschler — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:00:00 GMT

If there are two trains speeding toward each other, what is the acceleration of coins tossed at algebra instructors?

Item: Abstract Math Produces Tangible Learning, Study Finds

http://chronicle.com/news/article/4364/abstract-math-produces-tangible-learning-study-finds?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

More PhD's head home after graduation in the US

Lee_Teschler — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:19:00 GMT

Readers of my editorials might recall my Feb. 21 column which quoted Vivek Wadhwa, Executive in Residence at Duke University, as warning that more and more PhD's head back to their own countries after getting their degree in the US. His warning is true, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

http://chronicle.com/news/article/4286/fewer-foreign-phd-recipients-in-science-stay-in-us-after-graduation-study-finds?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

The problem is that foreign PhD's are also some of the of the most innovative, at least according to Wadhwa. So their skills and abilties migrate elsewhere to countries that, in turn, compete with the US.