NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2016/01/08
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2016-01-08 16:24.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE, A new poll on public opinion on climate change. A preview of Eugenie C. Scott's Evolution vs. Creationism. A new paper from NCSE’s Minda Berbeco and Mark McCaffrey. And a voice for evolution from the Rabbinical Assembly.
THE LATEST POLL ON CLIMATE CHANGE According to the latest Monmouth University Poll, "a large majority of Americans acknowledge climate change is happening, although they are divided on whether human activity is mostly responsible for it." Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute Director Tony MacDonald commented, "The data exposes the extent to which this has become a partisan political issue in the U.S. rather than a scientific issue," yet added, "The polling shows that Americans believe we are all very much in this together." Asked "Do you think that the world's climate is undergoing a change that is causing more extreme weather patterns and the rise of sea levels, or is this not happening," 70% of respondents said yes, 22% said no, and 8% volunteered that they didn't know. Yes answers were more prevalent among Democrats (85%) than Independents (74%) and Republicans (49%), those 18-34 (76%) than those 35-53 (70%) and those 55 or older (63%), and college graduates (77%) than those with only some college (73%) and those with a high school education or less (63%). Asked "Is climate change caused more by human activity, more by natural changes in the environment, or by both equally," 27% of respondents said more by human activity, 8% said more by natural changes in the environment, 34% said both equally, 1% volunteered that they didn't know, 22% already said that climate change is not happening and 8% already said that they were unsure whether climate climate change is happening. The same patterns of responses differing by political affiliation, age, and education were present. According to the report, the poll "was sponsored and conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute from December 10 to 13, 2015 with a national random sample of 1,006 adults age 18 and older. This includes 654 contacted by a live interviewer on a landline telephone and 352 contacted by a live interviewer on a cell phone, in English. ... For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling has a maximum margin of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points (unadjusted for sample design)." For the report of the poll (PDF), visit: http://www.monmouth.edu/assets/0/32212254770/32212254991/32212254992/32212254994/32212254995/30064771087/bbab2f4a-3eef-4772-9b82-8fbdd996452a.pdf And for NCSE's collection of polls and surveys on climate, visit: http://ncse.com/polls/polls-climate-change A PREVIEW OF EVOLUTION VS. CREATIONISM NCSE is pleased to offer a free preview of the classic Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction, second edition (Greenwood Press/University of California Press, 2009), by NCSE's founding executive director Eugenie C. Scott. The preview consists of chapter 3, "Beliefs: Religion, Creationism, and Naturalism," in which Scott addresses the question, "What are the relationships among religion, science, and philosophical naturalism?" The chapter also includes her celebrated "creation/evolution continuum." Edward J. Larson described Evolution vs. Creationism as "an invaluable resource for those seeking to understand the American controversy over creationism and evolution," adding that it "offers an insightful overview of the American controversy over teaching evolution along with a representative sampling of short excerpts from both creationists and evolutionists. By reading it, teachers, parents, students and the public can be better prepared to answer creationist claims and defend the teaching of evolution." For the preview of Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction (PDF), visit: http://ncse.com/book-excerpt For information about the book from NCSE, visit: http://ncse.com/media/evc1 BERBECO AND MCCAFFREY ON FOSTERING EDUCATOR RESILIENCE What are the challenges to creating a resilient and confident educational community capable of addressing natural hazards and climate change in a scientifically accurate and pedagogically appropriate manner? That was the question that NCSE’s Minda Berbeco and Mark McCaffrey addressed in their "Fostering Educator Resilience: Engaging the Educational Community to Address the Natural Hazards of Climate Change." Teachers, they explain in their conclusion, "would benefit from greater support, both academic and emotional, on how best to address these issues through professional development and other training opportunities. It is clear, though, that professional development and additional resources will not be enough to assist educators in bringing these ideas into their classroom. ... In order to get teachers to engage with these topics in a thoughtful and effective manner, their own feelings and concerns cannot be overlooked. Both their own potential discouragement and classroom conflicts are real challenges that need to be addressed for a teacher to feel confident in teaching a depressing and politically challenging topic in what otherwise would be a fairly straightforward and apolitical science course. The challenges to a resilient and capable educational community are not limited to mere knowledge, but require a thorough investigation of all of the conflicts, internal and external, that can arise by addressing a scientific issue with complex political and social implications." "Fostering Educator Resilience" was published in Communicating Climate-Change and Natural Hazard Risk and Cultivating Resilience: Case Studies for a Multi-Disciplinary Approach (Springer 2015), edited by Jeanette L. Drake, Yekaterina Y. Kontar, John C. Eichelberger, T. Scott Rupp, and Karen M. Taylor. The accepted manuscript of the chapter is available on NCSE’s website; the final publication is available at Springer. For the accepted manuscript of "Fostering Educator Resilience" (PDF), visit: http://ncse.com/files/Berbeco-Springer-for-online_0.pdf For the final publication (PDF; paywall), visit: http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-20161-0_16 THE RABBINICAL ASSEMBLY ADDS ITS VOICE FOR EVOLUTION The chorus of support for the teaching of evolution continues, with a statement from the Rabbinical Assembly, adopted in 2006. Describing "intelligent design" as not having "the characteristics of a legitimate scientific theory" and warning that the teaching of "intelligent design" in the public school science curriculum would "1) constitute a break down of the separation of religion and state which is contrary to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, 2) be a suppression and distortion of scientific findings by religious groups; [and] 3) have serious consequences for human health, public safety, and community well-being," the statement expresses the Rabbinical Assembly's opposition to "any effort to introduce the religious based teaching of Intelligent Design into American public school science classes." The Rabbinical Assembly's statement is now reproduced, by permission, on NCSE's website, and will also be contained in the fourth edition of NCSE's Voices for Evolution. For the statement (PDF), visit: http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/resolution-intelligent-design-and-freedom-scientific-inquiry For Voices for Evolution, visit: http://ncse.com/voices 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: * Emily Schoerning reviewing a board game about extinction: http://ncse.com/blog/2016/01/play-go-extinct-0016851 * Guest blogger Bertha Vasquez praising NCSE's Scientists in the Classroom program: http://ncse.com/blog/2016/01/benefits-scientists-classroom-teachers-perspective-0016844 * Stephanie Keep reporting on a hugely engaging climate negotiations simulation: http://ncse.com/blog/2016/01/find-answer-save-world-0016810 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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