Why are other countries doing better in science than the U.S.?

Posted by on February 20, 2011

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

Students in the United States first learn about the human eye in elementary school; in countries that score higher in science, students don’t discuss the eye until eighth grade. Though the timing might make you think American kids are getting a jump on their global peers, in fact it’s symptomatic of the “inch-deep/mile-wide” problem with the American science curriculum, according to The Hechinger Report. When U.S. elementary students study the eye, they typically memorize its different parts and leave it at that. Students in other countries have learned the basics of atomic structure and photons when they study the eye, and therefore grasp the mechanics of vision and how photons are translated into electrochemical impulses. American students memorize facts, students in other nations learn foundational concepts to understand complicated processes later on. U.S. curricula ignore research that demonstrates the importance of sequencing in science education. American textbooks for each grade contain dozens of topics, and in many cases, define the curriculum. When subjects covered are too numerous for the adequate study of any, the curriculum turns repetitive, and students relearn the same sets of facts year after year, “rather than focusing on a small number of topics and doing them deeply and well,” explains William Schmidt of Michigan State University.

Read more: http://hechingerreport.org/content/why-are-other-countries-doing-better-in-science-than-the-u-s_5056/