2022年12月07日 VOA慢速英語：為什么學(xué)生在大流行期間數(shù)學(xué)成績最差？

 

Students at American public schools struggled in math during the pandemic.
美國公立學(xué)校的學(xué)生在大流行期間數(shù)學(xué)成績不佳。
 
The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) is a math and reading test given to fourth and eighth grade students in public schools around the country. Results from this year showed that students' scores had the largest decreases in math since 1990, when the test was first released.
全國教育進(jìn)步評估 (NAEP)全國公立學(xué)校四年級和八年級學(xué)生的數(shù)學(xué)和閱讀測試。今年的結(jié)果顯示，自 1990 年首次發(fā)布該測試以來，學(xué)生的數(shù)學(xué)成績下降幅度最大。
 
All areas of the U.S. reported lower test scores in math. More than one-third of students scored below basic levels. The decreases were also more severe in math than in reading.
美國所有地區(qū)都報(bào)告了較低的數(shù)學(xué)考試成績。超過三分之一的學(xué)生成績低于基本水平。數(shù)學(xué)方面的下降也比閱讀方面更嚴(yán)重。
 
There has been a lot of evidence showing that students struggled with remote learning during the pandemic. They especially struggled with math, said Frances Anderson. She is an education researcher with the University of Nebraska-Omaha and a former teacher. Her work centers on math ability.
有大量證據(jù)表明，學(xué)生在大流行期間難以進(jìn)行遠(yuǎn)程學(xué)習(xí)。弗朗西斯·安德森 (Frances Anderson) 說，他們在數(shù)學(xué)方面尤其吃力。她是內(nèi)布拉斯加大學(xué)奧馬哈分校的教育研究員和前任教師。她的工作以數(shù)學(xué)能力為中心。
 
 
She said in an interview with The Conversation that students, who are not as skilled in math, need more face-to-face learning.
她在接受 The Conversation 采訪時(shí)表示，數(shù)學(xué)能力不強(qiáng)的學(xué)生需要更多面對面的學(xué)習(xí)。

Anderson said that during remote learning, "teachers didn't have as many ways to keep students engaged. It was difficult to do hands-on activities and project-based learning, which are better for students who struggle in math."
Anderson 說，在遠(yuǎn)程學(xué)習(xí)期間，“老師沒有像有很多方法可以讓學(xué)生保持參與。很難進(jìn)行動手活動和基于項(xiàng)目的學(xué)習(xí)，這對數(shù)學(xué)有困難的學(xué)生來說更好。”
 
She added that a lot teaching math is visual learning. "You need so much more than one screen," she said.
她補(bǔ)充說，很多數(shù)學(xué)教學(xué)都是視覺的學(xué)習(xí)。 “你需要的不僅僅是一個屏幕，”她說。
 
Heather Hill and Jon Star are professors at Harvard University's school of education. They spoke on Harvard University's education podcast about the NAEP results. Hill said "math scores have always been more sensitive [than reading and English scores] to students' opportunities to learn."
Heather Hill 和 Jon Star 是哈佛大學(xué)教育學(xué)院的教授。他們在哈佛大學(xué)的教育播客中談到了 NAEP 結(jié)果。希爾說：“數(shù)學(xué)成績一直[比閱讀和英語成績]對學(xué)生學(xué)習(xí)機(jī)會更敏感。”
 
She said a lot of reading skills are developed in the home, in addition to school. Kids can read books and the internet at home, or read text messages from friends, for example. But there are fewer ways for kids to work on math skills outside of the classroom.
她說除了學(xué)校之外，很多閱讀技能都是在家里培養(yǎng)的.例如，孩子們可以在家看書和上網(wǎng)，或者閱讀來自朋友的短信。但是，孩子們在課堂之外學(xué)習(xí)數(shù)學(xué)技能的方式較少。
 
"School is the only place that kids, for the most part, learn math," Hill said.
“在大多數(shù)情況下，學(xué)校是孩子們學(xué)習(xí)數(shù)學(xué)的唯一場所，”希爾說。
 
