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Carl Wieman, Why Not Try a Scientific Approach to Science Education 119also require resources. But the budget for R&D and the implementation ofimproved educational methods at most universities is essentially zero. Moregenerally, there is not the political will on campus to take the steps required tobring about cultural change in organizations like science departments.Our society faces both a demand for improved science education andexciting opportunities for meeting those demands. Taking a more scholarlyapproach to education—that is, utilizing research on how the brain learns,carrying out careful research on what students are learning, and adjustingour instructional practices accordingly—has great promise. Research clearlyshows the failures of traditional methods and the superiority of some newapproaches for most students. However, it remains a challenge to insert intoevery college and university classroom these pedagogical approaches and amindset that teaching should be pursued with the same rigorous standards ofscholarship as scientific research.Although I am reluctant to offer simple solutions for such a complexproblem, perhaps the most effective first step will be to provide sufficientcarrots and sticks to convince the faculty members within each departmentor program to come to a consensus as to their desired learning outcomes ateach level (course, program, etc.) and to create rigorous means to measure theactual outcomes. These learning outcomes cannot be vague generalities butrather should be the specific things they want students to be able to do thatdemonstrate the desired capabilities and mastery and hence can be measuredin a relatively straightforward fashion. The methods and instruments forassessing the outcomes must meet certain objective standards of rigor andalso be collectively agreed upon and used in a consistent manner, as is donein scientific research.