The science of teacher education
By many accounts, the picture of science education in the United States is bleak: American students lag their international peers in standardized test scores, fewer of them are studying science and engineering at the university level, and reports of scientific literacy among adults range from mediocre to appalling. (A recent study found that one in five still thinks the sun orbits Earth.)Recognizing the bottom-up nature of the problem, the National Research Council (NRC) released a new framework for primary school science curricula in July, replacing one that was more than a decade old. The new standards call for the nation’s educators to rethink their approach to teaching science and engineering, in hopes of producing more scientists — or, at least, better-informed citizens.At MIT, a small but focused group of undergraduates want to join the movement, pursuing teaching licenses alongside their bachelor’s degrees.Those students are part of MIT’s Scheller Teacher Education...