Learning and Understanding Improving Advanced Study of Mathematics and Science in U.S. High Schools (2002) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix A: Overview of Panel Findings and Recommendations
Appendix A: Overview of Panel Findings and Recommendations
Pages 229-252
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. The largest advanced study programs for high school students in these disciplines are part of the Advanced Placement (AP)
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These materials included curriculum guidelines; questions from final examinations that had been released by the College Board and the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) ; and, for the science panels, laboratory manuals used in AP and IB science courses.
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on Learning: All of the panels agree that the AP and IB programs are not yet effectively utilizing what is known about how people learn in developing their courses and their assessments. The science panels also note that the programs are not consistent with national standards such as those presented in National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996~.
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The mathematics panel credits the College Board with facilitating communication among all stakeholders with regard to the teaching, of calculus. In all disciplines increased cooperation could lead to improvements in the structure of secondary advanced programs, better teacher preparation and professional development, and college course sequences that are appropriate for students having, different experiences in high school.
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Particularly in AP courses, better integration of topics is needed. Finding: Meaningful learning in biology must involve inquiry-based laboratory experiences that require students not simply to carry out a technique or learn a laboratory skill, but also to pose questions, formulate hypotheses, design experiments to test those hypotheses, collaborate to make experiments work, analyze data, draw conclusions, and present their analyses and conclusions to their peers.
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Finagling: The way the AP and to a lesser extent the IB courses are taught is inconsistent with current knowledge in several ways: rapid-fire course coverage at the expense of depth of understanding; continued reliance on the traditional passive-learner, transmission-reception model of learning; failure to specifically target common known misconceptions; limited use of history as a route to understanding in the context of people and society; failure to keep pace with new technological and instrumentation opportunities, such as learning through computer modeling of biological systems and hand-held data collection and analysis equipment for field work; over reliance on multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank test questions; and limited experiential and inquiry-based learning in the laboratory, including the "persuasion of peers" phase crucial to the scientific process In general, the application of research-based learning theory to the design of instruction and assessment is lacking Finding: A greater emphasis on inquiry-based learning in AP and IB courses might motivate more students to pursue further training in biology and biology-related careers. Finding: Many teachers at the secondary level are unprepared to teach college-level biology with regard to content knowledge, and many schools that offer AP programs do not have the resources to support adequate laboratory instruction.
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The perceived need for comprehensiveness and the single hiah-stakes exam of the AP program in particular encourage teachers to promote rote learning in order to cover all the necessary material. Finding: Both the AP and IB examinations emphasize assessment of what is easily measured: rote learning of facts and concepts, rather than what is most highly valued- hierarchically structured conceptual knowledge and understanding of scientific processes.
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Overall Recommendation Certification and assessments of both the AP and IB programs by the College Board and the IBO, respectively, should be designed to ensure that changing emphases in standards for teaching, professional development, assessment, and content, as set forth in the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996) , are being implemented.
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The AP program should place more emphasis on laboratory work by developing a new and larger set of innovative, inquirybased laboratories that conform to the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996) and by including more laborato~-based questions on the exam.
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Finding: The AP and IB chemistry courses do not yet recognize the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of modern chemistry; its incorporation of important related fields, such as materials science and biochemistry; and the opportunities presented by such fields to teach related chemical concepts in a contextual manner. Fi~zdir~g: The AP and IB examinations do not reflect recent developments in chemistry and in the teaching of chemistry at the college/university level.
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Professional Development Recommendation. Required periodic, funded professional development opportunities, including content instruction, research participation, and pedagogy workshops, should be provided for teachers of advanced courses in chemistry.
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181. Recommen~tiow Professional development opportunities, such as the experience of teaching courses or laboratories at colleges or universities and undertaking original research in industry, at government laboratories, or in collaboration with college faculty, would be particularly valuable for AP and IB chemistry teachers.
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Cumca~um Finding: The study of Newtonian mechanics provides an ideal framework for developing the scientific habits of mind and deep conceptual understanding that are the primary goals of advanced physics instruction. Moreover, familiarity with Newtonian mechanics is universally expected of students who have completed an advanced high school physics program.
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Finding: Thorough understanding of the subject matter is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for good physics teaching. Finding: Traditional "cookbook" methods of laboratory instruction, in which students follow narrowly defined procedures to verify well-known principles, have little effect on students' conceptual understanding.
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All advanced physics programs should aim to develop deep conceptual understanding of the topics studied. It is essential that whatever topics are chosen be addressed in depth, with an emphasis on conceptual understanding rather than on technical problem-solvina skills.
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Professional Development Recommendation A concerted effort should be made throughout the physics community to contribute to the preparation and ongoing professional development of highly skilled physics teachers. Peer assessment programs should be implemented for certification and continuing assessment of physics teaching skill.
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Instruction ant! Professional Development Finding: Neither the College Board nor the IBO explicitly articulates in its published materials what it considers to be excellent teaching in mathematics.
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More problems are needed that involve multiple steps, test technical skills in the context of applied problems, ask for interpretation and explanation of results, include substantial realistic applications of calculus, and test reasoning or theoretical understanding. Finding: The IB exam benefits from being more varied than the AP exams.
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Finding: Most college and university placement and credit practices that are based on student performance on AP or IB calculus examinations are reasonable. Finding: Data on the number of AP and IB courses offered by schools and the results of the examinations are sometimes used in ways for which they were not intended, thus creating situations that can be detrimental to student learning (see also Chapter 10, this volume)
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Recommendation Schools that choose to offer AP and IB programs must find ways to encourage all teachers to take part in professional development, perhaps by providing time during the school day rather than on nights and weekends. Recommendation The College Board should consider developing procedures to certify AP calculus teachers.
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Below is a list of questions that the content panels will use to examine the curriculum, laboratory experiences, and student assessments for their specific subject areas. The content panels will use these questions to issue a report to the committee about the effectiveness of the AP and IB programs for educating able high school students in their respective disciplines.
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? To what degree are the AP and IB curricula and related laboratory experiences organized around these identified key concepts?
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1. To what extent do the AP and IB curricula, assessments, and related laboratory experiences in your discipline serge as adequate and appropriate bases for success in college courses beyond the introductory level?
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