"Science" and education

In a recent article that appeared on the New Your Times web site earlier this month, Gina Kolata wrote about the growing trend in education of using randomized trials-- real science-- to determine which textbooks are "better" and which software is "useless." As a scientist, I like the focus on data, and real randomized trials in which variables are controlled and large statistically relevant numbers are used to accept or reject null hypotheses.

But this is education... and I am fearful of:

• The incorrect argument that "I am using 'the best' textbook, therefore I my students are learning.
• The false assumption that the measures of "best" used by the scientists are measuring the habits, skills, and knowledge that our children will actually need in the unknowable future.
• Consumers of the research will not pay attention to the limitations of the study which are certainly defined by the researchers if it is peer-reviewed research.
• Consumers will also draw too-broad conclusions.
• The conclusion of this research will support "one-size-fits-all" education.

One of the most skilled colleagues I know attends every training session and jumps on every educational fad that comes along. She jumps on to each fad long enough to understand it, and become familiar with the tools, then she jumps on the next one. When I asked her about it, she said, "Look, these are all different ways of doing the same thing, and the more I know, then the more tools I have." Her comment was verified by observing her classroom: When she encountered a struggling reader, she went to her collection and found a new approach. If that didn't work, she tried another, and another, until one worked.

I like science being applied to education, but we need to understand what science is and what it tells us. We also need to understand that education is fundamentally about each learner, and educators have a responsibility to all children, even those who don't react the same way that experimental samples do.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/03/science/applying-new-rigor-in-studying-education.html