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 it's also important for us to remember that, in comparison to working in many public schools, the job of "Museum Educator" is a piece of cake. Our students visit, have fun, learn some cool stuff, and then leave. If they occasionally argue the science, we can treat it as a teachable moment, praise their engagement, and go laugh about it with our colleagues as soon as the kids are back on their bus. The classroom teacher might have 100 or more students each semester (ALL semester), and must also deal with their parents, community churches, possibly unsupportive administrators and colleagues, local media, and answer to an elected school board. If they choose to avoid hot-button topics, I might disagree with them... but I haven't walked nearly enough miles in their shoes to put them down for it.
Jim Taylor
Vice President of Programs & Exhibits
The Health Adventure
P.O. Box 180
Asheville, NC 28802
828-254-6373 Ext. 313
www.thehealthadventure.org
People ask what I do during the Winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do: I sit by the window and wait for Spring. – Rogers Hornsby
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient (s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited. If you received this email and are not the intended recipient, please inform the sender by email reply and destroy all copies of the original message.
Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to. Think Green!
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Martin Weiss
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2011 3:36 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Only 28% of surveyed teachers teach evolution, AGAIN.
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
There is on problem with what you wrote William, without evolution biology
is a collection of 'facts" and organisms with no way of interpreting our
natural world. I suspect, but I maybe wrong, you can teach the physical
world without the "big bang". Maybe not.
Martin
On Thu, Feb 10, 2011 at 3:25 PM, William Katzman <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 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 everyone may be missing one more reason why teachers don't always
> teach with the word evolution. Imagine your students have been taught that
> the word evolution is sacrilege or possibly even a slur. Well, as a biology
> teacher then I I have a decision to make - do I use it and risk alienating
> some students, or do I avoid the word (and admittedly possibly the concept),
> and concentrate on areas where I believe I can make advances?
>
> Every time we teach something we have three decisions to make: 1) What are
> the most vital things to teach. 2) How do you teach it. 3) What are the
> things we should leave out.
> Every time you teach one item, you are always making a decision to leave
> something out. With certain terms, (evolution, big bang), I have actually
> seen the concepts (or peripheral concepts) taught where teachers avoided the
> specific terms because of perceived audience reaction. So people teach
> adaptation without mentioning that this is essentially evolution's basis.
> On the other hand I have also known a biology major and one-time head of an
> science museum's education dept. who was a staunch fundamentalist that did
> not believe in cross-species evolution.
>
> As a former physics teacher, I actually encouraged people to doubt things -
> including Newton's Laws. However I cautioned that until they could come up
> with a better idea that explained nature, they would still have to learn the
> "state of the art."
>
> -William
>
>
>
> On Feb 10, 2011, at 1:32 PM, Jennie Dusheck wrote:
>
> > ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> > Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
> institutions.
> >
> *****************************************************************************
> >
> > I am late to this discussion because I have been busy writing parts of an
> introductory college biology textbook, including some passages about
> evolution.
> >
> > I am not surprised that so many high school biology teachers are
> unwilling or unable to wade into the thick of things and teach evolution as
> it should be taught. Many teachers are terribly afraid of conflict over
> evolution. It's partly poor preparation (they don't have the background to
> argue with committed creationist students) and partly that teachers aren't
> paid well enough for us to expect them to go out of their way to dive into a
> conflict they can so easily avoid.
> >
> > I'll give an example: A friend of mine was exploring the Smithsonian
> exhibits relevant to evolution when she was confronted and actually cornered
> by a family of creationists who engaged her and then attempted to persuade
> her that evolution was wrong. She says she argued with them until she was
> close to tears. And that was only for 45 minutes or so. What if a teacher
> with less education than my friend (masters in biochemistry) had to deal
> with that for days on end?
> >
> > As far as the poor preparation, I disagree with Randy Moore, who was
> quoted at the end of the New York Times piece as saying that teachers are
> well prepared but just reject what they have been taught. First of all, some
> biology teachers were taught biology at Christian colleges that teach
> creationism. You can major in biology at Oral Roberts University and go on
> to become a biology teacher. Such teachers are not rejecting what they were
> taught.
> >
> > Even the majority of teachers who go to secular colleges and universities
> don't necessarily get a good grounding in evolutionary biology. Most biology
> majors today specialize in cell and molecular biology and the won't get much
> more exposure to evolution than what's in the handful of chapters in a
> single introductory textbook. Although many of these introductory textbooks
> are excellent on the subject of evolution, far too many emphasize molecular
> level material such as antibiotic resistant bacteria, while skimming over
> the history of life on earth and the speciation of familar plants and
> animals. Basically, macroevolution is treated as an abstraction.
> >
> > As an aside, a large proportion of college students who study the life
> sciences are in pre health and medicine programs, which, with a few
> exceptions, de-emphasize evolution. Of the many anatomy and physiology
> textbooks in use, I know of only one that even mentions that the human body
> is the product of evolution. Most A&P publishers/authors are too afraid of
> losing market share to take a functional, evolutionary approach.
> >
> > Anyway, to return to my point. I think that the idea that antibiotic
> resistance is an adequate explanation for the evolution of whole new species
> of beetles, let alone humans, is unpersuasive to large numbers of moderately
> rational people. Creationists quite rightly argue that the ability of
> bacteria with some specific genes to out compete bacteria lacking those
> genes is not by itself a persuasive explanation for the appearance of
> elephants or great white sharks. Inadequate preparation in evolutionary
> biology leaves even successful cell and molecular biology trained teachers
> vulnerable to arguments that create doubt and confusion in their minds
> about what they have been taught. Coupled with the lack of support they get
> from the rest of the high school, why should they become enmeshed in tense
> and unsatisfactory arguments about this topic with their students? Hats off
> to the 28%!
> >
> > My own current favorite biology textbook is Sadava, 9th edition.
> >
> > Jennie Dusheck
> > Co-author, Asking About Life, a college biology textbook
> >
> > ***********************************************************************
> > 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]
>
> William Katzman
> Program Leader
> LIGO Science Education Center
> "Inspiring Science"
> [log in to unmask]
> (225) 686-3134
>
> ***********************************************************************
> 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]
>
--
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Martin Weiss, PhD
Science Interpretation, Consultant
New York Hall of Science
mweiss at nyscience.org
347-460-1858
***********************************************************************
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]
|
