Science Education & Policy

Improving the science in science fiction

There is an interesting story in New Scientist about The Science&Entertainment Exchange, a program initiated by the National Academy of Sciences to improve the science in movies and TV [New project aims to unite science and Hollywood]. It would be hard ...

Blog Post - T. Ryan Gregory - Nov 19 2008 - 10:18pm

How To Teach Teachers

Official professional standards in both Scotland and England which aim to nurture the development of new teachers pay too little attention to what 'becoming' a teacher is really like, according to new research funded by the Economic and Social R ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 23 2008 - 2:03pm

College Tuition is a Scandal

College tuition has increased 439% since 1984, and the net yearly cost of college at a 4-year public university is 76% of the median family income, according to a story in today's NY Times. Even community colleges don't end up being a much bette ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Dec 3 2008 - 10:55am

Obama puts Scientist in his Cabinet

Obama is going to appoint a Nobel-prize winning physicist to be his Energy Secretary. I don't know anything about the physicist, Steven Chu (except that he's director of the Lawrence Berkely National Lab), but I can't complain anymore that s ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Dec 10 2008 - 10:25pm

Finding Meaningful Variation In IQ Scores Of Kids With Intellectual Disabilities

Parents of children with intellectual disabilities have long been frustrated by intelligence quotient (IQ) testing that tells them little to nothing about the long-term learning potential of their children. That's because these tests are scored accord ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 16 2008 - 11:06am

Ivory Towers are the New Smoke Stacks of Economic Development

Ivory towers are replacing smoke stacks in Alabama and all over the US. This can be a good thing, but there is a core problem: Until relatively recently, most universities and the cities surrounding them went about their business without taking full stock ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Dec 16 2008 - 9:50pm

6 Researchers Take On Science Education

A greater commitment by science faculty to focus on science education could drive education reform at universities and K-12 schools, according to a new report by a team of five researchers from the California State University (CSU) system and one from Purd ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 18 2008 - 3:09pm

No Economic Stimulus for Science

Larry Summers says that R&D spending should not be part of an economic stimulus package, contrary to what many scientists were probably hoping for. Summers actually has a good point. The rationale for current ideas about a fiscal stimulus package is th ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Dec 18 2008 - 5:13pm

Two more scientists added to Obama Administration

Continuing today's theme of science and the Obama administration... Physicist John Holdren will be Obama's science advisor. I was hoping we'd finally get a biologist in that position, but his expertise on energy and climate issues will be ti ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Dec 18 2008 - 5:37pm

Fun Physics (???)

I have received this request from a friend roughly 5,000 miles away: My maternal cousin has to prepare a write up for her school.  She needs to write something on 'fun physics'. ...

Blog Post - Robert H Olley - Dec 30 2008 - 9:40am