Ioannis Miaoulis, President and Director of the Museum of Science, Boston; Jan McLaughlin, Science Consultant to the New Hampshire Department of Education and Bill Church, Teacher of Physics, Physical Science, and Robotics at Littleton High School discuss the Report on K-12 Science Education in USA and science education in New Hampshire.
Balloon Molecules
Photo: “The example of the Cuban cluster [Fe4(n5-C 5H5)4 (µ3-CO)4] shows that you can build any molecule with some consideration: The iron atoms are located at the corners of the green tetrahedron, the orange-coloured Cyclopentadienyl-circles are penta-haptolinked to the iron atoms with the help of transparent balloons and the three-times-linking, black-red carbonyls are complexed through transparent balloons as well.”
Read more on Balloon Molecules.
$100 Laptops for the World
The MIT Media Lab is developing a $100 laptop to provide affordable and appropriate technology to all parts of the world. One Laptop per Child is a non-profit created to pursue this project (which is independent of MIT).
What is the $100 Laptop, really?
The proposed $100 machine will be a Linux-based, with a dual-mode display—both a full-color, transmissive DVD mode, and a second display option that is black and white reflective and sunlight-readable at 3× the resolution. The laptop will have a 500MHz processor and 128MB of DRAM, with 500MB of Flash memory; it will not have a hard disk, but it will have four USB ports. The laptops will have wireless broadband that, among other things, allows them to work as a mesh network; each laptop will be able to talk to its nearest neighbors, creating an ad hoc, local area network. The laptops will use innovative power (including wind-up) and will be able to do most everything except store huge amounts of data.
The proposed $100 machine will be a Linux-based, with a dual-mode display—both a full-color, transmissive DVD mode, and a second display option that is black and white reflective and sunlight-readable at 3× the resolution. The laptop will have a 500MHz processor and 128MB of DRAM, with 500MB of Flash memory; it will not have a hard disk, but it will have four USB ports. The laptops will have wireless broadband that, among other things, allows them to work as a mesh network; each laptop will be able to talk to its nearest neighbors, creating an ad hoc, local area network. The laptops will use innovative power (including wind-up) and will be able to do most everything except store huge amounts of data.
This is another wonderful example of engineering a better world. The challenges are still large. Making such an audacious plan work will not be easy but if they pull it off the potential benefits are enormous.
UN debut for $100 laptop for poor by Jo Twist, BBC News
Cancer Scientists Find Worm Link
Cancer scientists find worm link by Matt McGrath:
Now scientists in California have found that when they removed this same protein from the tiny worm C. elegans, the worms lived up to 30% longer than normal.
The scientists deduced that a lack of this protein might mean that humans also live longer, but with an increased risk of getting cancer.
The researchers think the protein’s dual function raises another important question: does the presence of this protein ensure a short but cancer-free existence for some people?
Middle School Students in Solar Car Competition
Students vie in solar car competition (unfortunately the link has been broken – *sigh*) by Rob Seman:
That much was true for a squad of sixth grade girls from the Northwest Christian School in Newton, who allowed the school to keep the competition’s top trophy for a second year.
Their racer, a sleek black-and-yellow aluminum number called “Yellow Stinger,” took the overall award for the annual event after placing second in the craftsmanship, innovation and technical merit categories.
China and USA Basic Science Research
US$425 million to boost Chinese innovation by Fu Jing:
The National Natural Science Foundation of China will provide 3.4 billion yuan (US$425 million) in funding for basic science, it announced last week (25 May).
“The boost has shown the government’s determination for China to become an innovative country by 2020,” said the foundation’s vice-president Zhu Zuoyan. He added that the foundation’s research funding is set to grow by about 20 per cent a year for the next five years.
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According to government plans, China’s total investment in science and technology should reach 2.5 per cent of its gross domestic product by 2020 — a share similar to that spent by industrialised nations.
By that time, China aims to be spending about US$112 billion annually on research and development (see China announces 58-point plan to boost science).
U.S. National Science Foundation Celebrates Opening of Beijing Office
The National Science Foundation is a U.S. government agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of $5.58 billion.
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According to the NSF report, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006, China ranked fourth in the world in the year 2000 in research and development, with $48.9 billion in expenditures. Two years later, the country ranked third, behind the United States and Japan, spending an estimated $72.0 billion on R&D.
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According to the NSF report, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006, China ranked fourth in the world in the year 2000 in research and development, with $48.9 billion in expenditures. Two years later, the country ranked third, behind the United States and Japan, spending an estimated $72.0 billion on R&D.
“It is important for the U.S. scientific community, especially young researchers, to be aware of and consider collaborating with colleagues in China in this environment,” said Beijing office Director William Chang.
The NSF Beijing Office is NSF’s third foreign office. NSF also maintains research offices in Paris and Tokyo.
