On 27 December 2008 Chris Green highlighted: English pupils get better at maths and science - but enjoy them less http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/dec/10/education-international-lea gue-table-schools
Minor point: The picture shown at the head of the Guardian article shows a young boy (scarcely out of his teens?) solving a differential equation. Differential equations are not in the mathematics syllabus until students are 17 (and the one shown is rather more difficult than they are likely to have to face at Advanced Level at age 18). The testing was done at ages 10 and 14, so it looks as if the National Numeracy Strategy of recent years to improve numeracy levels for younger children in England is bearing some fruit. Some caveats: The Guardian article links to another article that suggests that such international tests are limited in scope. Also, the number of countries was by no means comprehensive: 36 countries participated at grade four and 48 participated at grade eight. "Alan Smithers, director of education at Buckingham University, said the countries in the TIMSS study were a 'mixed bag'. 'We are comparing ourselves with Qatar and Tunisia, and Finland and the Netherlands aren't included, so that acts to push-up our schools.'" Also, the Guardian article points out that "The improvements in England came as a surprise to many as Sats test results have stalled recently and the UK plummeted in other international league tables for literacy and science last year." So the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) indicates rough trends for the lower age groups of schoolchildren, but generalisations from a single study should (as always) be treated with caution. Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org ****************************************** Subject: English pupils get better at maths and science - but enjoy them less | Education | The Guardian From: "Christopher D. Green" <[email protected]> Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2008 21:09:02 -0500 Recent changes in the English school curriculum have students doing better in math and sciences, but they like it a lot less. http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/dec/10/education-international-lea gue-table-schools An article like this makes me wonder... do the various "modern" teaching techniques with which we have been inundated over the past few decades result in greater student enjoyment of the topics because, in essence, they are simply easier (viz., teach less) than the traditional techniques? Learning a lot of formal material can be boring and frustrating, no doubt, but it gets the job done more efficiently. Using lots of games, activities, etc. results in a more enjoyable experience, but not as well educated students. Or, to put it perhaps more memorably, does drill makes the skill? Chris -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
