New Approach for Tackling the Crisis in Science Education

Ann Arbor, MI, May 24, 2006—InDepthLearning, a small non-profit company in Michigan, announced today that it has developed some possible solutions for a problem threatening our technological and economic leadership in the world.

The problem concerns the dismal failure of science education in the United States. Our students have fallen far behind their counterparts in most of the industrialized nations of Western Europe and Southeast Asia, a trend with grave implications for our future prosperity.

But why? Children are born curious and find delight in discovering things, so why are they often turned off in school and disinterested in science? InDepthLearning (www.inDepthLearning.org) thinks they have some answers. The people at inDepthLearning contend that because students arrive in the classroom with differing backgrounds and abilities, they have differing educational needs. These unique needs cannot be met easily by a single classroom teacher or by a static book. But computers, they point out, can readily tailor material to the needs of each individual, thereby fostering discovery by all students, increasing their competency, and helping them to feel more confident.

The inDepthLearning approach uses a variety of computer-based tools to promote such individualized tailoring and learning. Included are the ability for students with differing backgrounds to read text at multiple reading levels, to view context-sensitive pop-up definitions of unfamiliar words and phrases, and to master both content knowledge and critical thinking skills by answering questions and receiving instructional feedback for both incorrect and correct responses. “As a paradigm, these approaches have the potential to transform education in schools,” said Rees Midgley, President of inDepthLearning.

“One million thumbs up”, “a great website”, “awesome”, “interactive and a great learning experience”, “helped me get a better understanding”, “very informative”, “pop-up definitions benefit many who use the site”, “I liked the multi-level approach”, “the site is great”, “easy to read and learn”, “I learned a great deal”—these are among the many enthusiastic comments received from users of inDepthLearning websites, which have already been developed for health-related topics such as birth control, sexually transmitted diseases, and the effects of drinking alcohol.

Based on the positive feedback received for these initial websites, inDepthLearning now sees some exciting opportunities to apply similar approaches to science education in our schools. For example, they are developing game-like, interactive computer programs to help students explore, comprehend, and critically analyze scientific information and conclusions. Moreover, similar opportunities exist for applying their approaches to many other aspects of the curriculum. By pursuing such strategies, inDepthLearning believes it is in a position to make a difference—empowering students and helping them rediscover their innate curiosity and delight in learning.