Why Science Majors Change Their Minds (It’s Just So Darn Hard)

NY Times ^ | November 4, 2011 | CHRISTOPHER DREW

[neverdem]

LAST FALL, President Obama threw what was billed as the first White House Science Fair, a photo op in the gilt-mirrored State Dining Room. He tested a steering wheel designed by middle schoolers to detect distracted driving and peeked inside a robot that plays soccer. It was meant as an inspirational moment: children, science is fun; work harder.

Politicians and educators have been wringing their hands for years over test scores showing American students falling behind their counterparts in Slovenia and Singapore. How will the United States stack up against global rivals in innovation? The president and industry groups have called on colleges to...

--snip--

The chemistry department gave the lowest grades over all, averaging 2.78 out of 4, followed by mathematics at 2.90. Education, language and English courses had the highest averages, ranging from 3.33 to 3.36...

--snip--

“They learn how to work with their hands, how to program the robot and how to work with design constraints,” he says. But he also says it’s inevitable that students will be lost. Some new students do not have a good feel for how deeply technical engineering is. Other bright students may have breezed through high school without developing disciplined habits. By contrast, students in China and India focus relentlessly on math and science from an early age.

--snip--

Teachers say they have been surprised by the sophistication of some of the freshmen projects, like a device to harvest kinetic energy that is now being patented. But the main goals are to enable students to work closely with faculty members, build confidence and promote teamwork. Studies have shown that women, in particular, want to see their schoolwork is connected to helping people, and the projects help them feel more comfortable in STEM fields, where men far outnumber women everywhere except in biology...

[Ramius]

I saw calculus for the first time as a freshman, and that was in 1980. My HS had a lousy math program and I was utterly unprepared. I was intending on a degree in oceanography. For lots of reasons (and not really the math— I caught up on that eventually) I finally ended up in the school of business and got a degree in accounting.

Funny thing... I barely ever used my accounting degree. I went from college to a stint in the Coast Guard, and then a brief accounting job that quickly over a couple of years morphed into a long career in I.T.

Sometimes I wish I’d stuck with the science career... But alas, science remains just a hobby.

[Flightdeck]

“...I thought they had found a black cat and had made a wired glove to rub the cat with.”

With this state of affairs, I would be happy with that. It at least demonstrates creativity :)

[org.whodat]

I was in one of those, little Chinese guy made 97 on every test, I was one of the missing on the last drop day.

[Chode]

it's not for everybody even if you study hard, at least you didn't waste your time...

i'm sure you made out well anyway or you wouldn't be posting here

[supercat]

But once I was there, all they required of me was algebra.

I don't often perform integrals and derivatives, but I find that recognizing the concepts is key to understanding many things about the world around me in my day to day life.

[Professional Engineer]

In September, the Association of American Universities, which represents 61 of the largest research institutions, announced a five-year initiative to encourage faculty members in the STEM fields to use more interactive teaching techniques.

It would be much easier to start with faculty that can actually speak and understand the English language.

[neverdem]

Dirt prevents allergy

Benefits of nut consumption for people with abdominal obesity, high blood sugar, high blood pressure

Signs of ageing halted in the lab The story links the abstract.

Decoding the Brain’s Cacophony

FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.

[grey_whiskers]

Honk if you passed P-Chem!

Cheers!

[Explorer89]

Honk! But I did once get a memorable 29 on a test. I think it was a “C” after the grading curve was taken into account....

[Freedom56v2]

bookmark for later

[21twelve]

My major wasn’t overloaded, but the Petroleum Engineers at my school were. I think they were at about 50%. Stuff from the next few chapters that they hadn’t studied yet would be on their exams to help weed them out.

We had plenty of kids in my course give up and leave, but it was not the intentional weeding out like some of the other courses. Sad were the suicides - straight A students in High School getting B’s, C’s, and D’s is what I figured.

My old man would reply to those asking if I was still getting all A’s in college. “No, but his B’s and C’s would be A’s at most other schools”.

“C” was for Credit. “D” was for Diploma.

[Elsie]

... I barely ever used my accounting degree.
.
.
. Sometimes I wish I’d stuck with the science career

Most folks tend to NOT be in the field they majored in in ten years anyway.

You did good; science IS fun! ('SPECIALLY if ya blow things up!) AKA MythBusters!!!)

[Elsie]

“...I thought they had found a black cat and had made a wired glove to rub the cat with.”

[Elsie]

It at least demonstrates creativity

Sigh; I am reduced to a common cutandpaster; a copyCAT if you will.

[Condor51]

'Science' is fun. IF its taught right. Ditto for Chemistry.
Leave some of the boring stuff, read Hard, for a bit later and first show the fun stuff like chemical reactions and blowin' stuff up with Bleach ;-). The boys will flock to it like flies on poop.

Or, just bring back Mr Wizard!

[I had a friend in HS who loved Chemistry and worked on it at home with one heck of a chemistry set. His goal was to make TNT. And I am not kidding. Oh and his hands were all nasty from chemical burns (didn't use gloves). Kinda hurt him in getting chicks]

[bert]

“Look to the student to your left and to your right, when you graduate, they will not be there. They will have dropped out.” Address to new Freshmen by the Chancellor of NC State in 1961

[reed13k]

This is all generalized - first the overseas comparison isn’t apples to apples while we require 100 percent to attend high school overseas does not (Japan for instance youneed to test into high school and your family pays more or less depending on which one you get into and not all go so your already comparing the top tier to our complete body when it comes to test scores). Second the level of math is dependent on a number of factors including: family district and teacher. My daughter is a freshman and will start calculus next year - they kicked her into algebra in fifth grade to which my jaw dropped since I first saw it in eighth (back in the day). Now are all her peers in the advanced class no, but they have all seen algebra by 7th grade in the district before the advanced kids did when I attended. Anecdotes exist of failures in certain areas sure but you don’t set national policy off anecdotes.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks neverdem.

By contrast, students in China and India focus relentlessly on math and science from an early age.

Sure, but do they spend *any* time on the *all-important* work of outreach to the Moslem world??

[SharpRightTurn]

“Politicians and educators have been wringing their hands for years over test scores showing American students falling behind their counterparts in Slovenia and Singapore. How will the United States stack up against global rivals in innovation?”

Then let’s import millions of tomato pickers and functional illiterates. Let’s also spend valuable class time with our own students on global warming, diversity training, and sex ed.

No doubt with those programs we’ll continue our freefall to the bottom, but at least we can “feel good” about it.

[EBH]

I was kid when they started teaching that thing called the “new math.” I struggled with math for years. Struggled so much as it proved to be my undoing in early college.

Decades later returning to college I had to sit through another remedial math class. Honestly I didn't know if I would get through it this time either.

About 3 weeks in the teacher discussed a concept so simple he had me solving quadratic equations in one class. What was the one concept that I somehow missed in all those decades of struggle? What teacher and tutor neglected to note I had not learned? Please Remember My Dear Aunt Sally.

I tend to blame the whole ‘new math’ concept of teaching math. I now understand it was not because I was dumb about math, heck I aced Physics, but could not pass an algebra class! It was about how they muddied what should have been the logical expression of mathematics. I got through physics...because it was logical, visual, and hands-on. I didn't need their new math theory of teaching, I could reason out the answer ...often in my head.

I did that once in the remedial math class with a story problem. Within seconds blurted out the answer...the teacher knew I didn't complete any written work. He is the same one that told me about my dear aunt sally.