Science Education
evolgen | March 21, 2007SECOND ROUND PREVIEW | PRESS CENTER | PRINTABLE BRACKETS
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to our comprehensive coverage of the second round of the Science Spring Showdown. We had two great games yesterday, and we have two more match ups today. The game between Phylogenetics and Unipotent is just underway, and the final game of the round, between HIV and Psychology, is coming up this afternoon.
Jim Pipetman: Yesterday's first game, between the top seeded Invertebrates and the ninth seeded Surgeons, turned out like most of the experts predicted. The Surgeons came into the game bragging about…
jlynch | March 20, 2007Mike hits one out of the park:
It took me a while to realize that the 'professional creationists' were not intellectually honest either. I am not referring to those who follow them, or those who are simply not very [knowledgeable] about evolution. .... Everyone can be misinformed, ignorant, or simply have not thought things through correctly. What I will not tolerate is willful ignorance. Creationist leaders and spokesmen are willfully ignorant. How many times do they have to be told what scientists mean by a theory? How many
times will they misstate the basics of evolutionary theory, such as…
evolgen | March 17, 20071st ROUND RESULTS | PRESS CENTER | PRINTABLE BRACKETS
After the excitement of the first round action in the Octopus region, we can only hope that the second round is half as dynamic. The big upset last round saw Unipotent knocking off Totipotent. There has also been an interesting twist, as Internal Medicine was disqualified for a positive steroid test. That means Surgery advances to play the Invertebrates. In the other matches this round, we will see Genomics take on Photosynthesis, Unipotent challenge Phylogenetics, and HIV play Psychology.
#1 Invertebrates vs. #9 Internal Medicine #8…
clock | March 16, 2007The fourth issue of Science In School online magazine is out. It is full of cool articles. Let me just point out a couple:
Eva Amsen wrote about Science Fairs.
There is a nice review of Kreitzman & Foster's book Rhythms of Life: The Biological Clocks That Control the Daily Lives of Every Living Thing.
Finally, how to use the movie 'Erin Brokovich' to teach about chemistry and environment.
evolgen | March 16, 20071st ROUND RESULTS | PRESS CENTER | PRINTABLE BRACKETS
The results are in from the first round in the Octopus Region of the Science Spring Showdown hosted at the World's Fair. By seed, there were three upsets, but the nine seed Internal Medicine knocking off eight seed Surgery was hardly a surprise (although the 107-76 score was a wider margin than many of the experts predicted). The win by 14 seeded Unipotent over the three seed, Totipotent, on the other hand, was quite a shocker, with many people attributing the victory to the definitive coaching style of the Unipotent's lead general,…
sporte | March 14, 2007From NWABR:
Would you like to integrate ethics into your science classroom, but aren't sure which topics to address or teaching methods to use?
Do you feel that ethics is important to include in science education, but feel uncomfortable with your own lack of background knowledge?
Have you observed how students' motivation to learn content increases when science is discussed within its social and ethical context?
Come to the Ethics in the Science Classroom workshop and learn more!
Who is this for? Secondary Science Teachers
Program dates: July 16-20, 2007 (participants may arrive July 15…
clock | March 13, 2007Here's an educational program worth supporting - Oceans Wide gets kids involved in marine science up in Maine. Craig, over on Deep Sea News has all the details. I wish there were programs like this when I was a kid! I had to learn all my science on my own, from dusty books!
sporte | March 10, 2007It must be spring. Summer course announcements are popping up everywhere and this site is no exception.
Last Friday, I posted an announcement about our summer bioinformatics course in Alaska, June 27-29th.
This week, I have a couple more conferences to announce. Naturally, I'll be at both of them, leading hands-on workshops for college and high school teachers in using the technology.
Today, I want to tell you about the Bio-Link Summer Fellows Workshop, June 4th-8th Berkeley, CA
I became involved with Bio-Link ten years ago when I was running the biotechnology program at Seattle…
sporte | March 9, 2007Registration has opened a bit late this year, but it's always tricky when large programs change hands. The Chautauqua Short Course program for College Teachers is no different. In fact, as far as I know, we may still be waiting for the National Science Foundation to make a final decision on funding.
Still, summer is rapidly approaching and I know many of you are making plans for attending summer workshops and squeezing in a bit of vacation time.
That's why I think you might like to consider learning bioinformatics in Alaska.
Yes. I did write "Alaska."
Anchorage, Alaska.
