THE PROB LEMS OF EDUCATION ARE NOT GE NE TIC 337Th is is why there have been many explorations of alternatives to the
traditional curriculum and its hidden agenda. Many eff orts exist in schools
to make lessons more realistic, and curriculum reviews and innovations
abound. But these, all too oft en, consist of made-up “proj ects,” involving
some sort of simulation of real activities, and pretend prob lems. Th ough
laudatory, they are still divorced from real social contexts.
Th e point is to fi nd ways through which wide curriculum objectives—
currently encapsulated in “subjects” like physics or biology— could be
found in meaningful contexts. In one scheme (reported a few years ago
by Sally Goodman in the journal Nature), high school students became
engaged with university research teams to build three- dimensional mod-
els of anthrax toxins in school. Researchers took time out to discuss gen-
uine prob lems with the students during lab visits. And the scientists were
rewarded with really helpful models: “an excellent tool for testing hypo-
theses,” as one of them put it.
In another scheme in Milan (reported by Giulio Pavesi and colleagues
in the journal of the Eu ro pean Molecular Biology Organisation in 2008),
high- school students became involved with university researchers in
ge ne tic analyses. Th ey developed much deeper understanding of con-
nections between the theoretical and the practical. In the collaborative
context, also, both students and their teachers developed a far more
fertile understanding of the science topic, as well as the inspiration to
continue.
In yet another scheme, students helped build equipment for experi-
ments related to particle physics. And in a proj ect in Germany, students
spent two days a week at a research center, where they were taught by
their own teachers alongside researchers. In Britain, Nuffi eld- sponsored
proj ects have invited students to work with researchers over the summer
on a one- to- one basis, even resulting in scholarly publications.
In all these cases, students suddenly felt they were part of a team and
were rewarded with the creativity and excitement of genuine research.
Connecting the theoretical with the practical fostered genuine learning
that students will prob ably not forget. Students from all social back-
grounds became more self- confi dent, and more challenging in classes.
Th ey also encouraged a tremendous groundswell of interest among peers.
Researchers noted signifi cant improvement in their own ability to
This content downloaded from 139.184.14.159 on Tue, 17 Oct 2017 13:58:56 UTC