NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2016/11/25
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2016-11-25 19:12.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE, NCSE's Ann Reid talks about climate change education with NPR's 13.7 Cosmos and Culture blog. And a chance to bring evolutionary biologists to a local school.
NCSE'S REID ON 13.7 NCSE's executive director Ann Reid was interviewed by Tania Lombrozo for NPR's 13.7 Cosmos and Culture blog (November 21, 2016) about the implications of a Trump presidency for climate change education. Although the federal government is not directly involved in curriculum and instruction, Reid commented that NCSE is nevertheless "deeply concerned that the politicization of climate change will continue to have a chilling effect in classrooms." She explained, "if teachers are concerned about community disapproval, they may nevertheless avoid teaching the science, or inappropriately present it as debatable." Asked what NCSE is doing to address threats to climate change education, Reid responded, "We have a three-pronged strategy: support teachers directly, get scientists involved in helping teachers cover climate change, and support teachers indirectly by organizing communities to bring fun, accessible, respectful climate change activities to public events and raise funds to support their local science teachers." Reid concluded with the thought, "In my book, science teachers are real heroes. ... Making sure our science teachers have what they need to do a good job is an investment that will pay off for decades." For the interview on 13.7, visit: http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2016/11/21/502847128/what-does-a-trump-presidency-mean-for-climate-change-education And for NCSE's resources on climate change education, visit: https://ncse.com/climate ON THE ROAD AGAIN WITH DARWIN The Darwin Day Roadshow is returning! The Roadshow is a project of the BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action and the Society for the Study of Evolution, in which scientists and educators share their enthusiasm for evolutionary science with students, teachers, and the general public on the occasion of Charles Darwin's birthday, February 12. "Our teams talk to students, teachers and the general public about their research in evolutionary science, describe what it takes to become an evolutionary biologist (and what some of the rewards and challenges are), and convey why evolutionary science is relevant to everyone." And the results are delightful: as Craig McClain of NESCent (which formerly operated the Roadshow) wrote at Pacific Standard (May 15, 2011), "for all of us the Darwin Day Road Show was a gratifying adventure that no one will forget. From the landscapes with their silos, combines, center pivot crop circles, high school gymnasiums, to the indelible interactions we had along the way, we absorbed it all." Applications from schools interested in hosting the Roadshow, especially those who would not be likely to have access to Darwin Day activities otherwise, are now being accepted -- now until December 9, 2016. For information about the Darwin Day Roadshow, visit: https://darwindayroadshow.wordpress.com/ And for Craig McClain's essay in Pacific Standard, visit: https://psmag.com/scientists-take-charles-darwin-on-the-road-5fd7a230614 WHAT'S NEW AT NCSE'S BLOG? Have you been visiting NCSE's blog recently? If not, then you've missed: * Glenn Branch searching for a claim about "a pure humbug" and the origin of life: https://ncse.com/blog/2016/11/pure-humbug-0018353 For NCSE's blog, 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. 1904 Franklin Street, Suite 600 Oakland CA 94612-2922 510-601-7203 fax 510-788-7971 branch@ncse.com http://ncse.com Check out NCSE's 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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