ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

I think that one point that has not been addressed is that everyone needs to
have an understanding of science and how it works in order to cope with day
to day issues and decisions. Here in New England we have Town Meeting and it
is important to have at least an understanding of the science and
engineering that form the basis of the requests from the Town for funding
and new taxes. No one expects all students to become scientists or experts
in science, but all students should have an understanding of what science is
and not be afraid to look at a report based on science to help make an
everyday decision. They should be encouraged to maintain their curiosity and
that is a place where the museums play an important role. Enough of my soap
box. Paddy Wade, MITS. Boston MA

-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Natasha Aristov
Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2007 11:29 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: STEM articles, science and the public at large

ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
****************************************************************************
*

The "problem" of science education is enormous.  It spans the globe, 
as I know from my life here in Germany.

It is not a matter of creating or choosing a particular curriculum or 
method of teaching (inquiry based or "teach to the test" or based on 
"everyday phenomena" or whatever).

1.  We have to finally accept that not everyone, in fact, almost 
no-one, is interested or capable of true scientific thinking and 
working.  Just like not everyone, almost no-one is able to be a 
artistic virtuoso (in any art). We can teach a lot of people to play 
the harmonica, even the piano, but only a few will make it their 
lifetime (pre)occupation.

2.  We have to accept that the people that we are training to become 
teachers are exactly those who did not feel a particular attraction 
to the sciences -- else they would have become scientists.  I KNOW 
that there are exceptions -- I am one.  And I believe that ALL 
informal science educators are individuals who have a passion for 
science AND for preaching the "way" of science.

2a.  We have to accept the fact that unmotivated teachers will 
produce poorly prepared students, who may thus become teachers that 
are even less well prepared to teach than their teachers were... it's 
a downward spiral.

3.  We have to accept that doing real science, like doing art, 
requires PRACTICE.  We have to "teach to the test" (at some 
point):  the vocabulary and the ("grammatical") rules.

4.  We have to remind ourselves that science has never been practiced 
so widely and in such depth as it is being practiced today --despite 
the supposedly high attrition rates out of these disciplines.

5.  We have to remind ourselves that socioeconomic factors play a 
role in students' success rate:  comparing US students, a very 
diverse bunch, with, for example, Finnish or Singaporean students is 
not really fair.



What can we do?
We can help provide as many experiences of science, of natural 
phenomena, as possible.
We can be evangelical (no, I'm not a creationist):  we can show the 
people we come into contact with, just how amazed we are about-- 
well, actually everything.
We can remind people that, besides being fantastic, the work of 
scientists becomes useful technology.

I believe that most of us subscribing to this list are already doing that.

Natasha
College of Education, Ludwigsburg, Germany 

***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the
Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.

Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at
www.exhibitfiles.org.

The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To
learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.

To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]

***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.

Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.

The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.

To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]