Star, who is also a math teacher, argued that NAEP scores were low for eighth graders because of the age at which these students started learning remotely. He said that the two years leading up to eighth grade, where scores declined the most, are extremely important for building math skills. He said those are the years when students start moving from arithmetic to algebra, and other more complex mathematics. The NAEP for eighth graders largely tests algebra skills.
Star 也是一名數(shù)學(xué)老師，他認(rèn)為八年級學(xué)生的 NAEP 分?jǐn)?shù)較低，因?yàn)檫@些學(xué)生開始遠(yuǎn)程學(xué)習(xí)的年齡較大。他說，八年級之前的兩年分?jǐn)?shù)下降最多，這對培養(yǎng)數(shù)學(xué)技能極為重要。他說那是學(xué)生們開始從算術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)向代數(shù)和其他更復(fù)雜數(shù)學(xué)的年代。八年級學(xué)生的 NAEP 主要測試代數(shù)技能。
 
"So…it's no surprise that they're really struggling. Those struggles are not going to be easy to make go away," Star said.
“所以......他們真的很掙扎也就不足為奇了。這些掙扎不會輕易消失，”Star 說。
 
He added that in online learning, teachers were forced to teach math using the "least desirable aspects of math instruction that we would want to see." Teachers had to lecture more and there was less student interaction, which is not as effective for math instruction, he said.
他補(bǔ)充說，在在線學(xué)習(xí)中，教師被迫使用“我們希望看到的數(shù)學(xué)教學(xué)中最不理想的方面”來教授數(shù)學(xué)。老師不得不多講課，少學(xué)習(xí)
 
"It's not necessarily the teachers' fault, it's just the way that they've been forced to teach during the pandemic," Star said.
Star 說：“這不一定是教師的錯，這只是他們在大流行期間被迫的教學(xué)方式。”
 
Hill added that there is some evidence that teachers do not perform as well when they teach math. Often, teachers do not especially enjoy math, nor think of themselves as math experts, she said. And that feeling can make it hard to teach the subject confidently.
Hill 補(bǔ)充說，有一些證據(jù)表明教師的表現(xiàn)不盡如人意好吧，當(dāng)他們教數(shù)學(xué)的時(shí)候。她說，教師通常并不特別喜歡數(shù)學(xué)，也不認(rèn)為自己是數(shù)學(xué)專家。而這種感覺會讓您很難自信地教授這門學(xué)科。
 
Both said it is going to very difficult for schools to make up for learning losses during the pandemic, especially for the students who struggled the most. Especially with math, students returned from the pandemic with uneven abilities. It can be hard for teachers to form lesson plans for entire classes when the skills are so varied among students, Star said.
兩人都表示，學(xué)校將很難彌補(bǔ)大流行期間的學(xué)習(xí)損失，尤其是對于那些最困難的學(xué)生。尤其是在數(shù)學(xué)方面，學(xué)生從大流行中回來的能力參差不齊。 Star 說，當(dāng)學(xué)生的技能差異如此之大時(shí)，教師很難為整個班級制定課程計(jì)劃。
 
They agreed that to make up for the loss in learning, students are going to need a lot of extra help outside the classroom.
他們一致認(rèn)為，為了彌補(bǔ)學(xué)習(xí)上的損失，學(xué)生將需要很多課外的額外幫助。
 
"Students who have fallen behind should have twice as much instruction," said Anderson, from the University of Nebraska.
內(nèi)布拉斯加大學(xué)的安德森說：“落后的學(xué)生應(yīng)該得到兩倍的指導(dǎo)。”
 
Resources should go to students and communities which struggled the most, often minorities, Hill suggested. For example, tutoring students in small groups can help kids catch up in math.
希爾建議，資源應(yīng)該流向困難最大的學(xué)生和社區(qū)，通常是少數(shù)群體。例如，以小組形式輔導(dǎo)學(xué)生可以幫助孩子們趕上數(shù)學(xué)。
 
Hill said although difficulties lie ahead, "kids are pretty resilient. You give kids opportunities to learn and they learn stuff."
希爾說，盡管困難重重，但“孩子們非常有彈性。你給孩子們學(xué)習(xí)的機(jī)會，他們就會學(xué)到東西。”