Dr. Mike Barnett visits UNL

Leave a reply

11141330_10105275642057843_6363234317236177055_nIt has been a pleasure to host Mike Barnett as a visiting scholar at UNL over the past few days.  Dr. Barnett is Professor of Science Education and Technology in the Lynch School of Education at Boston College.  As the inaugural participant in the 2015 Science Literacy Initiative Seminar Series, he had an opportunity to give an invited presentation, entitled Seeding the Future: Examining learning about urban ecosystems through learning technologies and community partnerships.  Dr. Barnett also engaged with faculty and students from both East and City campuses, contributed to faculty working groups convened in support of the Science Literacy Initiative, and even got to visit Nine-Mile Prairie with Dave Wedin, Doug Golick, and myself.  It was wonderful to learn of the great work Dr. Barnett and his team are doing at BC.  We all appreciate his willingness to travel to Lincoln immediately after returning from a week-long trip to China.  Mike Barnett info sheet ad

STEM is great! Except when it’s not…

Leave a reply

Kamyar Enshyan, Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Education at the University of Northern Iowa, has an interesting op-ed piece in yesterday’s Des Moines Register.  Talking about the widespread emphasis on STEM and STEM education, Enshyan observes a certain selectiveness with which knowledge and insights gained from STEM research are applied.  He concludes:

It is hard to take STEM talks seriously if so much of what we already know from science is ignored routinely on matters vital to our health, the land and our economy.

Enshyan’s critique is directed primarily at policymakers and industry leaders, but the implications are much broader.  Having good information and access to it may not be sufficient.  It is also critical that we account for how STEM knowledge is used in the various economic, political, and social spheres of life in pursuit of particular goals and outcomes.  This, of course, requires systemic, usable science literacy among individuals in all of these groups.

New Project to Study Science Fairs

Leave a reply

There are few STEM education activities more sacred than the science fair.  However, as with many such institutions, there is precious little empirical research to support the conventional wisdom that science fairs are valuable, worthwhile experiences for students.  The National Science Foundation has funded the Education Development Center to conduct a national study of middle school science fairs.  Results from this work will be important to inform decision-making about STEM programming in school settings, as well as in non-formal and informal science learning environments.

Graduation for Laura Zangori

Leave a reply

Me and Cory_May 8_2015Congrats again to Laura Zangori for successfully completing her doctoral studies and graduating from the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education in the UNL College of Education and Human Sciences.  It’s been a long journey across three states (and many different classrooms, professional development workshops, and conferences across both the PIESC3 and MoHSES projects) to arrive at this point.  What a wonderful accomplishment.  Good luck next year at Mizzou!

Laura Zangori, Ph.D.

Leave a reply

Congratulations to Dr. Laura Zangori for successfully defending her dissertaIMG_7407tion study, entitled, “EXPLORING 3RD-GRADE STUDENTS’ MODEL-BASED EXPLANATIONS ABOUT PLANT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT”.  Laura has worked on both the PIESC3 and MoHSES projects, first at the University of Iowa and later at UNL.  It has been a pleasure to work with Laura as both project PI and her advisor. In August, Laura will begin a new position as an Assistant Professor of Science Education in the College of Education at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Forbes Group presentations @ AERA, NARST, and NSTA, 2015

Leave a reply

Over the past few months, we have had the opportunity to present a number of papers from project work at AERA, NARST, and NSTA.  Please don’t hesitate to contact us with requests for papers or questions.

Biggers, M. & Forbes, C. T. (2015, April). Curriculum planning and enactment in elementary science: Beyond fidelity of implementation. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), Chicago, IL.

Forbes, C. T., Schwarz, C. V., Zangori, L., & Vo, T. (2015, March). Using models to support elementary students’ learning about water. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), Chicago, IL.

Forbes, C. T., Vo, T., Schwarz, C. V., & Zangori, L. (2015, April). Exploring elementary teachers’ knowledge and practices for model-based science instruction about the water cycle. Paper  presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Chicago, IL.

Forbes, C. T., Zangori, L., Vo, T. & Schwarz, C. V. (2015, April). Studying the impact of a design intervention on 3rd-grade students’ model-based explanations for water systems. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), Chicago, IL.

Sabel, J., Forbes, C. T. (2015, April). Elementary teachers’ use of life science content knowledge to inform formative assessment instructional decisions. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), Chicago, IL.

Sabel, J., Forbes, C. T., & Zangori, L. (2015, April). Preservice teachers’ use of content knowledge and formative assessment in a life science methods course. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Chicago, IL.

Sabel, J., Forbes, C.T., & Zangori, L. (2015, April). Content knowledge and formative assessment integration in a life sciences methods course for preservice teachers. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), Chicago, IL.

Vo, T., Forbes, C. T., Zangori, L., & Schwarz, S. (2015, April). Engaging students in scientific practices: The role of teachers in providing opportunities for student learning. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), Chicago, IL.

Zangori, L. & Forbes, C. T. (2015, April). Exploring 3rd-grade students’ model-based explanations about the interactions between plant processes and the hydrosphere. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), Chicago, IL.

Zangori, L. & Forbes, C. T. (2015, April). Exploring 3rd-grade students’ model-based explanations about the interactions between plant processes and the hydrosphere. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Chicago, IL.

Zangori, L. Forbes, C., Schwarz, C. V., & Vo, T. (2015, April). Supporting 3rd-grade students’ model-based explanations about the water cycle: A quasi-experimental study of a curricular intervention. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Chicago, IL.

Is The Food That’s Good For You Good For The Environment?

Leave a reply

Here’s a very accessible and nicely-done article that weighs the pros and cons of various approaches to agricultural production.  The author emphasizes the importance of tradeoffs in assessing the impact of growing certain commodities using conventional or organic methods, including not only the use of synthetic fertilizers, but also water use, transportation, and consumer demand.  Some interesting information about avocados.

NCAL in the news

Leave a reply

An article in this week’s Lincoln Journal Star highlights the work we’re doing as part of the National Center for Agricultural Literacy.  This initial phase of the center’s life will lay the foundation for longer-term work to support nationwide K-12 science and ag literacy efforts in partnership with the Agriculture in the Classroom program.  We’re looking forward to our upcoming summer program linking high school science teachers with IANR researchers to produce science instructional materials grounded in ag and natural resource topics and issues.

Peak Ag?

Leave a reply

A new study conducted by an international team of scientists suggests increases in agricultural production have likely peaked.  The research, published in Ecology and Society, also indicates peaks for individual resources such as corn, soybeans, cotton, milk, etc., are interrelated, or synchronized, around the year 2006.  This is perhaps not surprising given the interdependent patterns of natural resource use and agricultural production.  As the world’s population continues to grow, empirical findings such as these have crucial implications for global food security and natural resource management.

New Pew research examines public and scientists’ views on science and society

Leave a reply

The Pew Research Center has released findings of a survey of 2,002 American adults and 3,748 U.S.-based members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  There is a lot of great information in here that illustrates how scientists and the public view science, it’s role the world, STEM education, and each other.  What they collectively illustrate is the ongoing need to foster science literacy in the United States.  As Pew’s Lee Rainie argues:

“Science issues are increasingly civic issues, and they’re not distinct. They’re not off to the side,” he said. “They’re at the center of what defines the culture and the society and how people live their lives.”

In short, science in highly relevant to and impacts our day-to-day lives.  It’s crucial that everyone learns to use science to interpret, analyze, and make effective decisions about challenging, real-world issues.