Dr. Linnea…
tsmith | February 22, 2007 As I mentioned, I spent the latter part of last week and the weekend in San Francisco at the annual AAAS meeting. Unlike most meetings I attend, this one wasn't a research-heavy meeting, so instead I went to hear more about science education (and of course, how to improve it), as well as to find out the latest in anti-science circles from those on the front lines. My old friend Professor Steve Steve tagged along as well, meeting new friends and old and discussing evolution and challenges to its teaching. Much more after the jump.
Of course, no trip to San Francisco would be complete…
jlynch | February 19, 2007I had meant to pimp this earlier but neglected to (bad me!). Flyers at the AAAS reminded me that Evil Monkey recently announced an essay contest sponsored by the Alliance for Science:
2007 National High School Essay Contest
Why would I want my doctor to have studied evolution? If you are a high school student in the United States, we want to hear your answer to that question. Send us an essay of not more than 1,000 words by March 31st.
There are all sorts of prizes for winners and the details can be found here.
jlynch | February 19, 2007The numbnut Republicans over at the Arizona State Legislature are at it again. Senate Bill 1542 passed the Senate Government Committee 4-3 along party lines and is headed for the Senate floor. Put simply, the bill would:
Forbid public K-12 and college instructors from giving their partisan political opinions while teaching.
Forbid specific endorsement or opposition of candidates, legislation or court action as well as any social, political or cultural issues of a partisan nature.
Mandate three hours of instruction annually to tell teachers what is expected under the law.
Forbid…
jlynch | February 17, 2007This afternoon there was a symposium on "Science Literacy and Pseudoscience" that I had intended to attend but eventually missed. According to this AP story, it was revealed there that
"People in the U.S. know more about basic science today than they did two decades ago, good news that researchers say is tempered by an unsettling growth in the belief in pseudoscience such as astrology and visits by extraterrestrial aliens."
So, science literacy is clearly increasing (from 10 to 28% according to one measure) but at the same time pseudoscientific beliefs are also increasing. It strikes me that…
sporte | February 17, 2007How do microbiologists determine which microbe caused a disease?
As Tara has eloquently described (I, II), we are covered with bacteria and other microbes. A reasonable question then, is when we get sick, how do we which little devil deserves the blame?
In many cases, pathogens (disease-causing organisms) are identified by a common series of steps, known as Koch's postulates. Robert Koch described these steps in 1876 when he used them to prove that Bacillus anthracis was the cause of anthrax. During the past century, his steps have been used successfully many times.
Koch's steps are…
sporte | February 17, 2007 Yes, yes, I know Darwin Day was Februrary 12th. Nevertheless, the Alliance for Science is sponsoring an essay contest in Darwin's honor and, if you're a high school student you can still celebrate by writing an essay.
And if you're a high school teacher, and your student wins, you win $$ for buying lab supplies.
Okay, I suppose it's only us geeky bloggers who consider writing an essay to be a kind of celebration.
If the sheer joy of celebrating Darwin Day by writing an essay, doesn't pique your interest, there are prizes.
Write an essay on the topic: "Why would you want your…
clock | February 17, 2007While you are reading this in your pajamas, I am enjoying doing this again.
jlynch | February 16, 2007Things are very busy here at the AAAS Annual Meeting, so much so that I haven't had a chance to sit at a computer and write anything. Hopefully, if I get some time together tomorrow, I'll blog on a session on grassroots activism and science education. For now, I'll just note the following:
Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, and nine science teachers who have been on the front lines of the battle to prevent introduction of "intelligent design" into science classrooms as an alternative to evolution, are recipients of the 2006 AAAS Award for…
clock | February 15, 2007This is the last in the 16-post series of BIO101 lecture notes for a speed-course targeted at adults. As always, I welcome corrections and suggestions for improvement (June 17, 2006)...
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Last week we looked at the organ systems involved in regulation and control of body functions: the nervous, sensory, endocrine and circadian systems. This week, we will cover the organ systems that are regulated and controlled. Again, we will use the zebra-and-lion example to emphasize the way all organ systems work in concert to maintain the optimal internal…
jlynch | February 13, 2007Reuters is reporting:
The Kansas Board of Education on Tuesday threw out science standards deemed hostile to evolution, undoing the work of Christian conservatives in the ongoing battle over what to teach U.S. public school students about the origins of life. The board in the central U.S. state voted 6-4 to replace them with teaching standards that mirror the mainstream in science education and eliminate criticisms of evolutionary theory.
Predictably, the Discovery Institute is not happy:
"You have a board in Kansas that is so extreme," said John West, senior fellow at the Discovery…