Research: Covering Less Means Learning More

A few weeks ago, I posted on the old "Depth v. Breadth" question, and entertained the possibility that teachers who covered less material in favor of depth in what they do cover would paradoxically see their students score higher on standardized tests that tested for...breadth.

Jay Matthews at the Washington Post reported on some research that supports that theory:

[A] surprising study — certain to be a hot topic in teacher lounges and education schools — is providing new data that suggest educators should spend much more time on a few issues and let some topics slide. Based on a sample of 8,310 undergraduates, the national study says that students who spend at least a month on just one topic in a high school science course get better grades in a freshman college course in that subject than students whose high school courses were more balanced.

The study, appearing in the July issue of the journal Science Education, is “Depth Versus Breadth: How Content Coverage in High School Science Courses Relates to Later Success in College Science Coursework.”

{snip}

The study weighs in on one side of a contentious issue that will be getting national attention this September when the College Board’s Advanced Placement program unveils its major overhaul of its college-level science exams for high school students. AP is following a direction taken by its smaller counterpart, the International Baccalaureate program. IB teachers already are allowed to focus on topics of their choice. Their students can deal with just a few topics on exams, because they have a wide choice of questions. AP’s exact approach is not clear yet, but College Board officials said they too will embrace depth. They have been getting much praise for this from the National Science Foundation, which funded the new study.

He also touches on another study that supports another of my pet peeves: teaching with textbooks. (I slammed the poisonous effects of history textbooks recently here.) To wit:

Sadler and Tai have previously hinted at where this was going. In 2001 they reported that students who did not use a textbook in high school physics—an indication that their teachers disdained hitting every topic — achieved higher college grades than those who used a textbook.

Just FYI. I love the non-schooliness of these findings. Teach slowly enough for students to have time to go deep and learn, and do it whenever possible without the textbook. Yes, yes, yes.

And if that means the AP program is considering putting its bloated textbooks on a diet instead of force-feeding them ever more information, I'll drink to that.

Image by Jef Harris