Leslie N Woltenberg
Cultivating Statistical Literacy Among Health Professions Students: a Curricular Model
Medical science educator
abstract recent years us curriculum policy emphasized standardsbased conceptions curricula mathematics science paper explores data third international mathematics science study timss argue presence content standards sufficient guarantee curricula lead highquality instruction achievement examination content topics covered grade group six highestachieving timss countries mathematics science shows pattern new topics gradually introduced part instruction grades often leave curriculum separate topics contrasts sharply mapping topics various us national standards mathematics science topics enter linger grade typically devotes instructional attention many topics typical six highachieving countries addition topic stays curriculum grades highachieving countries examination mathematics science content standards 21 states 50 districts us shows pattern like us national standards highachieving timss countries content standards become integral us curriculum development reform yet reflect coherence typical countries achieved significantly better us timss study keywords mathematicscurriculumscience curriculumcurriculum contentstandardsacademic achievement notes 1 term math wars reflects distinction made us two points view regarding nature school mathematics mathematics curriculum needs focus heavily learning basic facts mastering standard algorithms mathematics curriculum needs greater focus process mathematics problemsolving generally also described traditional vs reform mathematics 2 review definitions coherence found newmann et al citation2001 3 1989 nctm standards updated 2000 nctm citation2000 4 throughout paper us national standards derived standards documents produced national professional organizations american association advancement science aaas nctm nrc 5 several caveats necessary characterize procedures carefully first caveat derives situations next topic order tied least one topic terms percentage countries covering cases tied topics listed optional indication number topics selected optional list secondly less majority intended next set topics descending order topics necessary reach criterion level grade level listed optional thus optional topics thought topics choice possible terms rounding benchmark topics typical number topics intended instruction grade level countries 6 see schmidt et al citation1997b divided content standards small segments called blocks defining blocks actual instructional material block described using categories timss curriculum frameworks ie coders identified blocks content terms topics involved 44 different topic codes mathematics 79 science complex standards identified one topic appropriate coders graduate students degrees mathematics engineering various sciences provided training master techniques coders produced detailed linebyline pagebypage content analysis standards using framework content codes content codes also provided basis gttm procedure used development international benchmarks gttm procedures used codes involved type documents participating countries however procedures involve formal document coding use experts make informed judgements training materials relevant techniques found smso technical report series 2 httpustimmsmsuedutechreptechrep2pdf visited 4 august 2004 7 note aspects curriculum design although possibly influenced developmental motivational issues seem closely aligned nature discipline issues example us sometimes suggested certain topics contained figure 1 functions cannot covered middle grades students developmentally ready topics intended introduced early us curriculum supposedly good motivational purposes develops groundwork later coverage even though might inconsistent mathematics eg congruence similarity conjecture topics found bottom half figure 1 covered middle upper grades primarily prerequisite knowledge covered mastered firstand primarily issues issues clearly ignored assume less dominant role sequencing topics often appears case least terms proposed us curricula 8 included arithmetic topics whole numbers measurement topics including units well perimeter area volume data analysis equations 2dimensional geometry including points lines angles circles 9 course alters basic conception upon figure 1 based idea majority countries intended coverage topics however attempt represent composite curriculum typical timss topachieving countries however conservative approach introduces another problem suggests topics would typical countries however inherent ambiguity permits reasonable alternatives 10 used 1989 edition nctm standards since ones place time timss given timing would also influenced state district standards analysed next sections also analysed 2000 version nctm standards nctm citation2000 gradelevel structure new standards different grades grouped follows grades 12 34 56 78 11 21 states included california colorado delaware florida georgia illinois indiana kentucky maryland massachusetts michigan new hampshire new jersey new york north carolina ohio oregon south carolina vermont washington wisconsin 12 surprising since nctm standards used model development many state standards blank et al citation1997 13 topic listed original timss framework slope trigonometry countries mainly slope see schmidt et al citation2001 14 analysed sequence intended coverage state mathematics standards separately order determine figure 4 using composite 21 states distorts reality individual state standards case fact many individual states find almost topics intended taught students grades 15 comment contained note 9 especially relevant science 16 patterns 21 individual states mostly similar national standards quite different upper triangular pattern composite curriculum topachieving countries 41 science topics total 79 topics contained science framework states three exceptions many topics introduced grade 1 last grade 8 obvious example standards one state 41 topics intended coverage starting grade 1 17 valverde et al citation2002 provides data diffuse nature us textbooks