An electronic newsletter for the science education
community
November/December
2005
Project 2061 Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary
Two decades after the launch of Project 2061, educators,
researchers, and other friends and supporters of the project
gathered in Washington, DC, to join AAAS in celebrating
the 20th anniversary of its far-reaching initiative to reform
science, mathematics, and technology education. Events
to mark the occasion reflected the influence the project
has gained within the nation’s science and education
communities. Beginning with a Capitol Hill briefing
for members of Congress on Monday, October 17, and followed
the next day by a program and celebration at the AAAS, the
events provided opportunities to look back on accomplishments
and inspiration for the work ahead.
Continue to Do What You Are Doing
Bringing together leaders from both sides of the aisle,
the Capitol Hill briefing, organized by AAAS’s Center
for Science, Technology and Congress, focused on Project
2061’s contributions so far and confirmed the fundamental
role that science, mathematics, and technology are likely
to play in the years to come. Providing today’s
students with the knowledge and skills they need in these
areas is of “critical importance to the nation’s
long-term security,” said Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.),
who chairs the House Science Committee. It is also “about
the future of our children and grandchildren,” he
noted.
Reps. Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.),
co-founders of the bipartisan STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics) Education Caucus in 2004, agreed. Remarking
on the heightened interest in science education among his
congressional colleagues, Ehlers urged AAAS and Project
2061 to “continue to do what you are doing” to
push for improvements in the science curriculum and teaching. Also
attending was Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.), another STEM Caucus
member and, like Ehlers, a physicist by training. Holt
endorsed Project 2061’s emphasis on science literacy,
pointing out that science education is essential “not
just for the scientists and engineers of the future” but
for everyone. He also had high praise for Project
2061’s 1993 publication Benchmarks for Science
Literacy, describing it as one of the “best books
on any subject in the last two decades.” Rep.
Donald Payne (D-N.J.) also joined the briefing, as well
as numerous congressional staff with responsibilities related
to education or science and technology.
While reminding those gathered that “2061 was never
intended to be an end date but more of a metaphor,” Project
2061’s director Jo Ellen Roseman acknowledged that
there are no shortcuts to real reform, stating, “We
can’t test our way out of this problem.” Instead,
Project 2061 will continue to promote science literacy goals
that are important for all students and to develop tools
that educators can use to help them reach those goals.
Radical and Visionary
For the AAAS staff and guests gathered on Tuesday, October
18, in the auditorium of the association’s Washington,
DC, headquarters, the celebration of Project 2061’s
20th anniversary was an occasion to reunite with
old friends, colleagues, and supporters. They came together
to reflect on the progress of science education, to consider
the relevance of “science literacy for all” in
today’s context, and to propose some promising directions
for future work.
As evidence of Project 2061’s unique role in science
education reform, Dr. Gilbert S. Omenn, president of AAAS
and member of the project’s original advisory group,
pointed out that “no organization had previously addressed
the issue of what was needed in K-12 schooling by putting
aside the traditional curriculum and starting by debating
and deciding what every adult citizen needed to know and
be able to do.” (View
Dr. Omenn’s
presentation). A Professor of Internal
Medicine, Human Genetics, and Public Health at the University
of Michigan, Dr. Omenn was one of four speakers at the anniversary
celebration. The others were Alan I. Leshner, CEO
of AAAS; Iris Weiss, president of Horizon Research Inc.,
a firm that specializes in science and math education research
and evaluation; and Linda Froschauer, president-elect of
the National Science Teachers Association. Jo Ellen
Roseman, director of Project 2061, and F. James Rutherford,
founder of Project 2061, also addressed the audience.
Although all the speakers praised the significant contributions
of Project 2061 to science education in this country, the
general sentiment was that the overall performance of U.S.
schools remains far from satisfactory.
Among challenges facing science education today, according
to Weiss of Horizon Research, are those related to the quality
of teacher education programs designed to prepare new teachers
and provide ongoing professional development. Today’s
teachers need more extensive knowledge of the science content
as well as the ability to work with diverse learners. How
to provide these kinds of programs cost-effectively to many
more teachers is a key issue. (View
Weiss’s
presentation).
As a longtime member of the project’s advisory group,
8th grade science teacher Linda Froschauer helped
to guide Project 2061 as it translated the vision of Science
for All Americans into the grade level learning
goals in Benchmarks for Science Literacy. What
makes Project 2061’s work “radical and visionary,” said
Froschauer, was its decision not simply to produce more
material but to “produce tools and models that can
be used by others—expanding the nation’s (and
the world’s) capacity for reform.” (View
Froschauer’s presentation).
The anniversary celebration concluded with the presentation
to Rutherford of a framed poster displaying the covers of
Project 2061 books that were published during his tenure
as director. Jo Ellen Roseman, the project’s
current director, honored him for creating Project 2061
in 1985, guiding it through significant achievement, and
continuing to be an eloquent advocate for science literacy
around the world. (View Roseman’s
presentation).
After praising AAAS and Project 2061 for the work that
they’ve done, Rutherford warned that science education
still needs a lot of attention. “Project 2061
can be proud of the unrivaled contributions it made to the
advancement of science education during its first 20 years,
and now, in the next 20, it must continue to press forward
with the same strategy, energy, and inventiveness in its
crucial effort to make nationwide science literacy a reality
in America,” said Rutherford. He is currently
distinguished visiting professor at Mills College in Oakland,
California. He’s also engaged in establishing
an interdisciplinary center for the advancement of science
literacy; principal investigator of Resources for Environmental
Literacy, a NSF-funded project; and consultant on several
projects, including “In the Wake of the Western Flyer,” a
science film based on John Steinbeck's research in the Sea
of Cortez.
Roseman agreed that much work remains to be done. “With
a strong foundation to build on,” she said, “a
clear focus on the most important science ideas and skills,
and a set of practical tools that can help educators select
appropriate materials and monitor their students’ progress,
Project 2061 is well-positioned to help make its guiding
vision of science literacy for all a reality.”
(Lonnie Shekhtman of the AAAS Office of Public Programs
contributed to this article.)
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