Doing Something About 'Brain Drain'

"Brain drain." It's cute and catchy and it rhymes. But that doesn't mean it isn't a problem. According to some studies, in fact, fewer than 6 percent of high-school seniors in the U.S. are planning on engineering degrees. A decade ago it was 36 percent. In 2000, 56 percent of the undergraduate degrees in China were in the hard sciences. In the U.S., 1 percent.

Part of the problem, according to many experts, is how science and math education are taught in U.S. schools, ranging from everything to how the material is presented to the teacher's qualifications. According to the October 2005 National Academies report Rising Above the Gathering Storm, about two-thirds of the students studying chemistry and physics in U.S. high schools are taught by teachers without major or certificates in the subject. With math taught in Grades 5-12, its about one-half. And many students are taught math by graduates in physical education.

On the upside, prompted in large part by the "Rising Above the Gathering Storm" report which initiated a national discussion about math and science education reform, some organizations and government bodies are trying to do something about this. In Kentucky, for instance, state legislators are pushing through bills that would give teachers salary increases if they perform well on the teacher-certification tests in math, chemistry, and physics. Bills would also provide $10,000 in grants for schools to start advanced-placement courses. The two-year cost of the bills is pegged at $13.9 million. Then there are programs like the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics which is a public, residential high school where students study a specialized curriculum built around science and mathematics.

Addressing issues and examining programs such as these is the focus of the upcoming National Symposium for Scientists and Engineers: A Strategic Program to Develop Informed Leadership for Changing the Course of K-16 Science Education which will be held in Santa Fe, New Mexico on April 10-13, 2007.

Co-sponsored by Los Alamos National Lab and the National Science Resources Center, the symposium will examine the current state of science education in the U.S., particularly research and examples of effective science teaching and learning approaches, highlighting innovative best practice programs and exploring the role that scientists and engineers can play in facilitating the enhancement of science education in the nation.

The keynote speaker is Geoffrey West, president of the famed Santa Fe Institute and a scientist in the Lab's Theoretical Division. Other conference speakers include Terry Wallace, the Lab's acting principal associate director for Science, Technology, and Engineering; Sally Shuler, executive director of the NSRC; David Evans, undersecretary for science at the Smithsonian Institution; and Tom Bowles, the Lab's former chief science officer, who now serves as science adviser to New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.

Posted by Jon Erickson at 09:20 AM  Permalink