Stunner

From Inside Higher Ed this morning:

"Could science professors who focus more formally on teaching be the key to turning around the poor performance of many American students?"

Or, as the RSS summary reads, "New research suggests that faculty members focused on pedagogy as well as their disciplines may improve student learning."

Really? Who would have thought that the way a subject is taught has an impact on how well students learn it? Frankly, I'm shocked.

Of course, the article isn't all that stupid. It calls for science departments to focus more intentionally on education instead of relying on education professionals (who understand instruction but do not necessarily understand science) to come up with more effective approaches to teaching the discipline.