How to make math and science education interesting

[Mathematician]

I want to ask in what ways you think math and science education can be improved at the high school level. This topic is highly relevant to my professional aspirations as a physics teacher; I want to see what you think math and sciences should be structured like to facilitate interest and involvement in two subjects that really have such a high impact on our lives but which garner little sympathy from students. We have math and science classes for liberal arts majors, but not visa versa. Most college students are simply unprepared for what awaits them and don't even know algebra beyond simple linear solutions.

I'm not asking that someone propose we do away with these classes after middle school, but how to improve on them.

 

[Revoltingest]

I've experienced first hand both good & bad math instruction. Both worked for me, but I've seen the bad frustrate the good students.
My take on it:
Math is elegant, useful & simple.
All these traits should be stressed.
Elegant - Students should be infected by the teacher's enthusiasm for the subject.
Useful - Apply the methods to subjects which interest the students, not just the usual boring stuff like trains leaving 2 different cities &....&....zzzzzzzzzzzz.
Trig applies to carpenters laying out staircases. Algebra applies to calculating discounts & adjustments.
Simple - Teachers so often make things harder & more complicated than necessary. I've seen that in my daughter's homework...here she was doing basic calculus (something I used regularly as an engineer), yet I couldn't even figure out what she was supposed to do because the problems were so vaguely & poorly worded. Math is easy...if it doesn't seem that way, then the teacher is failing.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

This is usually done in the context of an after-school club, not in the actual classroom (though I have heard of a few cases where they integrate the program into the curriculum), but I've got one word for you:

Robots!

I volunteer with a number of programs run by FIRST. I've been a coach and a referee for FIRST Lego League (ages 8-14) and a referee and robot inspector for FRC (high school age... up to 18), and I've never seen kids get more engaged with science and math (as well as "soft skills" like effective teamwork and project management) than they do in these programs.

Most of my instructional/coaching experience was with kids younger than high school age, but I found that I could teach them any arcane, complex math concept and they'd listen with rapt attention and actually apply what I was teaching them as long as I prefaced what I told them with "hey! Here's something you can use to make your robot work better!"

Seriously: the FIRST organization has gotten very good at coming up with programs that really engage kids and get them interested in STEM topics, as well as careers in these fields. Rather than re-invent the wheel yourself, it might make sense to use a good program that's already put together and ready to go.

 

[Revoltingest]

Reward students with bacon.
(You can't use sex.)

 

[Panda]

I want to ask in what ways you think math and science education can be improved at the high school level. This topic is highly relevant to my professional aspirations as a physics teacher; I want to see what you think math and sciences should be structured like to facilitate interest and involvement in two subjects that really have such a high impact on our lives but which garner little sympathy from students. We have math and science classes for liberal arts majors, but not visa versa. Most college students are simply unprepared for what awaits them and don't even know algebra beyond simple linear solutions.

I'm not asking that someone propose we do away with these classes after middle school, but how to improve on them.

Physics especially you can have amazing pictures and concepts to make things interesting. Ever seen any shows by Prof. Brian Cox? He makes physics enjoyable and appealing to everyone and has won numerous awards for his shows.

Experiments are important as well, even simple ones like diffracting light in water to produce a spectrum can have an effect especially if you start off from the "Anyone know how to make a sunset" angle. Can engage them in dialogue and then use that to go to the more mathematical side of it.

Maths I think has to have a purpose. If you can not see the point or usefulness of it you don't want to do it.

 

[Gjallarhorn]

More experiments and applications for what you are learning always helps.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Applicability, starting with the type of problem that one wants to solve and why.

 

[Noaidi]

More experiments and applications for what you are learning always helps.

This.

If you are teaching science, you have the advantage of linking much of the theory you teach to practical, hands-on experiments and investigations. This brings the topic 'to life', so to speak. My main biological interest is in plants - a topic many pupils find boring. Pep it up a bit by studying carnivorous plants (structure, function, digestion rates, food preferences etc). Kids love Venus fly-traps, which can lead to an interest in the more conventional plant species.

 

[A-ManESL]

As a maths teacher I strongly support Lockhart's essay on what is wrong with the current system of teaching mathematics in school, and what should be done to correct it.

 

[ChristineES]

What I liked mostly in math and science is more of a hands on. If you just sit and lecture then the students will be bored stiff. Both subjects are very, very interesting (at least to me) and if a class is boring, then the educator isn't doing his/her job very well.

I have found this even worse with History- another interesting subject that is made dull by countless instructors.