lördag 20 juni 2009

How to Attract Young Minds to Math/Science

Ulla-Britt Fräjdin-Hellquist, chairman of the Swedish Foundation of Strategic Research SSF, in a debate article suggests that the projected European Spallation Source ESS in Lund maybe could be used to revive the interest of young people in math and science, judged to be of vital strategic importance for Sweden

Maybe this can help a little bit, but a much more fundamental change of the education in science and math is necessary, on all levels. The reason is that the computer is now fundamentally changing the tools of science and technology into computational mathematical modeling of both real and virtual worlds, which changes the paradigm with new questions and answers, as exposed in My Book of Knols, in particular the knols on Mathematics/Science Education.

The traditional education is not attractive to young minds because it is based on classical analytical mathematical formulas, which are no longer understandable nor useful. Reforming the education by computing can transform studies of math and science into something similar to playing and developing computer games, which can attract young minds.

I hope Ulla-Britt Fräjdin-Hellquist, as chairman of SSF, will take a look at our reform program, which has now convinced KTH to start a new program in Simulation Technology as an expression of a new understanding of the potential of the new paradigm.

What are your comments Ulla-Britt? Do you see the potential? What can SSF do to support the reformation of education necessary to attract young minds to science and math? Can SSF open to a discussion of reform on a national level, which can help the new minister of education, as you say you seek to do?

I expressed in 07 the need of reform in allegoric form in  Sagan om Professsor Salvatius, which was sent to in particular Svenskt Näringsliv with a request of a reaction, however without effect, the same organisation which today reports on the debate article by Fräjdin-Hellquist and thus possibly now has a something to say about the need of a modern education, if not two years ago.




Copy of letter to Ulla-Britt Fräjdin-Hellquist June 20 :

Hej Ulla-Britt
Jag har kommenterat Din debattartikel i SvD på min blog 
http://claesjohnson.blogspot.com/.
Hoppas Du vill ge en kommentar. Bästa hälsningar,

Claes Johnson
Prof i Tillämpad Matematik KTH
hemsida 
http://www.nada.kth.se/~cgjoh/


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