Advances in Physiology Education, Vol 258, Issue 6 3-S7, Copyright © 1990 by American Physiological Society
Science education: too much of too little
R. L. Malvin
Department of Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109-0622.
By all measures attempted, scientific literacy of the American public is
sadly wanting. The vast majority of our secondary school children and
adults have no knowledge of most of the basic terms or concepts of science.
The reasons for this shortcoming are many but prominent among them are
sadly deficient texts, teachers untrained in the subject matter they teach,
and college and university scientists who divorce themselves from the
problem, although probably deploring it. Our institutions are no aid. They
reward scientific productivity (read: number of papers published per year
and research dollars), not teaching. Some suggested cures are production of
better texts, training of science teachers in the field in which they
teach, and, most importantly, involvement of scientists in the process. We
must be willing to spend some of our time with secondary school pupils and
their teachers. All will gain from the experience.
