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CATALYST
presents
The Achievement Gap in U. S. Education |
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Wednesday, April 26 2006, 10:00 -12:00, KILC Bresnahan, I & II Featuring special guest |
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| Dr. Mano Singham Case Western University Professor of Physics; Director, UCITE (University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education) |
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The Achievement Gap in US Education: Canaries in the Mine overviews indices that show the existence of an achievement gap. It discusses the negative political and social consequences of this gap, why it is such a serious problem, and exposes many of the common myths about the causes of it, such as the importance of socio-economic status, social pathologies, and biology. On the basis of case studies of success stories, the book identifies those factors that lead to widespread student underachievement. The achievement gap is seen as a symptom of poor teaching practices, and Singham argues that we should make learning enjoyable for its own sake. The book looks at those factors that go into good teaching practices and what kinds of programs would be necessary in order to produce teachers who have those abilities. It examines why good teaching practices are relatively rare and why poor teaching methods occur more frequently in minority and poor districts. It also explains why the accountability movement and its emphasis on high-stakes testing will fail to produce the sought-for improvements. The book also examines of the question of how it could happen that the educational system could 'fail' in such a spectacular way and suggests that it is by design, not by accident or incompetence. |
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Dr. Singham obtained his B.Sc. from the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in theoretical nuclear physics from the University of Pittsburgh. He has researched and conducted seminars and workshops for university faculty on teaching and learning. He has conducted workshops around the country on Active Learning methods for science teachers at pre-college and college levels, and run summer and academic year programs for K-12 science teachers. He also worked for five years as Scientist-Educator for Project Discovery, one of National Science Foundation’s Statewide Systemic Initiatives to improve K-12 science education. He has also conducted Cognitive Coaching seminars for school administrators. For more information contact Michael Theall, CATALYST, 330-941-1320, mtheall@ysu.edu |
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