Prediction of Outstanding Achievement in the Natural Sciences

1998 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joachim Sieglen ◽  
Günter Trost
Keyword(s):  
Career Decisions ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Predictor Variables ◽  
Outstanding Achievement ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Potential Predictor ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Scholarship Program ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
And Mathematics

The Institute for Test Development and Talent Research is conducting a longitudinal study which started in 1973 on a nationally representative sample of 9,000 persons who then graduated from upper secondary sehool and were followed up ever since at five-to-six-year intervals. Out of this sample and, in addition, out of the former scholars of the most selective German national scholarship program, 40 persons were identified who had, by their mid-thirties and later on, achieved outstanding and influential research results in the natural scienees. This group was compared with the total representative group in terms of a number of potential predictor variables. The most distinctive features were: The outstanding scientists had achieved much higher performance both in sehool and in university. They pursued to a higher extent curricular and extracurricular interests in the areas of natural sciences and mathematics during adolescence. They were much more inclined to tackle intellectual problems (and did so more sucessfully), and they participated more frequently in academic competitions. They had and have a much higher professional motivation: their career decisions were more heavily based on intrinsic and achievement-oriented motives, and the average time per week they devote to their work is considerably higher.

Students graduate of the degree course in Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the exercise of teaching profession: findings and implications for basic education

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
A. C. R. Trevisan ◽  
E. P. Trevisan
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Teaching Profession ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Teaching Career ◽  
Professional Performance ◽  
Current Scenario ◽  
And Mathematics

In the article we seek to address questions regarding the interest of graduates of a degree course in Natural Sciences and Mathematics in relation to the teaching career in basic education. The course enables its graduates to work in the subjects Science and Mathematics in the final years of elementary school and Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry in high school. Our intention is to identify and reflect on the perceptions of these graduates about teaching, highlighting with this inherent aspects to the exercise of this profession in basic education. From the application of questionnaires to graduates of this course, we produced data regarding their performance in basic education, which enabled us to reflect on the national scenario in relation to the exercise of this profession. We could observe that the majority of the students participating in the research are not working in basic education and that the current scenario of devaluation of the teaching career exerts a significant influence in the decision making process of choosing or not the teacher profession for professional performance after graduation.

Beyond Academic Math: The Role of Applied STEM Course Taking in High School

2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Gottfried ◽  
Robert Bozick ◽  
Sinduja V. Srinivasan
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
National Level ◽  
School Students ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Els 2002 ◽  
Federal Initiatives ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
K 12

Background/Context Educational policymakers and researchers are concerned about the declining quantity and quality of U.S. students in line to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. As one policy response, a number of federal initiatives have been enacted to enhance STEM curriculum in schools. Part of this push has been to offer applied STEM courses in the K–12 curriculum to reinforce academic STEM material as well as motivate students to remain in these fields. Prior to this current study, no national-level research has evaluated the effectiveness of these courses. Purpose (a) What applied STEM courses are most commonly taken by high school students? (b) To what extent are high school students taking both academic math courses and applied STEM courses? (c) Do applied STEM courses in high school improve achievement in math? Participants To address the three research questions listed above, this study relies on a comprehensive longitudinal dataset: the Education Longitudinal Survey (ELS:2002). The present study is based on a sample of approximately 11,112 students who participated in the base-year (10th grade, 2002) and first follow-up (12th grade 2004) interviews, who completed math assessments in both years, and for whom valid transcript information was collected. Research Design This study begins with a descriptive analysis to evaluate which students have taken applied STEM courses and at which ability level. From this, a common set of applied STEM courses is determined across this nationally representative dataset. Next, this study relies on a linear regression model of math achievement where the dependent variable is a standardized math score. Independent covariates include measures as to whether or not a student had taken applied STEM courses, academic math courses taken by the student, and a range of controls. Findings Students who take an applied STEM course had higher math scores than their peers who did not take an applied STEM course, all else equal. These courses may be particularly beneficial for those students who are less oriented toward advanced math. Conclusions/Recommendations Applied STEM courses can be used to support learning in math instructed elsewhere in the curriculum, particularly for those students at the lower end of the math pipeline. In providing hands-on learning, often with technology and with direct application to concrete occupationally specific problems, applied STEM courses may serve as a critical means to support an understanding of concepts taught in lower level math pipeline courses.

