These are turbulent times for science education. 鈥淪cience denial鈥 and misinformation, political controversy, and equity issues bedevil the field at a time when scientific solutions are urgently needed to contain COVID-19 and stave off climate change. This online event focuses on how to handle science controversy in the classroom and ways to make science relevant for students of color, who often don鈥檛 see themselves reflected in the world of science.
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Agenda
3:00pm ET
Welcome and Introduction
澳门跑狗论坛 writers offer key takeaways from their recent reporting on science education.
3:15pm ET
Panel discussion: Toward Real, Reasoned, and Relevant Science Learning
澳门跑狗论坛 reporters and their expert guests discuss ideas for handling controversy in the science classroom, solution-focused approaches to climate change, and ways to connect students of color to science.
Ileana Najarro is a reporter for 澳门跑狗论坛 covering race and opportunity in schools across the country.
Sarah Schwartz is a reporter for 澳门跑狗论坛 who covers curriculum and instruction.
Madeline Will is an assistant managing editor for 澳门跑狗论坛, leading coverage of school leadership and general education trends.
Nina Hike
Science Teacher,
Chicago Public Schools
Nina Hike鈥檚 passion for teaching science for 26 years in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) developed from her natural curiosity cultivated by her parents and CPS science teachers. However, she knows that race and racism are an inextricable part of teaching and learning. So she started the Pushing Praxis podcast with a colleague and redesigned her chemistry curriculum to be culturally relevant to focus on taking concrete action to transform power, racism, and acculturation in her classroom. As a result, Nina Hike was named one of three finalists from Illinois for the 2021 Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, or PAEMST, the nation鈥檚 highest honor for STEM teachers. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology with a minor in chemistry from University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and a Master鈥檚 in Secondary Education from DePaul University. She鈥檚 currently a Science Education Ph.D. student at the UIC and a Master Teaching Fellow with Project SEEEC 鈥 Science Education for Excellence and Equity in Chicago. Nina鈥檚 research interest is new teachers鈥 lived experiences and how race and racism shape their science identities, pedagogy, and instructional practices while teaching Students of Color.
Curt Newton
Director,
MIT OpenCourseWare
is dedicated to community and action for the common good, focused on open education and climate justice. As a volunteer En-ROADS Climate Ambassador, Curt Newton facilitates climate solutions workshops and role-playing games using the online produced by Climate Interactive. He鈥檚 also a citizen climate justice advocate in Boston MA, a leader in 350 Massachusetts, and lives in a net-zero energy retrofit of of 110 year old house that demonstrates how older buildings can be made sustainable. Professionally, Curt is Director of , which supports millions of learners and educators around the world with freely shared materials from thousands of MIT classes, and for 20 years has helped build the global open education movement.
Ann Reid
Executive Director,
National Center for Science Education
Ann Reid believes that science is for everyone. As the executive director of the , Reid works to ensure that what is taught in science classrooms and beyond is accurate and consistent with the best current understanding of the scientific community. Prior to becoming NCSE executive director, Reid worked as a research biologist at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, where she was responsible for sequencing the 1918 flu virus. She also served as a Senior Program Officer at the NRC鈥檚 Board on Life Sciences and as director of the American Academy of Microbiology.
4:00pm ET
Industry Perspective: Harnessing the Power of NGSS-Aligned Science Assessment To Create the STEM Leaders of Tomorrow
Content provided by New Meridian
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) elaborate what skills students need to acquire new knowledge. Assessments of the NGSS can play an important role in evaluating how well students are developing those skills. In this session, Chris Lazzaro of New Meridian will discuss how NGSS-aligned assessments need to evolve to model the dimensions of the standards and skills our nation鈥檚 future scientists and engineers will need to succeed in their education and careers.
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) elaborate what skills students need to acquire new knowledge. Assessments of the NGSS can play an important role in evaluating how well students are developing those skills. In this session, Chris Lazzaro of New Meridian will discuss how NGSS-aligned assessments need to evolve to model the dimensions of the standards and skills our nation鈥檚 future scientists and engineers will need to succeed in their education and careers.
Chris Lazzaro, Ph.D.
Director of Science Programs,
New Meridian
Chris is the Director of Science Programs at New Meridian Corporation. He has worked in science education for 15+ years, most recently for over 11 years at the College Board on projects ranging from professional development programs for science teachers, the AP庐 Science redesign, the creation of the Science College Board Standards for College Success, as well as working directly with state DOEs across the country on the adoption and implementation plans of science assessments. Prior to his work on science assessments, Chris taught middle school earth science and chemistry, as well as high school and college physics courses, in New York City. He has also served as a Science and Mathematics Item Review Committee (SMIRC) member for the Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) on the 2015 and 2019 administrations. Chris has undergraduate degrees in Earth and Planetary Sciences and Physics, a Master鈥檚 degree in Physics Education from New York University, and a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from Columbia University.
4:10pm ET
Fireside Chat: What Can Teachers Do About Science Denial?
Associate Editor Stephen Sawchuk leads a discussion with Gale M. Sinatra and Barbara Hofer, the authors of Science Denial: Why It Happens and What to Do About it.
Stephen Sawchuk is an assistant managing editor for 澳门跑狗论坛, leading coverage of teaching, learning, and curriculum.
Gale Sinatra
Professor of Psychology and the Stephen H. Crocker Professor of Education ,
University of South California鈥檚 Rossier School of Education
Dr. Gale Sinatra is a professor of psychology and the Stephen H. Crocker Professor of Education at the University of South California鈥檚 Rossier School of Education. She is an expert on climate science education, evolution education, learning theory, knowledge construction, and conceptual change learning, among other topics. Her recent research focuses on understanding the cognitive and motivational processes that lead to successful learning in science, including the role of motivation and emotion in teaching and learning about controversial topics. Sinatra has served as a co-principal investigator for National Science Foundation grants for improving science teaching, is the past editor of the journal Educational Psychologist, and recently served as vice president of the learning and instruction division of the American Educational Research Association.
Barbara Hofer
Fellow of the American Psychological Association, and Professor of Psychology Emerita,
Middlebury College
Dr. Barbara Hofer is a Professor of Psychology Emerita at Middlebury College and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan from the Combined Program in Education and Psychology, with a certificate in Culture and Cognition, and an Ed.M. in Human Development from Harvard University. She is the recipient of the Review of Research Award from the American Educational Research Association (with Paul Pintrich) and the McKeachie Early Career Teaching Award from the American Psychological Association. She has published several dozen articles and book chapters, has served on multiple editorial boards, and co-edited the book Personal Epistemology: The Psychology of Beliefs about Knowledge and Knowing, and co-authored the books The iConnected Parent: Staying Close to Your Kids in College (and Beyond) while Letting Them Grow Up and Science Denial: Why It Happens and What to Do About It (with Gale Sinatra). Her research on epistemic cognition in adolescence has been funded by a National Science Foundation grant from the Developmental and Learning Sciences area.
4:35pm ET
Summing Up: The State of Science Learning
Assistant Editor Sarah D. Sparks will discuss trends in science achievement and pose poll questions for audience participants.
Sarah D. Sparks covers the teaching profession and pedagogy for 澳门跑狗论坛.