The title of this article comes from a frightening—to American educators—conversation between two TV personalities who were discussing whether the moon was a planet or a star. You certainly don’t need to know solar system facts to sell shirts on TV, but the conversation was another face slap to the deplorable state of math and science education in the United States.
The Earth and Moon offer great topics for science research papers. (Credit: MikkelHH)
For good term paper topics, consider writing your research paper about ways to improve STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) studies in the U.S.
Is the moon a planet or a star?
QVC shopping network presenter Shawn Killinger was selling a speckled green shirt which she said: “It looks like what the Earth looks like when you’re a bazillion miles away from the planet moon.” She immediately corrected herself, saying “from the moon looking back at the planet Earth.” It was a harmless slip of the tongue, and had she left it at that, the clip would not have become the Internet sensation it has. But she and shirt designer Isaac Mizrahi devolved the conversation even further saying things like: “What is the moon? Is it a star?” “It’s a planet, darling. Things live on it. This, therefore, makes it a planet.” When someone off camera Googled what the moon was, Killinger was told it was a “natural satellite.” She said on air: “Oh, I don’t like that. I don’t even know what that is.”
Motivate students to learn science
The United States has the unique position in the world of denigrating students who perform well in math and science. We call smart students nerds, geeks and elitists, while the rest of the world praises their math and science students as the future achievers and leaders of their country. The United States also does not do a good job of demanding excellence in STEM studies. Too many teachers and parents in the U.S. think: Since math and science are so difficult, let’s not spend so much time on it, the children will get too frustrated.
In “Applying New Research to Improve Science Education,” by Carl Wieman in the journal Issues in Science and Technology published fall 2012, Wieman offered advice on teaching science in the classroom in a way that will engage and interest students: “Motivate the student to put in the extensive effort that is required for learning. This involves generating a sense of self-efficacy and ownership of the learning; making the subject interesting, relevant, and inspiring; developing a sense of identity in the learner as a STEM expert; and other factors that affect motivation.”
Mentor students in science
For your term paper, another idea to improve science education is to engage students with a science mentor. The Science Times asked scientists and educators for suggestions to improve science education in the United States. Michael F. Summers, biochemist and Howard Hughes Medical Investigator, promoted mentorships that encourage students to take up science and to follow through when they enter college.
Summers said in the article “Ideas for Improving Science Education in the U.S.,” by Claudia Dreifus posted September 2, 2013, in New York Times: “There’s an unfortunate disconnect for kids who show some interest in science while in high school and their maintaining it while they are undergraduates at college. One of the ways we are addressing that is that we take about a dozen high school and college students into my lab each year, assign them an older mentor, train them in biochemical techniques and give them real problems to work on.”
Prepare teachers to teach science
Another possible topic for your education research paper could be to discuss teacher preparation. Many students are getting a substandard education in science because teachers are not properly taught the sciences or how to effectively teach them. In the article “How the U.S. lags in math, science education, and how it can catch up,” by Nelli Black and Alicia Stewart, posted on CNN.com May 12, 2011, Michigan State University Distinguished Professor Bill Schmidt, director of the Institute for Research on Mathematics and Science Education, is a promoter of the demanding Common Core State Standards in math and science.
Schmidt suggested: “We have to look at teacher preparation so our teachers are better prepared to teach that kind of more demanding mathematics and science.”
For more information, check out Questia’s Education library.
What are some of your suggestions for improving math and science education?