Category Archives: constructivism

New article: Qianruo Shen’s “Integrated Curriculum Reform and its Impact on Science Education — Why is the West Falling Behind East Asia in PISA and TIMSS?”

Abstract: This paper investigates why western nations underperform in PISA and TIMSS compared to East Asia and explores the root causes of the decline in science education. By analyzing TIMSS data and comparing the science curricula and teacher qualifications in … Continue reading

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In Praise of Memorization

by Pearl Leff I once worked at a small company of insanely productive engineers. They were geniuses by any account. They knew the software stack from top to bottom, from hardware to operating systems to Javascript, and could pull together … Continue reading

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The Sabotage of Public Education

By Bruce Deitrick Price Genuine rigorous testing of educational ideas is rare in America. Why? Because practical testing usually goes against what the professors want to do. Their impractical ideas don’t perform well in the real world. For example, Operation … Continue reading

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K–12: The Life and Death of the Mind

By Bruce Deitrick Price The life of the mind. This lovely phrase states what education is supposed to be about.. All things bright and cerebral. Play chess. Write a story. Devise a plan for any goal. Weigh evidence for and … Continue reading

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Stanford Professor Jo Boaler’s Math Revolution and War Against Algebra 2

Recently, Stanford GSE professor Jo Boaler, the foremost champion for reform math, has scaled up her campaign to displace algebra 2 with “data science” in American high schools: https://www.salon.com/2020/09/26/teaching-data-science-instead-of-calculus-high-schools-math-debate/?fbclid=IwAR2_EUTcMIrSEK2Y2HffJchGn4EKZ7IQOK4ePvGxttvl407m2Oo8Ut8nj7Q. For decades, Stanford University has lent its prestigious fame to help … Continue reading

Posted in constructivism, Curriculum & Instruction, K-12, math, Mathematics | 2 Comments

Breaking the Spell of Math Reformists

by Ling Huang, Palo Alto, California In “My Childhood Schooling In The Soviet Union Was Better Than My Kids’ In U.S. Public Schools Today,” https://thefederalist.com/2019/08/27/childhood-schooling-in-soviet-union-better-than-u-s-public-schools-today/  Katya Sedgwick wrote, “Math was the dissident’s favorite in the Soviet Union. It was believed that … Continue reading

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K-12 is a land of mystery

Bruce Dietrick Price* For those who enjoy a good puzzle, K-12 education is more intellectually entertaining than most people imagine. Classrooms are full of convoluted theories and mystifying methods. Probably the teachers themselves can’t explain the reasoning behind approaches that … Continue reading

Posted in Bruce Dietrick Price, constructivism, Curriculum & Instruction, Education Fraud, Education policy, K-12, reading | 2 Comments

Response to John Merrow’s advocacy of Project-based Learning

John Merrow has started a series of posts advocating project based learning. I just posted the following to his website: Project-Based Learning, part two John, It’s disappointing to see you disparaging the teaching of factual information: “I also endorsed project-based learning … Continue reading

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Richard Phelps: Is our education system failing us? Critically Speaking

CriticallySpeak @CritiSpeak https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/013-dr-richard-phelps-is-our-education-system-failing-us/id1463016517?i=1000445232433 K12 is in trouble! Johnny can’t read, write or do arithmetic, even with a college degree. Interview with Dr. Richard Phelps CriticallySpeaking podcast ‎Critically Speaking on Apple Podcasts ‎@@string1@@ · 2019 podcasts.apple.com

Posted in constructivism, Curriculum & Instruction, Education Fraud, Education policy, Education Reform, International Tests, K-12, Richard P. Phelps, Testing/Assessment | Leave a comment

Letter to NPR’s Ari Shapiro and producers of their “individualized learning” podcast

From: Erich Martel Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2018 To: ‘mediarelations@npr.org’ Dear Ari Shapiro and Individualized Learning (and Project Based Learning) Podcast Producers, I want to make three points re “Individualized Learning” and all claims pertaining to education: 1) Always look … Continue reading

Posted in Censorship, constructivism, Curriculum & Instruction, Education journalism, Education policy, Erich Martel, information suppression, K-12, research ethics | Leave a comment