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  • Measures required to fuel life science and overall science education by states
  • Posted By:
  • Kathy H
  • Posted On:
  • 12-Aug-2009
  • There is no sufficient motivation for students to pursue the field of biosciences in American higher education. This is one of the key factors in improving and developing the future bioscience workforce. According to a recent report which conducted a comprehensive study of bioscience education, there is a wide disparity in achievement of students in biosciences and overall science.

    There is a marked fall in efforts by states in including biosciences in science standards of the state, appointing qualified and knowledgeable bioscience and science teachers and focusing on biosciences courses of higher level and implementing bioscience education programs.

    The development of the field of biosciences can be made possible by taking certain strong and effective steps. With the help of expert bioscience research scientists, states can include biotechnology in their science syllabus.

    High school graduates can be encouraged to pursue bioscience courses in college level if states strive to improve their achievement in life sciences and biology. Data must be collected and disseminated by states by which it is possible to track performance and participation of students in broader sciences and biosciences.

    In order to further career awareness, experiential learning and professional development, a more systematic approach must be adopted by states.
    According to the report findings, a very small percentage of students, just about 28% of them taking ACT, the national standardized test for admission in colleges score enough to be eligible for admission into biology courses.

    Students who are above a certain basic achievement level in sciences in the 12th grade amount to only 52%. Science grades in both 8th and 12th grade have declined to a great extent from 1996 to 2005. A significant achievement gap is found in middle school students of the lower income group.

    These report findings give out a loud message to incorporate good quality biosciences at the middle and high school curriculum supported by expert teachers in order to remain globally competitive in this field of science. It is important also to identify bio science education program in the United States that is in existence and works and implement this across all states by ensuring sufficient resource allocation.

    Definition of science standards or explicit mention of instruction tools and applied laboratory exclusively for biosciences and biotechnology is found to be prevalent only in 31 states. Most of the schools in the American states focus on STEM education on a broader basis while only fifty percent of the states have at least one school focusing exclusively on bioscience.

    There is no serious encouragement by states for students to go in for higher level science courses. According to statistics, just about 4.6% of high school graduates even appear for the AP biology exam. 

    Coming to faculty, the report says teachers who are knowledgeable in the field and certified to teach biology are just about one in eight. America, in order to continue competing in the advanced biotechnology field must take immediate measures to bring this field of science into focus among students and motivate them to choose this stream in the college level.







 

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