1990

RC published “They’re Not Dumb, They’re Different.”

As the first effort of its newly established publications program, Research Corporation published “They’re Not Dumb, They’re Different” by Sheila Tobias in 1990. Her groundbreaking study examined the factors that cause bright students to avoid or drop undergraduate science courses, leading to the shortfall in the number of students who go on to become scientists.

One of the major problems that Tobias identified within college science curricula was the extreme selectivity of introductory courses, which are often designed to weed out all but those who conform to the pedagogical style of the science community, which often champions the concept that “scientists are born, not made.” The book offered recommendations for reforming science education at the college level.