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By the time they reach high school, American students in
grades K-12 perform below average in both science and
mathematics compared with students in other developed
nations. Today's high school graduate knows less science than
did his or her counterparts 30 years ago. Levels of achievement
in some ethnic minorities are even more disturbing. For example, only 3% of African-American students achieve at or above
proficiency, compared with an already unacceptably low 23% of
white students.
Many teachers are uncomfortable teaching science
because of the inadequacy of their own science literacy. The result is a populace that
is poorly prepared to understand and participate in the increasingly science- and technology-based society we
live in. This hurts the United
States because our prosperity, security, and health
depend on the educational achievements of the general population, not just those in science and engineering. Science continues to fall out of favor with the public, and this creates a
potential disaster for our science-based needs and enterprises.
Teachers and scientists have the responsibility of educating and training the next generation of both scientists as well as the general public. Science education must begin in early childhood, and be sustained and supported
throughout life. The 2000
National Assessment of
Educational Progress
report on science assessment identified the following science education
challenges: clear learning
goals; well designed local curricula; curricula and
assessments aligned with
learning goals; teacher
training; and a commitment to long-term
reform. To amplify several of these challenges, the
U. S. Department of
Education's Office of
Educational Research and
Improvement indicates
that educators must generate better and different
instructional materials,
and the entire education
system must undergo significant transformation
including a better definition of learning outcomes and how they are assessed.
Entomology must continue to be a leader in science education and outreach to enhance science literacy.
Entomology outreach programs provide an opportunity to educate the public on: 1) the wonder of insects and their
relatives; 2) the impacts of insects on our health and economic prosperity; and 3) the contribution of insects to scientific knowledge in fields beyond entomology. Insects
are an ideal medium for demonstrating many life science
principles: they are easy to work with and readily captivate the public's attention. Entomologists working with
science educators need to exploit these attributes and
develop science education and outreach programs for
youth in K-16 and 4-H, science teachers, and the general
public. Programs can be delivered directly through on-campus and distributed-learning school programs and scheduled public events, as well as indirectly through
teachers and other educators interested in insect science
outreach. Informal science
education and outreach is
an emerging area drawing
new students with an interest in developing and delivering science education to
a variety of audiences to
traditional graduate pro-grams. Networks of science teachers interested
in insects can provide the
topics and "laboratories"
for this work. The more successful projects will likely work
with other educators to estabish an interdisciplinary foundation for their science education
programs.
Entomology is uniquely positioned as a life science to develop and deliver science education
that promotes science literary because:
- Entomological education reaches well beyond the narrow confines of the discipline and has broad impact on
science literacy in K-16 formal education programs - a
major thrust of NSF's education-based grants program
- Children hold a natural fascination for living organisms;
insects and other arthropods can serve as the ideal tool
to develop learning bridges among non-science disciplines, including art, music, history, geography, social studies, education and business
- Insects can be collected in nearly every habitat and held
inexpensively for a short time in the classroom, requiring minimal care and attention
- Many life processes of animals can be illustrated and
observed using insects as a model, including genetics, ecology and environmental science
- Insects can be used in student research projects to facilitate inquiry-based learning
- Insects play a major role in the environment and some are indicators of environmental quality
- Insects are depicted in movies, prose and poetry, television shows, jewelry, fine art, advertising, toys, stamps,
etc. Our vocabulary has become richer because of the
use of insect-related words and phrases
Entomology offers many unique "value-added" opportunities to help improve the status of science literacy in this country, including:
- Developing entomological results into formal and informal learning programs
- Working with educators to apply principles of research
into educational projects targeted toward specific
groups
- Training and educating the next generation of K-12 teachers on how to use insects in the classroom
- Developing courses in teacher education programs with a focus on entomology
- Offering entomology courses needed by teachers for continuing education credits
- Partnering with K-12 teachers, industry, non-profit
organizations, foundations, and other interested groups to improve science literacy
- Promoting the development of a new cadre of graduates/teachers trained specifically in science literacy/outreach. This could include financial support for non-thesis MS programs for practicing teachers who wish to earn an advanced degree in teaching entomology
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