2061 Connections
An electronic newsletter for the science education community

May 2010

This Just In...

Last Chance: Nominate a High School Science Teacher

[PHOTOGRAPH] Students in a science lab, with a scientist or teacher in the foreground

Calling all U.S. high school science department chairs and administrators: It’s time to nominate teachers for the 2010 AAAS Leadership in Science Education Prize for High School Teachers. The $1,000 prize honors a high school science teacher who has advanced science education by developing and implementing an effective strategy, activity, or program.

Access prize details, nomination forms, and application forms. Deadline: 28 May 2010.

Chinese Educators Discuss Science Standards with Project 2061

Chinese Educators

As China revises its science education standards, a delegation of Chinese educators and university officials visited AAAS to learn about the long-term efforts of Project 2061 to improve science literacy in the United States. The delegation was invited by the U.S. Department of Education, and the visit was administered by the National Committee on United States-China Relations, a private, non-partisan group that promotes better Sino-American relations.

Read the AAAS news story.

Designing Coherent Science Education a "Call to Action"

DCSE

Helping science students make connections among ideas instead of gathering isolated facts is at the heart of Designing Coherent Science Education: Implications for Curriculum, Instruction, and Policy. Co-edited by Project 2061 Director Jo Ellen Roseman, Yael Kali, and Marcia Linn, the 2008 volume combines the insights of researchers from two National Science Foundation-funded Centers for Learning and Teaching.

Andreina Parisi-Amon of Stanford University brings attention to the book in her review for the International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. She finds the book valuable both as a resource and as “a call to action for all those who genuinely care about the future of science, be they curriculum creators, classroom teachers, school administrators, or policy writers.”

Read Parisi-Amon’s review. [PDF, 76KB]

Designing Coherent Science Education is published by Teachers College Press. See details and ordering information.

Register for an Atlas Workshop Today!

Atlas v2

Looking for a new perspective on science content standards? Sign up for one of Project 2061’s popular “Using Atlas of Science Literacy” workshops. You’ll learn how you and your school or district can use Atlas strand maps to improve K-12 science curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

Workshops are taking place across the U.S. and in Canada:

  • Ashland, OR, June 17-19, 2010
  • Lebanon, NH, August 16-18, 2010
  • Calgary, CANADA, September 8-10, 2010
  • Columbia, MO, October 6-8, 2010
  • Washington, DC, October 13-15, 2010
  • Hampton, CT, December 1-3, 2010

For details on registration, Early-Bird discounts, and scholarships, visit Project 2061’s workshop headquarters.

K-12 Students: Why is Science Cool? Enter Now for the USA Science & Engineering Festival Kavli Science Video Contest!

Science and Engineering Festival

Have your video screened on the National Mall, win prize money and electronics and possibly even a trip to the Festival Expo in Washington, D.C.! Do you think Science is cool? Do you want to share your passion for science with others? Here is your chance to inspire thousands of people to be more curious, and to care about science and engineering the way you do: create a short video that explores the question "Why is Science Cool?"

Videos might explore a scientific concept, show us the wonders of nature, give us a glimpse into the future, show us what scientific discovery has done for us in the past or will do for us in the future, introduce us to a great scientist or engineer, tell us why you think science is so cool, or simply show us why we should care about science and/or engineering.

Sponsored by The Kavli Foundation and conducted in partnership with SciVee, the contest closes on July 15, 2010. Prize money goes to the organization the student is representing (be it a school, after-school program, or other outreach program). Students win electronics prizes and either a trip to D.C. to attend the Expo in October 2010 or tickets for a VIP event to meet the Mythbusters.

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