Science Education & Policy

Why Not Try A Scientific Approach To Science Education?

The purpose of science education is no longer simply to train that tiny fraction of the population who will become the next generation of scientists. We need a more scientifically literate populace to address the global challenges that humanity now faces a ...

Article - Carl Wieman - Mar 15 2009 - 9:14pm

A Scientific Approach To Science Education- Research On Learning

Continued from Part 1, Why Not Try A Scientific Approach To Science Education? In a traditional science class, the teacher stands at the front of the class lecturing to a largely passive group of students. Those students then go off and do back-of-the-chap ...

Article - Carl Wieman - Mar 23 2009 - 1:02pm

Science- Don't Drink and Derive

Our editor, Hank Campbell, is collecting ideas for the SB 2.0 T-Shirt Collection. Here are a few ideas. I'd love to have some of yours. Maybe you'll see your name in lights... or at least on cotton. Science and calculus don't mix. Never dri ...

Blog Post - Heidi Henderson - Mar 27 2009 - 3:36pm

Stop Paying Attention And You Will Learn Better?

A new study challenges the prevailing assumption that you must pay attention to something in order to learn it. Research in the journal Neuron says that stimulus-reward pairing can elicit visual learning in adults... even without awareness of the stimulus ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 11 2009 - 7:22pm

Yes, we're still talking about it....

...and the depth vs. breadth argument in science education continues, even though. This article chimes in with some updated information.  A new study shows that students who studied basic topics more in depth in high school did better in college introducto ...

Blog Post - Mrs. H. - Mar 11 2009 - 8:09pm

Science Literacy- American Adults 'Flunk' Basic Science, Says Survey

Are Americans bad at science?  If so, are they worse than anywhere else?   We know the answer to one of those questions.   A new national survey commissioned by the California Academy of Sciences and conducted by Harris Interactive  says that the U.S. publ ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 10 2013 - 2:33pm

Obama's Merit Pay For Teachers Will Work, Says Researcher

It seems obvious; even in a noble profession like education, if you pay people more who are better at it, better people are incentivized to do it. Obviously a number of people do it despite the money, just like science and academia, and the overall qualit ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 13 2009 - 1:43pm

Students In Charter Schools More Likely To Graduate, Attend College

The first U.S. charter school opened in 1992. Since then the number of charters has grown to more than 4,000 in 40 states, serving 1.2 million students, according to RAND, a nonprofit research organization based in Santa Monica, California. Students at cha ...

Article - News Releases - Dec 22 2012 - 5:22pm

Research For America? Temporary Science Interns Are A Bad Idea

Two guest writers on Olivia Judson's blog offer an interesting idea for spending stimulus money on research: Instead of simply funding more grants, we suggest using some of the windfall to provide an opportunity for fresh college graduates to pursue t ...

Article - Michael White - Mar 20 2009 - 9:55am

A Scientific Approach To Science Education- Reducing Cognitive Load

Continued from Part 2, A Scientific Approach to Science Education- Research On Learning On average, students have more novicelike beliefs after they have completed an introductory physics course than they had when they started; this was found for nearly e ...

Article - Carl Wieman - Apr 6 2009 - 1:21pm