NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2014/10/31
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2014-10-31 13:58.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE, The latest from the state of Wyoming as well as the latest survey of public opinion on evolution and climate change.
UPDATE FROM WYOMING The Wyoming Tribune Eagle (October 26, 2014) reviewed the status of the state's science standards. As NCSE previously reported, a footnote in Wyoming's budget for 2014-2016 precluded the use of state funds "for any review or adoption" of the Next Generation Science Standards, in part owing to their treatment of climate change. The Wyoming state board of education subsequently declined to develop a new set of science standards independent of the NGSS. Mary Throne (D-District 11), who wrote the final version of the footnote, told the Tribune Eagle that it was misinterpreted: "My goal was to allow the state board to use the Next Generation Science Standards as a template and then basically 'Wyomingize' them -- tweak them to fit Wyoming better, but not to throw them out all together." Throne said that she hoped to seek a repeal of the footnote in the next session of the legislature. Marguerite Herman of Wyoming for Science Education defended the NGSS, saying, "They are high-class, 21st century, peer-reviewed [standards] and are based on what students need to know, what industry needs students to know and an understanding of how people learn science." She expressed hope that in the future Wyoming education would be free of political interference. "The Legislature set the review process back, and our kids are the losers in the process." Despite the legislature's decision, local school districts are apparently free to adopt the NGSS, and about fifteen (of forty-eight) have done so. Still, the decision was disruptive: Jack Cozort of Laramie County School District 2 commented, "We saw the footnote, and we slammed on the brakes." Melanie Fierro of Laramie County School District 1 added, "It does put us in a little bit of a bind," but approvingly described the change to the NGSS as a "paradigm shift." Herman worried about the effect of the lack of a set of state standards that cover climate change on teachers: "If you're in a district without [the NGSS], your hands may be tied, and you won't have the resources." NCSE's Minda Berbeco added, "Standards help set the guidelines for professional development and what teachers should know going into the classroom ... If you leave out a topic, they're less likely to learn about it." For the story in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, visit: http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2014/10/26/news/01top_10-26-14.txt And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in Wyoming, visit: http://ncse.com/news/wyoming POLL DATA ON EVOLUTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE The Chapman University Survey on American Fears included a pair of questions relevant to evolution and climate change. Asked "Which of the following statements comes closest to your views about the origin and development of man?" 39.9% of respondents preferred "God created man pretty much in his present form at one time within the last 10,000 years," 19.0% preferred "Man has developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life. God had no part in this process," and 36.5% preferred "Man has developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God guided this process, including man's"; 4.6% of respondents refused to answer. Asked "Which of the following statements best describes your personal belief about global climate change (global warming due to the Greenhouse effect)?" 59.1% of respondents preferred "Global climate change is occur[r]ing and is significantly accelerated by human activities and pollution," 16.2% preferred "Global climate change is occur[r]ing, but is not the result of human activities and pollution," and 8.8% preferred "Global climate change is NOT occur[r]ing"; 12.6% of respondents indicated that none of the statements accurately described their beliefs and 3.2% refused to answer. The survey was conducted on-line in April 2014 by the GfK Group using a representative sample of adults in the United States; there were 1573 respondents in all. For information about the survey, visit: http://www.chapman.edu/wilkinson/research-centers/babbie-center/survey-american-fears.aspx And for NCSE's collection of polls and surveys on climate, visit: http://ncse.com/polls/polls-climate-change WHAT'S NEW FROM THE SCIENCE LEAGUE OF AMERICA Have you been visiting NCSE's blog, The Science League of America, recently? If not, then you've missed: * Glenn Branch discussing a misquotation of Ernst Haeckel: http://ncse.com/blog/2014/10/riled-haeckel-0015946 * Josh Rosenau considering the use of humor as a tool against pseudoscience: http://ncse.com/blog/2014/10/wielding-humor-as-tool-0015945 * Mark McCaffrey debunking a misconception about the ozone hole: http://ncse.com/blog/2014/10/misconception-monday-oh-no-ozone-hole-0015949 And much more besides! For The Science League of America, visit: http://ncse.com/blog Thanks for reading. And don't forget to visit NCSE's website -- http://ncse.com -- where you can always find the latest news on evolution and climate education and threats to them. -- Sincerely, Glenn Branch Deputy Director National Center for Science Education, Inc. 420 40th Street, Suite 2 Oakland, CA 94609-2509 510-601-7203 x303 fax: 510-601-7204 800-290-6006 branch@ncse.com http://ncse.com Check out NCSE's new blog, Science League of America: http://ncse.com/blog Read Reports of the NCSE on-line: http://reports.ncse.com Subscribe to NCSE's free weekly e-newsletter: http://groups.google.com/group/ncse-news NCSE is on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter: http://www.facebook.com/evolution.ncse http://www.youtube.com/NatCen4ScienceEd http://twitter.com/ncse NCSE's work is supported by its members. Join today! http://ncse.com/join
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