The pace of education reform has gone on for more than 20 years. Can the goals pursued at that time be achieved? Scholars, experts and government departments from all over the world will make a final review in the future. However, since the implementation of the new academic system, it is undeniable that the local mathematics and science education level has been sluggish; although individual top talents have performed well in related fields, the data in research reports and the comments of educational scholars have long pointed out this development trend.
The development of science education is disturbing
Even setting aside all the criticisms encountered in the public, the development of local science education is indeed disturbing. It can be seen from the fact that the number of students enrolled in traditional science subjects and mathematics extension modules published by the Examination and Assessment Bureau is low. The data on the selection of subjects on the middle school campus, the performance of students in mathematics classrooms and scientific experiments; Our society pays insufficient attention to science and science education.
This is also one of the reasons why the previous government proposed STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, mathematical science and technology) education. However, the upsurge of STEM education has promoted the enthusiasm for the application of science and technology in basic education campuses, but the reality of not paying attention to mathematics and science education has actually changed little.
In addition to undergraduate content teaching in mathematics and science education, cultivating students’ abstract thinking, data-based reasoning, logical reasoning, and emphasizing examples are also the curriculum goals of these disciplines; application development can indeed be promoted by the assistance of STEM education, but other parts But it is not as ideal.
The epidemic has renewed respect for science
A wave of new crown virus pneumonia has struck the society full of panic, coupled with the fact that the medical care industry has not yet grasped the treatment method and the global spread of the outbreak, for a while, it feels extremely gloomy. The school’s suspension of classes necessitates changes in the normal teaching process, and students’ learning may also be carried out in a new mode. The suspension of classes is not only a plan promoted by school personnel, but in fact young people themselves will also start learning from environmental and social conditions.
During this period, the media spared no effort to report the development of the epidemic situation in Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas. In addition, there were frequent press conferences hosted by doctors and epidemic prevention experts. They received a large number of epidemiological research information, especially tracking research and evidence. The clues collected and the explanation of reconstructing the route of infection are basically living science.
When the epidemic first broke out, the government’s countermeasures might have been inadequate, and as a result, it aroused the voice of society demanding respect for the opinions of scientists. Recent medical experts’ explanations of patients’ conditions, microbiologists and drainage engineering personnel’s explanations of virus transmission investigation methods, epidemiology professors’ recommendations to stop the flow of people, pathologists and doctors formulating medication and medical plans, etc., actually reflect the application A living example of science to solve difficulties. Society rediscovered the importance of scientists in a severe epidemic, and once again demonstrated that science is worthy of respect.
In the past, local society tended to focus on business, economics and finance, which led to the emergence of unbalanced admissions, and indirectly caused young people to ignore mathematics and science in their course selection. The current epidemic has caused a change in society. School teachers can also seize this opportunity to rekindle the motivation and persistence of students in learning mathematics, science and technology.
Mathematics and Physics in Basic Education
Mathematics is regarded as one of the main subjects, but compared with language subjects, mathematics is allocated less class hours; but mathematics thinking relies heavily on symbols and rigorous reasoning steps, and some students have trouble dealing with this kind of abstract thinking skills. More guidance is needed, and unified teaching may be detrimental to these children.
As for science education, the situation is even worse. Science in the local primary school curriculum is included in the subject of general studies. In other words, teachers who have a good chance of teaching science may not have a solid undergraduate qualifications. Therefore, students who have just entered middle school tend to be excited when they first enter the science laboratory. However, the comprehensive science subjects in middle schools have not been able to capture their learning spirit very effectively! The reason for this is also worthy of repeated exploration by scholars and education officials who specialize in science courses, and find improvements in curriculum formulation and development of pedagogy as early as possible. However, from the perspective of the distribution of class hours, science education does not account for much; how to optimize the junior high school curriculum so that learning objects are attracted to the input may be a necessary step.
What is more worrying is that the implementation of STEM education seems to have attracted the attention of teaching and learning too much, but it has obscured the education of traditional mathematics and sciences.
