Back To School Special!
Category archives for Back To School Special!
Just so you know … cdesign proponentsists
Posted by Greg Laden on September 14, 2010 The blogosphere is structured like a bus of tourists heading into ever new territory being spoken to by a thousand guides with microphones in the front of the vehicle. Woe be it to any guide who points out something that the bus passed several blocks back. But sometimes it is appropriate to re-mention certain things…
Science Education and Critical Thinking
Posted by Greg Laden on September 14, 2010 I just want to remind returning teachers of this podcast: How are today’s teachers sharing the wonders of science and critical thinking with the next generation of students? With cognitive psychologist and university lecturer Barbara Drescher, and Mike McRae, former science teacher and current science writer for the education division of Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and…
Evolution vs. Creationism: The Book
Posted by Greg Laden on September 14, 2010 A life science teacher should not have to know about creationism to teach evolution, other than to the extent that you may cover the history of evolutionary biology, and begin in the days before science took center stage and natural philosophy was dragged off with one of those big vaudeville hooks. But, unfortunately, you do…
New in Paperback Book on Permian Mass Extinction
Posted by Greg Laden on September 13, 2010 When Life Nearly Died: The Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time is a book by Michael Benton on the Permian Extinction now out in paperback. From the press release: Today it is common knowledge that the dinosaurs were wiped out by a meteorite impact sixty-five million years ago, which killed half of all species then…
Teachers Gone Wild
Posted by Greg Laden on September 13, 2010 My wife, a biology teacher, gets crazy in the biology classroom. She is famous for her interpretive dance renditions of numerous cellular processes. The students in the first class of the day reportedly stare in disbelief and roll their eyes, but the students in the other classes throughout the day seem to love it. Several…
The problem with appeasement of creationists is …
Posted by Greg Laden on September 10, 2010 ..that even when you try diligently to separate the politics of religion vs. creationism and to say again and again that religion can go along its merry way as long as it stays out of the science classroom, people like Casey Luskin will still find the words in your rhetoric to accuse you of attacking…
X + Y = WHAT???
Posted by Greg Laden on September 10, 2010 That depends … on what X and Y are! And if that does not come naturally to you, perhaps you should read The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Pre-Algebra by Amy Szczepanski and Andrew Kositsky. The CIG to PA is built just like the other books in the Idiot’s series, using familiar conventions to keep the…
Waiting for Superman
Posted by Greg Laden on September 9, 2010 A documentary on education. And culture.
Your letter to your child’s biology teacher
Posted by Greg Laden on September 9, 2010 You have to tell your child’s life science teacher (or, any science teacher for that matter) that your family does not support creationism, does not want to see anyone “teaching the controversy” and that you know that “Intelligent Design” is a form of creationism. I promise you, the creationist parents of your child’s peers, and…
In support of a diligent, relentless critique of creationism
Posted by Greg Laden on September 9, 2010 Have a look at this video, done by Brian Rooney of ABC News Nightline, in which he follows around Billy Jack and Rusty Carter, two young earth creationists who are leading a school group through the Denver Museum of Nature and Science:
Why the Wind Blows: A History of Weather
Posted by Greg Laden on September 8, 2010 Why does the wind blow, and why does it blow the way it does?
Parents: Is your child’s teacher a creationist?
Posted by Greg Laden on September 8, 2010 It happens. A very large percentage of life science teachers are creationists. In Minnesota, and Minnesota is not that unusual, about half the population or more are creationists, but among life science teachers, that number is reduced by almost one half. In other words, one in three life science teachers are creationists, although most, one…
What to do about Bible-thumping students in the science classroom
Posted by Greg Laden on September 8, 2010 …. Have you ever had this happen: You are minding your own business, teaching your life science course, it’s early in the term. A student, on the way out of the room after class (never at the beginning of class, rarely during class) mentions something about “carbon dating.” This usually happens around the time of…
A Portrait of The Brain by Adam Zeman
Posted by Greg Laden on September 7, 2010 Published by Yale University Press A Portrait of the Brain by Adam Zeman is a new book describing how the brain works (and does not work) in something of an Oliver Sack’s experiential manner, but with a twist. Zeman is a Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology at the Peninsula Medical School. A Portrait of…
Creationism and The Law at NCSE
Posted by Greg Laden on September 7, 2010 Reminder: The National Center for Science Education has a new web page, as part of their ever-improving and getting really quite wonderful web site, on Creationism and The Law. Here.
