Tag: Doctor of Philosophy

Teach a child to think

LMU students taking a class at the LA zoo. Photo by Adan Garcia.
LMU students taking a class at the LA zoo. Photo by Adan Garcia.

For the last month, the science policy group I belong to has been discussing K-12 STEM education. The United States’ scoring on international achievement tests has been falling since the 70s. You can look over the data for the most recent evaluation by PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) here. For all of our posturing as the most powerful country in the world, we are failing to give our children a competitive education. How do we turn the ship around and teach our children to think critically and help them prepare for a life in a rapidly advancing society?

Continue reading “Teach a child to think”

Do as we say, not as we did

In the recent Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Washington Update, there is a letter to NIH director Francis Collins that supports recommendations from the Biomedical work force working group’s recent report. The report recommends, among other things, shortening the average Ph.D. training time to five years, while increasing training in skills targeting scientific careers outside of academia. How practical would it be to implement these recommendations? Continue reading “Do as we say, not as we did”