The Best of Our Knowledge # 913

Albany, NY – METACOMPREHENSION -
Many of you listening, at some point in your life, probably believed
you would do well on a test because you thought you really knew
the material. But then your grade came back lower than expected.
According to Dr. John Dunlosky, the problem is a lack of
Metacomprehension...or the ability to understand whether or not
you do truly comprehend something. Dr. Dunlosky is a Professor
of Psychology at Kent State University in Ohio. He also edits the
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and
Cognition , published by the American Psychological Association.
Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Dunlosky's research
focuses mostly on middle school and college-aged students. He's
studying how improving one's Metacomprehension can in turn improve
students self-regulated learning. He explains his work to TBOOK.
Jim Horne reports. (6:46)

SALLY RIDE SCIENCE, PT. 2 OF 2 -
Sally Ride is now President and CEO of her own company, Sally Ride
Science. As a long-time advocate for improved science education,
she uses her company to create entertaining science programs and
publications for children, with a particular focus on girls. In fact, she's
written five science books for children. On her website, parents will find suggestions for their daughters such as: expect her to succeed in
math, science and technology; encourage her natural curiosity about
how things work and why; and empower her to explore math and science.
Last week, Dr. Sally Ride spoke about the need to change the image of
scientists and engineers. How important public outreach is. And cited
some strategies suggested by current research. You can still hear that
program, Show # 912, online in our audio archive. This week, Dr. Ride
has recommendations for how parents can help their daughters get
through the challenging science and math middle school years.
And she has a laughable story from her own earlier astronaut days.
Glenn Busby reports. (7:36)

**(Attention Listeners and Program Directors. The website mentioned at
the end of the above story for people to find out more about her projects is: www.sallyridescience.com.)**

WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH / MARIA MITCHELL PROFILE -
As we continue our series about prominent women in science, we
discovered Maria Mitchell. Her entire life was filled with firsts,
including America's first woman astronomer. She has a comet
named after her, as well as a crater on the moon. In fact, there
is a Maria Mitchell Association in her hometown on Nantucket Island.
The association is dedicated to furthering science education,
encouraging women in science, and offers several education
programs. Read more about them at their website: www.mmo.org.
Kate Mulgrew narrates. (2:00)