Home Chemistry: A New Guide for Hobbyists and Home Schoolers
Posted by Greg Laden on September 6, 2010 Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture (DIY Science) is a new book by Robert Thompson. The premise is simple. The coolest thing in the world is a home chemistry set like this one from Gilbert, which combined both chemistry and microscopy: Chemistry Set Combine the sciences of Chemistry and Microscopy in…
How to respond in the classroom to questions about religion
Posted by Greg Laden on September 6, 2010 … In public schools. According to one Federal Judge in the US, not much. A Mission Viejo high school history teacher violated the First Amendment by disparaging Christians during a classroom lecture, a federal judge ruled.
Divorced, Beheaded and Died
Posted by Greg Laden on September 5, 2010 And now for our weekly history lesson … Bonus lesson: Hieroglyphics …
Creationism’s Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design
Posted by Greg Laden on September 3, 2010 Creationism’s Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design is a must read for those interested in the Evolution – Creationism controversy. In particular, this volume is an essential part of the personal library of every science educator, for reasons that I will describe below. If you know a Life Science Teacher, this is a perfect…
Creationism and Evolution in the Classroom
Posted by Greg Laden on September 3, 2010 A little over a year ago, there was a meeting of the Minnesota Atheists that included a one hour panel discussion of evolution, creationism, science education, and so on. The panel was moderated by Lynn Fellman, and included (in order from right to left as the audience gazed on) Randy Moore, Sehoya Cotner, Jane Phillips,…
Hydrogen Bonding Video
Posted by Greg Laden on September 2, 2010 If you teach biology, you probably get to hydrogen bonding pretty early in the term. Here’s an inspirational video for you: hat tip: Bora Hydrogen bonding explains everything!!!! Why does water hold so much heat? Why does ice float? How does a water bug not sink? Why does a dog smell everyone’s butt?
What is life? New Biology Textbook
Posted by Greg Laden on September 2, 2010 My old friend, colleague, suaboya, and educator extraordinaire, Jay Phelan has written what many believe will be the next Campbell. The name of the book is What Is Life?. There are two versions: one regular, and one with extra physiology. And both are based firmly on and integrated thoroughly with excellent evolutionary biology.
How can science teachers use blogs?
Posted by Greg Laden on September 1, 2010 Blogs and schools often don’t mix. Many blogs are free ranging entities untethered to an institutional or editorial framework. In public discussions of Scienceblogs.com, the fact that every blogger is editorially independent of each other and of the hosting organization, Seed Media Group, is mentioned without fail, and is often the central topic. Non-Sblings (we…
Is Blood Ever Blue? Science Teachers Want to Know!
Posted by Greg Laden on September 1, 2010 According to one of the leading experts on the human circulatory system, blood flowing through veins is blue.
The Great Debate, Part I: Miller & Pennock vs. Dembski & Behe
Posted by Greg Laden on September 1, 2010 The Devil in Dover
Posted by Greg Laden on September 1, 2010 When I go to meet the teachers or administrators at my daughter’s school, I whisper these words to each of them: “I just want you to know that I’m involved in a number of organizations that seek to protect the quality of science education in our public schools. If you ever need any support, if…
A Bloggy Announcement
Posted by Greg Laden on August 31, 2010 Starting tomorrow, September 1st, and running through the entire month, I’ll be posting one or two (or more) items each day specifically written for (or at least, that I think will be useful for) teachers, as part of the usual “Back to school” effort I do every year. This year’s effort will be significantly more…
Listen to the Scientists (on Creationism)
Posted by Greg Laden on August 2, 2010 And then …. there’s this: At the beginning of every school year, I try to post new and “the best of” blog posts specifically written for teachers. If you want to see this year’s “back to school special” posts in a list, click here. I’ll be posting these items through the month of September. There…
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