NSF study calls for smaller classes, more lab time

If the United States is to remain competitive internationally, colleges and universities must promote heightened student-faculty interaction and make math and science courses smaller and more hands-on, according to four recent studies by the National Science Foundation. Each of the studies concentrated on different types of institutions, from two-year junior colleges to large research universities. The aim of the studies was "to try to determine what makes math and science good at some schools," according to Gene Wubbels, a program director at the NSF. Project Kaleidoscope, which examined math and science education at over 200 liberal arts colleges, concluded that the small schools studied teach math and science more effectively than the large schools. Wubbels said the reports show that large research universities graduate a comparatively low number of students in these majors. According to University officials, approximately the same number of math and science majors graduate from the University as graduate from Haverford College, a liberal arts college located in the Philadelphia suburbs. Biophysics Undergraduate Chairperson Lee Peachey said that the difficulty of the hard science courses often discourages students. "As the courses get harder the students get poorer grades," Peachey said. But in some cases, professors said students are first put off by the profession's image rather than the perception of classes. "Science is often regarded as very hard, not paying well and a little nerdy," Physics Professor Gino Segre said. Even from the outset, large lectures in introductory courses can discourage many students, said Math Department Undergraduate Chairperson Frank Warner -- adding that this problem is to some extent unavoidable. But several professors said that at large universities, students often can choose more specialized majors than at smaller schools, resulting in fewer students enrolled in each major.

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