Armenian language and culture of speech

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuri Avetisyan
Keyword(s):  
Verbal Behavior ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Public Speech ◽  
Professional Orientation ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
And Mathematics

The manual describes the Armenian versions, the main functions and functional styles of the modern Armenian language, introduces the forms of speech expression, the norms of verbal behavior (etiquette), the merits of speech and the peculiarities of public speech, the art of debate. Separate appendices provide spelling tips, basic rules of the Armenian punctuation, as well as original sources of spelling and punctuation and dictation materials. The theoretical and practical material of the manual has a pronounced professional orientation. It refers to the language of physics, chemistry, biology, geology, other natural sciences, such as mathematics and informatics. It is intended for the students of the faculties of natural sciences and mathematics, for all those who are interested in the Armenian language, the culture of speech.

scholarly journals The Utterly Prosaic Connection between Physics and Mathematics

Philosophies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Matt Visser
Keyword(s):  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Mathematical Entity ◽  
Eugene Wigner ◽  
Unreasonable Effectiveness ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Universe

Eugene Wigner famously argued for the “unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics” as applied to describing physics and other natural sciences in his 1960 essay. That essay has now led to some 58 years of (sometimes anguished) philosophical soul searching—responses range from “So what? Why do you think we developed mathematics in the first place?”, through to extremely speculative ruminations on the existence of the universe (multiverse) as a purely mathematical entity—the Mathematical Universe Hypothesis. In the current essay I will steer an utterly prosaic middle course: Much of the mathematics we develop is informed by physics questions we are trying to solve; and those physics questions for which the most utilitarian mathematics has successfully been developed are typically those where the best physics progress has been made.

Coping Better with the Project´s Unknown Unknowns

2020 ◽  
pp. 1419-1440
Author(s):  
Yvonne-Gabriele Schoper ◽  
Fritz Böhle ◽  
Eckhard Heidling
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Modern Philosophy ◽  
Practical Wisdom ◽  
Technical Skills ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Know How ◽  
The Third ◽  
Stable Conditions ◽  
Influencing Parameters ◽  
And Mathematics

It is the goal of management to overcome and delete uncertainty. Uncertainty is seen as an obstacle and threat for successful management. However projects are full of uncertainty. Successful project management therefore aims to overcome and ideally delete uncertainty as far as possible. In project management, uncertainty and risk are often used synonymously. Current project management methodology contains only technics how to manage risk in projects. The assessment of risks is based on the precondition of stable conditions and the idea that the influencing parameters are known, assessable and calculable. Since more than 2,000 years it is the aim of the Western cultures to master the nature by natural sciences and mathematics. In the last three centuries of Modern Philosophy the perspective developed that analytical scientific know how (episteme) and technical skills (techne) can master any kind of complexity and risk. The third traditional Aristotelian competence, the practical wisdom (phronesis) however was perceived as not acknowledgeable.

scholarly journals Do Family Privileges Bring Gender Equality? Instrumentalism and (De) Stereotyping of STEM Career Aspiration among Chinese Adolescents

Social Forces ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 230-254
Author(s):  
Ran Liu
Keyword(s):  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Women In Science ◽  
Career Aspiration ◽  
Motivation To Learn ◽  
Economic Returns ◽  
Engineering Technology ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
At Home

Abstract When studying the persistent underrepresentation of a women in science, engineering, technology, and mathematics (STEM) fields across different countries, some evidence shows a paradox of affluence: gender differences in STEM aspirations and outcomes are found to be more pronounced in more developed, postindustrial countries and among students from more affluent families. The argument of “indulging gendered selves” provides an explanation: students in more affluent settings are less compelled to pursue lucrative STEM careers and more encouraged to indulge gendered passions as a form of self-expression. Extending this argument, this paper uses nationally representative data from China to examine the effect of family privileges on adolescents’ STEM aspirations. Two distinct mechanisms are identified: instrumentalism, which considers the instrumental calculation of material security and economic returns in developing career aspirations, and (de) stereotyping, which considers whether family privileges cultivate or alleviate gender stereotypes. Findings show that less privileged girls such as ethnic minorities and those having rural hukou tend to have higher instrumental motivation to learn math, indicating an instrumentalism mechanism; on the other hand, girls with privileges such as higher parental education and more books at home enjoy more gender-egalitarian values, indicating a de-stereotyping mechanism. Moreover, Internet access at home as a privilege can foster gender stereotypes and decrease students’ motivation to learn math, and the latter association is stronger for girls than boys. Results suggest the importance of distinguishing the instrumentalism and (de) stereotyping mechanisms and the need for educational programs to refute gender stereotypes.

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