Science Education & Policy

The US is supposedly the leader in terms of scientific output. However, there is supposedly also "a threat" of losing this position. To counter this, there are suggestions such as giving out more visas to foreign scientists and engineers. Even “don’t make Americans scientists, make scientists American” passes as valid argumentation. I am reminded of attending seminars at a physics department of a US university, the “US professors” originating from Australia, Norway, Turkey, Japan, Germany, Poland, Great Britain, Russia, India, and Israel – I might have forgotten some - with a similar make-up…

The National Mall, that is. The inaugural USA Science and Engineering Festival is going out with a bang this weekend. And by "bang" I mean "Grand Finale Expo," featuring hands-on science exhibits from flight simulators, virtual reality environments and surgical robots to making virus structures with marshmallows and toothpicks. Not to mention squid dissections! Stanford's Lou Bergeron gives us the scoop on the Squids 4 Kids booth that will be at the Expo: Visitors will get to help dissect a squid and make "squid prints" on paper using the creature's arms and tentacles and finger paint…

You can donate money to help schoolchildren throughout the year, but if you participate in the ocean blogging community's annual Donor's Choose drive (which ends November 9th) then you get your name thrown in the hat to win some pretty special prizes. I was hoping to find a gift to add to the list while I was at the Squid Symposium in Mexico, and indeed, it was very nearly dropped into my lap: The front says "EL CALAMAR" (the squid) and the back reads "5th SIMPOSIUM INTERNATIONAL PACIFIC SQUIDS MEXICO 2010" (the spelling error is because the Spanish word for "symposium" is "simposio").…

We can add one more case to creationism's long record of legal failures. Yes, a creationist biology class is not adequate preparation for college coursework. The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in a case involving applicants to the University of California system who were deemed to have inadequate college preparation in biology. From the NCSE: On October 12, 2010, the Supreme Court declined (PDF, p. 12) to review Association of Christian Schools International et al. v. Roman Stearns et al., thus bringing the case to a definitive end. The case, originally filed in federal court in…

Finally, we have a President who not only believes in science but wants to improve science education. After eight years of the science isn't conclusive, evolution didn't happen and scientists afraid to speak out about their research, President Obama is a breath of fresh air. He's even having the first White House Science Fair tomorrow to honor kids who've won an array of national science competitions. But what I worry about is although this administration came in with the best of intentions towards improving science education, it inherited such an incredible economic and other kinds of mess,…

It's that time of year again... for Donors Choose! What is Donor's Choose? DonorsChoose.org is an online charity that allows needy classrooms from all over the country hook up with potential donors via the web. Teachers post their wish lists, with photos and descriptions of what they need, and you get to donate to specific projects, so you see exactly where your contribution is going. This month there is a Science Bloggers For Students Challenge (10/10/10- 11/09/10), where science bloggers from all over compete to get the most donation wishes filled. I am not hosting my own personal donor…

International Cephalopod Awareness Days start tomorrow! Squid, in case you didn't know, are cephalopods, along with their cousins the octopuses, cuttlefish, and nautilus. Cephalopods are exclusively marine organisms--there are no cephalopods that can live in fresh water, lakes or streams, or on land (tree octopuses are imaginary). Why they are exclusively marine might be an excellent subject for another day, but today let us merely accept it. Since cephalopods only live in the ocean, they depend on a healthy ocean environment. A healthy ocean environment requires knowledgable and caring…

Science comedian Brian Malow ties much of science to growing up in a happily dysfunctional family. He asks: What if the driving force behind the evolutionary patterns of homo erectus was moms telling their kids to “Stand Up Straight?” Once when I was 10, he tells us, I asked my dad why the sky was blue. He said go ask your mom. She said, “Because I said so.” I never asked her a science question again.  The Science Rapper raps about complex scientific concepts in the melodious, easy to follow style of rap. Here an example: The USA Science&Engineering Festival 10/10 to 10/24 in…

Reflections on the Nexus of Science and Medical Education and Medical Education on the 100th Anniversary of the Flexner Revolution. How Much Basic Science Does a Clinician Need to Know?How much basic science should medical students learn, and how much of the investigative science cognitive process can and should be transplanted to the clinical setting?  Does it make sense to cram a first year medical student’s head full of nuances about the null hypothesis when that space might better be used for nuances about antibiotics?  Is an understanding of the…

Today, October 5th, millions of teachers and education workers will be joined by children, young people and parents across the globe to celebrate World Teachers' Day. They will pay tribute to the teaching profession and its unique role - and promote their union.   From the global economic crisis which destabilized many developed economies in the last year, to humanitarian disasters such as the earthquake in Haiti and floods in Pakistan, the role of teachers is vital to the social, economic and intellectual rebuilding of communities in which we all live and work.  Fred van…