In 2014, there were 100 new posts added to the Art of Teaching Science blog, as shown in the graphic below. I’ve made links to the top five posts for 2014.  As you can see, our examination of the how the Gates Foundation has used its billions to influence the Common Core State Standards was in the most-viewed category.  The reduction in funding also has had a marked influence on the research.  And speaking of research, too many educators, especially at the top (Sec. A. Duncan) believe there is research to support the use of Value Added Models to evaluate teacher performance.  And gaining momentum is the absurdity of following graduates of teacher education institutions to track the test scores of the K-12 students they teach.  The U.S. Department of Education will propose this regulations next year.  You can read about this here on Diane Ravitch’s blog and comment here.

In fifth place was post I wrote about the advantages and disadvantages of the theory of plate tectonics and the theory of gravity in response to politicians who want to promote “critical thinking” by imposing their will on teachers and insisting that they critically look at the theory of evolution, origins of life, global warming, and climate change.

Figure 1. 2014 Distribution of blog posts on the Art of Teaching Science

Why Bill Gates Defends the Common Core.  At a national conference, Gates said he was concerned with people who oppose implementing the Common Core State Standards. We explore why in this post.

Why Are Scientists Abandoning Their Research.  A survey was sent to 67,454 researchers holding grants from the National Institute of Health (NIH) or the National Science Foundation (NSF). Results and implications are discussed.

Top 20 Organizations Receiving Common Core Grants from the Gates Foundation. In this post, I report on those organizations that were funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to make the Common Core State Standards a reality.  The Council of Chief State School Officers leads the pack. But it looks like the Common Core is running into a brick wall.

The Absurdity of Teacher Evaluation Systems.  An article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution got my gander up about teacher evaluation systems. I vent here.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Plate Tectonics Theory & the Theory of Gravity. When politicians enter the arena of education and curriculum, and especially fields such as science, the are on a slippery slope. If, however, they simply want the facts (on climate change or global warming) taught in science class, they might go here.

Thank you for visiting my blog in 2014.

Happy New Year.