Science Education & Policy

House votes to grant FDA authority over tobacco

The House passed  legislation by a 298-112 vote to grant FDA authority to regulate, but not ban, cigarettes and other tobacco products, according to NPR and the Wall Street Journal. The FDA could make ingredients public, ban flavoring and prohibit marketi ...

Blog Post - Becky Jungbauer - Apr 2 2009 - 12:54pm

A Scientific Approach To Science Education- Beliefs, Guided Thinking And Technology

Last time I discussed reducing cognitive load in a new approach to scientific education: Some ways to do so are obvious, such as slowing down. Others include having a clear, logical, explicit organization to the class (including making connections between ...

Article - Carl Wieman - May 19 2009 - 2:41pm

If I could do college over again...

This is what I would do: Princeton's Integrated Science curriculum. This is how science should be taught: ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Apr 8 2009 - 11:04am

Bonnie Bassler, 'The Bacteria Whisperer', Gives A Great Talk On The Secret Social Lives Of Bacteria

I'm not usually much for video- text allows me to do three other things at the same time whereas video occupies two of my senses and annoys me when I am playing guitar.    And I would like to ban all use of "X Whisperer" after the name of ev ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Apr 9 2009 - 2:54pm

In Math Education, Comparisons And Concepts Are Better Than Specific Procedures

New research from Vanderbilt University has found students benefit more from being taught the concepts behind math problems rather than the exact procedures to solve the problems. The findings offer teachers new insights on how best to shape math instructi ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 10 2009 - 2:12pm

Ivory Tower Needs To Embrace Social Media

Universities, with a young  constituency and an employee base of academics interested in new discoveries and ways of communication, should have embraced social media early- but they have not and if they don't embrace new techniques in pedagogy they ri ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 11 2009 - 3:36pm

Your University Now Owns Your Blog

Bora has posted  an interesting draft policy on social media from an unidentified "Big Research Institution" (BRI). It's already stimulating some good discussion (follow the link for more links)- no surprise, since the policy guidelines cont ...

Article - Michael White - Apr 16 2009 - 10:26am

A Scientific Approach To Science Education- Technology And Institutional Change

Continued from A Scientific Approach to Science Education- Beliefs, Guided Thinking And Technology. ...

Article - Carl Wieman - Apr 21 2009 - 5:02pm

Chew Gum, Get Better Math Grades?

WHAT: New research from Baylor College of Medicine indicates a positive effect of chewing gum on academic performance in teenagers. The study examined whether chewing Wrigley sugar-free gum can lead to better academic performance in a "real life" ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 22 2009 - 11:53am

It can't be that simple (*$%?!*)

I have recently been contacted by a friend who is worried at the decline in numeracy in the West.  He asked me what I thought of the following: In 2005, Newt Gingrich (who had been on the Hart-Rudman Commission) stated: The collapse of math and science edu ...

Blog Post - Robert H Olley - Apr 22 2009 - 2:00pm