Google: Artificial Intelligence
Google A.I. a Twinkle in Larry Page’s Eye
He finished his AI thoughts on a promising note. Explaining that he has learned that technology has a tendency to change faster than expected, and that an AI could be a reality in just a few years. Those are very strong words coming from the mouth of one of the founders of a company with the wealth and vision of Google. Words to mark in the years ahead.
That quote is based on a response by Larry Page in: Google vision – Q and A webcast (30 minutes). Artificial Intelligence seems to keep frustrating those that see a near term future for it.
via: When You’re Worth More Than Ten Billion
Related:
Ocean Life
Photo: This iridescent nudibranch looks like a creature from another planet. Larger photo.
The United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (part of the U.S. Department of Commerce?) includes a huge photo and videocast gallery including: invertebrates, vertebrates and seafloor.
Also see an exploding volcano under the sea for the first time ever, from the:Submarine Ring of Fire 2006 Exploration, NOAA Vents Program.
Report on K-12 Science Education in USA
The National Assessment of Educational Progress from the United States Department of Education is the definitive report on k-12 science education based on testing 4th, 8th and 12th grade students. The report provides a huge amount of data on testing results. At first look, it seems basically things stayed the same over the last 5 years.
Various differences are shown (for example: “Most states showed no improvement at grades 4 and 8. Five of the 37 participating states, however, did improve between 2000 and 2005 – and did so at both grades.”). However, I remain a bit skeptical of reading much into such claims. Even if you changed nothing (just retest the students the next month say) and then look for differences between the two sets of data it is possible to find seemingly interesting differences. It is very easy to be fooled when you have a large pool of data and search for any differences that seem interesting.
We commented on one example of why it is important to be careful in making conclusions based on data recently (in our management improvement blog). Most often people look for the differences to highlight the differences. That creates a bias to find such differences, which leads me to be a bit skeptical of such claims without an explanation of why the data is convincing that such a difference is significant and not just variation in the data.
The data from the test does provide a resource for those interested in exploring these matters, which is good.
The Department of Education provides sample questions online. Try them yourself: they are interesting. Unfortunately, for some questions requiring written responses, they don’t actually provide what the answer should be.
Science scores up in grade four, stalled in grades 8 and 12
News stories:
- Test Shows Drop in Science Achievement for 12th Graders by Sam Dillon
- Top of the class: Virginia a model for science education
Forty percent of fourth-grade students and 35 percent of eighth-graders in Virginia’s public schools have a solid grasp of physical and life science, the NAEP reported.
Nationally, the proficiency percentage for fourth-grade students is 29 percent, and 30 percent for those in eighth grade.
- State pupils improving in science tests – but 4th- and 8th-graders still not doing as well as their peers across the nation
In fourth-grade testing, only Mississippi scored below California, while California’s eighth-grade scores ranked 42nd out of 44 states. Of California’s fourth-graders, 17 percent were proficient or better in science, and half scored below the basic level. Among California eighth-graders, 18 percent were proficient or better, while 56 percent were below basic.
Wide achievement gaps persist for California’s economically disadvantaged students, with 73 percent scoring below the basic level, and among its ethnic minorities, with 74 percent of black eighth-graders and 73 percent of Hispanic eighth-graders scoring below basic.
Improving Undergraduate Science Education
The Meyerhoff Scholarship Program program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County uses innovative strategies to improve the performance of undergraduate science students.
At the start of their freshman year, all Meyerhoff Scholars attend an accelerated six-week residential program, called Summer Bridge, which includes course work, cultural explorations and meetings with leaders in science and technology. Summer Bridge sets up patterns for work and study that will shape student’s experiences for their years at UMBC and beyond.
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Rather than fostering a climate of competition, the program stresses cooperation and collaboration. Scholars rely on mutual support and continually challenge each other to do more, creating a positive learning environment.
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Rather than fostering a climate of competition, the program stresses cooperation and collaboration. Scholars rely on mutual support and continually challenge each other to do more, creating a positive learning environment.
Why American College Students Hate Science by Brent Staples:
The students are encouraged to study in groups and taught to solve complex problems collectively, as teams of scientists do. Most important, they are quickly exposed to cutting-edge science in laboratory settings, which demystifies the profession and gives them early access to work that often leads to early publication in scientific journals.
While the need to improve science and engineering education is real we should remember that many good efforts exist. Expanding on the good efforts that exist and continuing to improve education system will benefit not just those students that participate but all of us that benefit from the work they will do.
”It’s Cool to Be Smart” by Kate Swan:
The strategy is working. When UMBC researchers compared the performance of early Meyerhoff graduates with that of students who had qualified for the program but gone elsewhere, Meyerhoff Scholars were twice as likely to graduate with an engineering, math, or science degree, and more than five times as likely to attend graduate school in those fields.