OT: An answer to why the reduction in science and engineering majors in US universities

Sure. I was given a full-blown IQ test for a magazine editor's job around five years ago, at a magazine you all know very well but which shall remain unnamed.

There are laws restricting what an employer can do with hiring tests these days. I don't know the current state of the law. Sears got into trouble several decades ago by using tests that were determined to be too unrelated to the work involved, and thus were unfairly discriminatory.

-- Ed Huntress

Gee, ED you did that too? I was K5uls. Seems like we did some of the same things, except I never pushed drugs or wrote in a machining mag about some old fart running 1942 Brownies.. .

'Started in 1959 at age 11, KN3NSR. Then WB8KYW. Now KC2NZT, General.

But I don't operate these days. Too many things are going on. And I never ran a Brownie. d8-)

-- Ed Huntress

Why fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Same-O. WA4ZEG.. Went 'general' on a converted BC-458 rig.

LLoyd

re: standardized testing click on

------ What changed in physics in that time on the high school or even college under grad level? Advances in quantum mechanics to be sure, but nothing on the macro level. What changes were you looking for / expecting?

One area where funding/trechnology *COULD* contribute is the creation of a series of professionally produced lecture tapes for most classes.

This would allow the most dynamic instructors [actors?] using the latest equipment, demonstration techniques, annimation, and graphics to cover the material.

The scenes can be shot/edited as many times as required, and the taped course lecture component will then be the same every time it is shown, insuring uniformity of instruction and easy review or make-up.

This also makes it practical for very small classes and/or schools that can't afford the demo equipment.

You must still have qualified instructors to answer questions, review techniques, oversee the labs, grade papers, etc. They just don't have to be polished actors, and the school doesn't have to make huge investments in sledom used demo aparatus.

Canned lectures can be even more effective for strictly knowledge courses [at the HS/under grad level] such as history. Indeed, even commercially produced videos can be used. For example showing the series "The Fall of Eagles" when learning about WWI. click on

Unka' George [George McDuffee] ============ Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), U.S. president. Letter, 17 March 1814.

Changes in demonstrations and to a lesser degree improvements in the depth to which things were taught. Computer simulations and programs can take you a lot farther than we went in understanding the workings of a transistor, resonance and sound, various types of heat engines, and you can even dabble in aerodynamics and thermodynamics with computer simulations. Also, I expected some exploration of subjects that are really topical and that will get some kids more interested and involved, such as solar power and electric vehicles. I expected them to build permanent-magnet alternators.

Being able to see these things in a computer simulation, and to actually build some things that are easier to make today (such as the alternator, or solid-state refrigeration) and see the things you make work, would go a long way toward making physics more engaging for many students.

Yes, I was a student in a pioneering project of that type, in Washington County, MD, (Hagerstown and the area) that was funded by the Ford Foundation 50 years ago. It was great. I'm sorry there isn't more of it today.

I've watched the introduction of "technology" into the classroom over the past decade, and it's painfully slow. There usually isn't enough time to teach the teachers properly in the use of that stuff, particularly computer-assisted learning.

-- Ed Huntress

======== How hard can it be to run a VCR or DVD player????

Unka' George [George McDuffee] ============ Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), U.S. president. Letter, 17 March 1814.

Actually I was thinking more of the interactive computer-based things. They do use DVD players quite a lot in our school district. But the big thing is making it interactive, so that the kids have to do something to make something happen, or they have to give a response of some kind. That's where the action is -- or it would be, if it were used more often.

-- Ed Huntress

Slight correction. The self discovery business is something I mentioned, not something I advocate. In fact the complete opposite. I think it has been proven to be a poor way to teach math. Even the bright kids would benefit by just learning how to and do the self discovery stuff on something else.

Dan

McDonalds might have the best idea. They started (and I assume they are still doing it) in Oregon of having the person taking the orders at the drive through being in North Dakota.