Science Education & Policy

Students In Charter Schools More Likely To Graduate, Attend College

The first U.S. charter school opened in 1992. Since then the number of charters has grown to more than 4,000 in 40 states, serving 1.2 million students, according to RAND, a nonprofit research organization based in Santa Monica, California. Students at cha ...

Article - News Releases - Dec 22 2012 - 5:22pm

Research For America? Temporary Science Interns Are A Bad Idea

Two guest writers on Olivia Judson's blog offer an interesting idea for spending stimulus money on research: Instead of simply funding more grants, we suggest using some of the windfall to provide an opportunity for fresh college graduates to pursue t ...

Article - Michael White - Mar 20 2009 - 9:55am

A Scientific Approach To Science Education- Reducing Cognitive Load

Continued from Part 2, A Scientific Approach to Science Education- Research On Learning On average, students have more novicelike beliefs after they have completed an introductory physics course than they had when they started; this was found for nearly e ...

Article - Carl Wieman - Apr 6 2009 - 1:21pm

Creationist Code Words Voted Down In Texas

Creationists have put us into a bizarre, alternate universe, at least when it comes to curriculum design. Their latest attempt to undermine science education involves inserting the code words 'strengths and weaknesses' into the public school sci ...

Article - Michael White - Mar 27 2009 - 4:04pm

Texas School Board Creationists Reduced To Incoherence

... Not that the Texas school board creationists were coherent before, but what else do they have left? After the defeat of language in the state standards to teach the "strengths and weaknesses" of evolution in Texas public schools, the creation ...

Article - Michael White - Nov 5 2011 - 10:05am

House votes to grant FDA authority over tobacco

The House passed  legislation by a 298-112 vote to grant FDA authority to regulate, but not ban, cigarettes and other tobacco products, according to NPR and the Wall Street Journal. The FDA could make ingredients public, ban flavoring and prohibit marketi ...

Blog Post - Becky Jungbauer - Apr 2 2009 - 12:54pm

A Scientific Approach To Science Education- Beliefs, Guided Thinking And Technology

Last time I discussed reducing cognitive load in a new approach to scientific education: Some ways to do so are obvious, such as slowing down. Others include having a clear, logical, explicit organization to the class (including making connections between ...

Article - Carl Wieman - May 19 2009 - 2:41pm

If I could do college over again...

This is what I would do: Princeton's Integrated Science curriculum. This is how science should be taught: ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Apr 8 2009 - 11:04am

Bonnie Bassler, 'The Bacteria Whisperer', Gives A Great Talk On The Secret Social Lives Of Bacteria

I'm not usually much for video- text allows me to do three other things at the same time whereas video occupies two of my senses and annoys me when I am playing guitar.    And I would like to ban all use of "X Whisperer" after the name of ev ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Apr 9 2009 - 2:54pm

In Math Education, Comparisons And Concepts Are Better Than Specific Procedures

New research from Vanderbilt University has found students benefit more from being taught the concepts behind math problems rather than the exact procedures to solve the problems. The findings offer teachers new insights on how best to shape math instructi ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 10 2009 - 2:12pm