Students cannot explain answers

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called the Nation's Report Card, asked students in grades four, eight and 12 to perform actual experiments to apply principles they learn in the classroom on a practical level. The results of the 2009 tests were released Tuesday (June 19, 2012).

"That tells us that our science teaching isn't getting us as far as we need to go," said Chris Dede, professor from Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Katherine Carroll, an 11th- and 12th-grade chemistry teacher in Waterboro, Maine, said even her best students struggle to explain their conclusions in the lab reports they turn in for her class. She found them more accustomed to questions with one right answer.

"Teachers have moved towards teaching more knowledge, as opposed to the understanding behind that knowledge," Carroll said.

In the hands on tasks, female students in every grade outdid their male counterparts by 2 to 4 percentage points, on average. Girls also scored slightly better than male students in grades eight and 12 on interactive computer tasks.

This gender gap shows a reversal from the traditional NAEP tests in which eighth-grade boys scored at least four points higher on average than their female peers in 2009 and 2011.  White and Asian-Pacific Islander students outperformed black and Hispanic students in the hands on tasks, and Asian/Pacific Islander students achieved higher scores on average than other students in all grades' computerized assessments.

The lowest scoring group in both assessments was 12th grade black students. They answered 19 percent of computerized questions correctly, whereas their Asian-Pacific Islander counterparts passed 33 percent.
Based on a study by an Dr. Linda Silverman from the Gifted Development Center -- 62% of the students today are what she labels visual-spatial learners.  We call these students right-brained learners, because they use the creative, problem solving and visually strong part of their brain to learn best.

What is right brain, left brain learning theory?

According to the theory of left-brain or right-brain dominance, each side of the brain controls different types of thinking. Additionally, people are said to prefer one type of thinking over the other. For example, a person who is "left-brained" is often said to be more logical, analytical and objective, while a person who is "right-brained" is said to be more intuitive, thoughtful and subjective.

In psychology, the theory is based on what is known as the lateralization of brain function. So does one side of the brain really control specific functions? Are people either left-brained or right-brained? Like many popular psychology myths, this one has a basis in fact that has been dramatically distorted and exaggerated.

Bloom's Taxonomy:  Create, Evaluate, Analyze, Apply, Understand, Remember

The right brain-left brain theory grew out of the work of Roger W. Sperry, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1981. While studying the effects of epilepsy, Sperry discovered that cutting the corpus collosum (the structure that connects the two hemispheres of the brain) could reduce or eliminate seizures.  

Changes in technology and the workplace have made the ability to think critically more important than ever before. Instruction designed to help college students think critically focuses on skills that are widely applicable across domains of knowledge and the disposition to use these skills. 

For example, students may be able to explain the difference between correlation and causation but may be able to use that knowledge to understand and explain other situations where the two have been confused; therefore, the student must be guided in this process.

Another concept related to critical thinking is “metacognition,” or “what we know about what we know;” so, awareness of “metacognition” is important because it drives the thinking process.  And adult educators must return to school and learn more about the principles of cognitive psychology in order to prepare our students to develop critical thinking skills and assist them in taking on future roles in business.