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AAAS Teaching Experiment

Fifth and sixth graders learn science and math under specially trained teachers

A, X E W science and math teaching ex­periment is running smoothly this semester in the fifth and sixth grades of four key U.S. school districts. I ts purposes:

• To find out how these students take to science.

• To learn how they progress under special teachers.

• To discover new ways to interest students in science.

Looming large behind this research is an old controversy: Do young stu­dents learn faster under a single teacher? Many elementary schools use special teachers in art, music, and physi­cal education, but most experts in elementary education, at this time, seem to favor the self-contained class­room for basic instruction at that level. On the other hand, many scientists be ­lieve specially prepared teachers are needed to handle the anticipated de­mands for improved science and math programs in elementary schools.

Schools move from one side to the other of this fence: la Dearborn, Mich., for example, they have dropped departmentalized classes and returned to one classroom. But in Tulsa, Okla., students are doing well in a semi-departmentalized system: There, fun­damental subjects (reading, writing, arithmetic, language, health, safety, and social studies) are taught by one teacher, and subjects related to success­ful living (art, music, science, geogra­phy, physical education, speech, and library) are taught by a skilled teacher in a specially equipped room.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science is conducting the teaching program with support from the Carnegie Corp. of N.Y. AAAS feels, that under present training meth­ods, it is impossible for elementary school teachers to take adequate course work in science as well as all the other academic disciplines. And it sees the problem growing more serious as new materials develop from science cur­riculum studies now under way.

T h e AAAS teaching program will run for two school years-1959-60 and

1960-61. Currently using the special teachers: schools in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Lansing, Mich.; Versailles, Ky.; and Washington, D .C. At the end of the first year, Dr. Glenadine Gibb, pro­fessor of mathematics a t Iowa State Teacher's College will evaluate the test. Then AAAS hopes to include more schools in the program during 1960-61.

End Mediocrity to Win Science Race

Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Dr. Joseph V. Charyk, asks for better public understanding in science

Mediocrity in science education is an obvious weakness in our educational system, says Dr. Joseph V. Charyk, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Research and Development. Speaking at the ACS Southwest Regional meet­ing banquet, Dr. Charyk pointed out that science is the key to doctrinal con­cepts of the future for the world.

Whethe r w e like it or not, Dr. Charyk says, w e are engaged in a technological contest with an adversary who has made science his god and exchanged the sanctity of the individual for the sanctity of t he state. The Soviets will make science their tool for world domination, h e warns. Scientific knowl­edge a n d research are needed to meet this global challenge.

T o overcome the problems the na­tion faces in a global struggle, Dr. Charyk wants technical societies, in­cluding the ACS, to aid in giving the public amènerai understanding and an appreciation of science. Frightening numbers of our population live on with smug confidence in our technical ability, he says. The public needs understand­ing, particularly for the problems fac­ing developers of weapons such as rockets.

Behind this lack of public under­standing, Dr. Charyk says, lies a dedi­cation to mediocrity in educating the masses. It is shocking, he believes, that some of t h e nation's most respected universities have not changed their courses despite the tremendous ad­vances in modern science. And second­ary schools, he adds, show an even greater lack in their understanding of modern science.

6 8 C & E N DEC. 2 1, 1959

EDUCATION

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