An in-depth exploration of education in the 21st century South.
A recent study shows there’s good news for college graduates looking for jobs in STEM fields. Dr. Willie May, a graduate of Birmingham’s Parker High School, struck out on a path in science more than 45 years ago. Today, he’s one of nation’s chief scientists and heads the National Institute for Standards and Technology.
Medical education is always evolving. One way it’s changed in recent years is that residents are not allowed to work the long, judgment-impairing shifts they used to. Most agree that’s good. But how do you make up for all that lost teaching time? Some University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers think they have an answer: video games. They created a competitive educational game called “Kaizen-Internal Medicine,” or just “Kaizen-IM,” and a small but promising study showed that busy young doctors learned from it in their off hours. UAB’s James Willig sat down with our Alabama reporter Dan Carsen to explain. Willig starts with the downside of limiting residents’ work hours.
In any big institution, good things are usually happening even when problems get the attention. This week we’re airing and publishing a three-part “status update” on Birmingham City Schools, from the state takeover to today. Yesterday, Part One explored some of the reasons why the state intervened and the district could lose accreditation. Today in Part Two, our Alabama reporter Dan Carsen talks with teachers, parents, and students to get a different view — a view from the ground level.
Three years ago, after spending almost nineteen billion dollars on hi-tech research, the Pentagon found the best bomb-detection devices in existence are dogs’ noses. But researchers at Auburn University are trying to make them even better. They’ve developed a new type of bomb-sniffing K-9 called a “VaporWake” dog. Our Alabama reporter Dan Carsen has more on this new tool in the anti-terrorism arsenal.
Since before the recession, the number of dollars Alabama spends per student has dropped more than it has in any other state. Percentage-wise, Alabama’s decrease was second only to Oklahoma’s. That’s all according to a recent report from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. Our Alabama reporter Dan Carsen caught up with Alabama schools Chief of Staff Craig Pouncey to find out why, and what it all means.
Hoover, Alabama’s school board recently voted to end its bus service, effective a year from now. District leaders say they have to cut costs as enrollments rise and revenues fall. But our Alabama reporter Dan Carsen points out, many in this hilly, sprawling suburb don’t believe that’s the whole story.
Part one of a two-part photo feature of my recent travels to Georgia’s schools with the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education on the use of technology in today’s classrooms.
Deep concern is growing in the United States that our schools are not preparing a sufficient number of students, teachers, and practitioners in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Studies have shown that a large majority of secondary school students fail to reach proficiency in math and science, and many are taught by teachers lacking adequate subject matter knowledge.
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