Science Education & Policy

"Practice makes perfect" and "timing is everything" are cliches are for a reason; they are mostly correct.   According to the findings published in this month's issue of Psychological Science, proper spacing of lessons  can dramatically enhance learning and larger gaps between study sessions result in better recall of facts. Conversely: Cramming – whether it's math for a midterm or a foreign language in anticipation of a trip abroad – is not effective in the long haul.   Hal Pashler and John Wixted, professors of psychology at UC San Diego who led the study, say this can change…

In Optimizing The University - Why We Need a New Educational Model For A New Century I laid out some of the issues facing post-secondary science education and how changing student demographics and modern faculty responsibilities have exacerbated the challenges of adapting science education to fill the educational demands of modern society. I also discussed how the new knowledge gained from advanced assessment techniques have shown us the extent of the shortcomings.   In Optimizing Science Education: What We Will Need For The University Of 2020 I looked at what this new optimized…

Credit: IBMThese images created by IBM scientists demonstrate a new nano "printing" technique they believe will lead to breakthroughs in ultra-tiny chips, optics, and biosensors. The recreation of Robert Fludd's 17th century drawing of the Sun – the alchemists’ symbol for gold -- was created by precisely placing 20,000 gold particles, each about 60 nanometers in diameter. This method could be used for mass production to place particles as small as 2 nanometers in diameter to fabricate atomic scale nanowires, ultra tiny lenses for optics and biosensors for healthcare. How on Heavens Earth did…

Sarah Palin is opposed to the basic model organism research that forms the bedrock of biomedical research. Over at Pharyngula, go listen to her mock the fact that we spend money on projects that have little or nothing to do with the public good. Things like fruit fly research in Paris, France. I kid you not. Don't just read the quote - you've got to hear the mocking inflection of her voice as she says "fruit fly research". This is off-the-deep-end ignorance in someone who wants to be a major public official. It's one thing for average members of the public to not be sure why scientists study…

Tricking students into learning with fun has always been a ploy of educators. When I was a kid, my kindergarten teacher, tricked my class into enjoying reading by serving eggs and ham that were dyed green. In sixth grade, while studying Ancient Egypt, we made papier-mache sarcophagi. To this day, I still remember well Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham (I will not eat them, Sam I am), and I know what the heck a cartouche is. Nowadays, students are embracing this same concept, incorporating their interests into their fields of study and making learning fun. They’re studying what they feel…

ACCRA, Ghana, October 17 /PRNewswire/ -- - Steps Under Way to Address Issues Causing High Breast Cancer Death Rates Among African Women Susan G. Komen for the Cure(R) today expanded its mission to Africa, helping to establish the Ghana Breast Cancer Alliance at an international symposium attended by leading breast cancer experts from around the world. Ghana First Lady Theresa Kufuor welcomed participants and praised the partner organizations for their collaboration and commitment to helping the women of Ghana. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070122/NYM084LOGO) The symposium was…

TOKYO, October 17 /PRNewswire/ -- - DEMONSTRATION EVENT - UNIQLO TRY- - HEATTECH - the warm-up and stay-warm range of wear Global Try It Campaign - 1,000 consumers, 100 media representatives will be given a free HEATTECH trial kit - In the second of its UNIQLO TRY programs, UNIQLO is conducting a Global Try It Campaign for HEATTECH - try out both the "heat creation function" that absorbs moisture evaporating from the body and turns it into heat energy, and the "insulation function" that prevents the heat from escaping. We are launching an entry website which will invite consumers and media…

The awe of staring into the never-ending black sky is what brings thousands to the hilltops every year; myself included. I have always been interested in astronomy and the vastness of space. Even as a thirteen year old I was wishing upon stars, plotting constellations, and dreaming of venturing to a world beyond... Knowing how much I loved the sky, my mother set up a trip to the Sierra Nevada's to catch a glimpse of the miraculous night sky. The view was beautiful, just dazzling with stars brighter than I had ever seen. Looking up into a world of pearls nestled in a black canvas,…

Is there a connection between what children believe and how they act, and how strong is the link? Researchers from four universities who studied these questions were surprised by the results. "For me the biggest surprise was how the link between beliefs and behaviors changed from kindergarten to later in childhood and adolescence," said Jennifer Lansford, one of the researchers from Duke University's Center for Child and Family Policy. "Often we assume that if someone believes something, they will act in a way consistent with those beliefs, but that wasn't necessarily the case for the…

A new University of Sussex study provides evidence that gorilla communication is linked to the left hemisphere of the brain - just as it is in humans. Psychologist Dr Gillian Sebestyen Forrester developed a new method of analysing the behaviour of gorillas in captivity and found there was a right-handed bias for actions that also involved head and mouth movements. The right side of the body is controlled by the left hemisphere of the brain, which is also the location for language development. The findings could provide major clues as to how language developed in humans. Dr Sebestyen Forrester…