Teach And Learn

Atlas Of Science Literacy, Part 2

Congratulations to the folks at Project 2061 for announcing that the second part of the Atlas Of Science Literacy will be available soon. The first version is a great resource for curriculum developers, one that I've used it both with my staff for curriculum selection and with NBPTS candidates looking at scope and sequences over time.

Particularly given the increasing interest in "learning progressions" in K-12 science, I expect this document to receive lots of attention. If it's anything like it's predecessor, the attention is well deserved.

Coke and Mentos, Redux

I just can't get enough of the Coke and Mentos phenomenon. Here's another experiment, sure to get lots of play in science fairs and classrooms all over the country. Too much time on their hands, indeed.

Lee Marek at Moto

The Chicago Tribune took Letterman's science wizard and Chicago local Lee Marek out to dinner at Moto to analyze chef Cantu's creations. Sure hope they picked up the tab!

Nobel Prizes 2006

This Los Angeles Times article highlights some of the inequities in our educational system, noting that in the American sweep of the science Nobel prizes this year, there's still many students in the USA who don't get the same sort of chance. I haven't heard the same sort of buzz emerging from this year's prizes as the article claims, but it's an important argument. The inequities within our educational system are staggering...

Northwestern Lab Explosion

This news story from the Chicago Sun Times about a laboratory explosion at Northwestern University reminded me how important laboratory safety issues are, and how far we need to go in CPS to establish strong policies and mechanisms to ensure safety in our science classrooms

NAS on K-8 Science

The National Academies Board On Science Education study on K-8 science (Taking Science To School: Learning And Teaching Science In Grades K-8) was released this past week. It's a strong document, and a nice summary of the current thinking in the field. The big ideas--that we should focus on big ideas, not the current standards, that open-ended inquiry doesn't work without some direct instruction, and that current materials don't do a very good job of identifying the misconceptions and nïeve ideas that students bring to science classrooms--are all very relevant to reform efforts these days.

I wish there was more information about the questions of scalability and how to pull these changes off. I think the systems thinking, leadership, and organizational change are incredibly important in this regard.

The Washington Post version of the story is here, and provides a strong summary.

City of Chicago Press Release on Chicago Science Expedition

Here's the City of Chicago's press release about Chicago Science Expedition. Nice to see it featured so prominently on the City's home page.

One week in, and all seems to be going smoothly!

Iranian Science Teachers May Be Enriching Students

The Onion has some facinating news about international competiveness.

Report: Iranian Science Teachers May Be Enriching Students.

Materials Management

This story about Carolina Scientific sending E. coli instead of bugs as part of their lab supply business sure is scary--and reminds me just how important good materials management is in a K-12 science program. Fortunately, no students were sickened by this mistake.

Biology Concept Inventory

Ed's Tools is a nice set of utilities to help educators and programmers create concept inventories. They've just announced an online version of the BCI, which will certainly help make the field of biology education much more results oriented. The Force Concept Inventory has made an enormous impact in the world of physics education research.