In the Trenches - April 2017
Promoting Geoscience Literacy and Advocacy
Volume 7, Number 2
In This Issue
- Campaigning for Effective Geoscience Education Advocacy - Don Haas, the Paleontological Research Institution and Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, New York, and Anne Egger, Central Washington University
- Seven Ways to Teach Controversial Issues - Steven Newton, the National Center for Science Education and the College of Marin
- ONLINE EXTRA: More Tips for Teaching Controversial Topics - Carl D. Priesendorf, Metropolitan Community College
- Credible Sources and Science Literacy: The Role of Social Media - Mark Sweeney and Joshua Haiar, University of South Dakota
- ONLINE EXTRA: Project 2061 Promotes Science Literacy for All - Mary Koppal and Jo Ellen Roseman, American Association for the Advancement of Science
- Bridging the Gap Between the Social and Physical Sciences to Promote Effective Science Communication - Kolson Schlosser, Temple University
- ONLINE EXTRA: Climate Education in the New Political Landscape – An Invitation - Frank D. Granshaw, Portland State University
Don Haas, the Paleontological Research Institution and Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, New York, and Anne Egger, Central Washington University
Steven Newton, the National Center for Science Education and the College of Marin
The quotation above is the curious statement that greeted me at the end of a final exam in one of my introductory geology classes. One might presume that such a student bombed the test, but the truth is this student wrote an exemplary, fact-rich final exam essay on plate tectonics, earning full marks and an A in the course. I was nevertheless left with a sense of deep unease and this question: How could someone who knew the facts so well reject the existence of plate tectonics? Read more...
- Creationist student owned by Dr. Tim White
- New poll gauges Americans' general knowledge levels
- Flintstone facts? 41 percent of Americans say people and dinosaurs co-existed
- New national poll finds: More Americans know Snow White's dwarfs than Supreme Court judges, Homer Simpson than Homer's Odyssey, and Harry Potter than Tony Blair.
- Public praises science; scientists fault public, media
Carl D. Priesendorf, Metropolitan Community College
Mark Sweeney and Joshua Haiar, University of South Dakota
- InTeGrate Teaching Modules
- YouTube GeoScience Videos channel
- Earth Rocks videos of City College of San Francisco
- The need to teach about ethics and science, and the credibility of sources, Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 61, p. 1-2.
Mary Koppal and Jo Ellen Roseman, American Association for the Advancement of Science
- Project 2061
- Project 2061 Teaching Guides
- AAAS Science Assessment Website
- Project 2061 Publications
Bridging the Gap Between the Social and Physical Sciences to Promote Effective Science Communication
Kolson Schlosser, Temple University
- Alternative facts and true lies: The Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gautam-adhikari/alternative-facts--true-l_b_14440900.html
- Hanrahan, J., 2017, Bridging the gap: teaching informal climate change communication: In the Trenches, v. 7(1), p. 2-4.
- Huber, M., 2017 Jan 25, The politics of truth/facts: Medium, https://medium.com/@Matthuber78/the-politics-of-truth-facts-30a218f67cdd#.434c9ay41
- McKnight, P., 2017 Jan 28, Trump as postmodernist: truth no longer bound by facts: The Globe and Mail, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/trump-as-postmodernist-truth-no-longer-boundby-facts/article33796581/
- Webler, T., Danielson, S. and Tuler, S., 2007, Guidance on the Use of Q Method for Evaluation of Public Involvement Programs at Contaminated Sites: Social and Environmental Research Institute, 43 p., http://www.seri-us.org/sites/default/files/QMethodGuidanceSuperfund.pdf
Frank D. Granshaw, Portland State University
- Climate Data Sources Discussion on the NAGT website
- Granshaw, F., 2017, Climate Gateway, An access point for Archived Federal Science Agency Environment/Climate Data and On-line Educational Resources, http://vfeprojects.research.pdx.edu/ClimateGateway/
- PPEH labs, 2017, Data Refuge, http://www.ppehlab.org/
- White House, 2016, A Historic Commitment to Protecting the Environment and Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-record/climate
- White House, 2017, An America First Energy Plan, https://www.whitehouse.gov/america-first-energy
If a contentious topic doesn't sit well emotionally, then students may be unable to learn the science. This part of the On the Cutting Edge website addresses how to approach controversial topics with the Affective Domain in mind, not just the Cognitive Domain.
A Structured Academic Controversy (SAC) is a type of cooperative learning strategy in which small teams of students learn about a controversial issue from multiple perspectives. This module from Pedagogy in Action explains the What, Why, and How of using this pedagogic method in the classroom.
The CAM project is developing approaches to bring student media production into climate change education in ways that are engaging, empowering, and can be readily adopted in a wide range of instructional environments. Student media-making can be used to overcome many of the challenges that climate change education presents and is an excellent way to bring active, social, and effective learning to one of the most important and most complex problems facing human society today.
News and AdvertisementsView All Website News Releases
- April NAGTNews Newsletter
- Lecturers in (1) Earth & Environmental Systems and (2) Biological Systems & Health - Bentley University
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