The Ross Sea Project was a Broader Impact projects for an NSF sponsored research mission to the Ross Sea in Antarctica. The project, which began in the summer of 2010 and ended in May 2011, consisted of several components: (1) A multidisciplinary teacher-education team that included educators, scientists, Web 2.0 technology experts and storytellers, and a photographer/writer blogging team; (2) Twenty-five middle-school and high-school earth science teachers, mostly from New Jersey but also New York and California; (3) Weeklong summer teacher institute at Liberty Science Center (LSC) where teachers and scientists met, and teachers learned about questions to be investigated and technologies to be used during the mission, and how to do the science to be conducted in Antarctica; (4) COSEE NOW interactive community website where teachers, LSC staff and other COSEE NOW members shared lesson plans or activities and discussed issues related to implementing the mission-based science in their classrooms; (5) Technological support and consultations for teachers, plus online practice sessions on the use of Web 2.0 technologies (webinars, blogs, digital storytelling, etc.); (6)Daily shipboard blog from the Ross Sea created by Chris Linder and Hugh Powell (a professional photographer/writer team) and posted on the COSEE NOW website to keep teachers and students up-to-date in real-time on science experiments, discoveries and frustrations, as well as shipboard life; (7) Live webinar calls from the Ross Sea, facilitated by Rutgers and LSC staff, where students posed questions and interacted directly with shipboard researchers and staff; and (8) A follow-up gathering of teachers and scientists near the end of the school year to debrief on the mission and preliminary findings. What resulted from this project was not only the professional development of teachers, which extended into the classroom and to students, but also the development of a relationship that teachers and students felt they had with the scientists and the science. Via personal and virtual interactions, teachers and students connected to scientists personally, while engaged in the science process in the classroom and in the field.
This presentation was part of the session "A Scientist Walks into a Bar: Humor in STEM Education" at the 2014 ASTC Conference in Raleigh, NC. The session explored strategies to leverage laughter for learning based on the latest brain research coupled with with personal experiences.
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Jen Lokey
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This presentation was part of the "Twist and Shout: Using physical movement in STEM education" session at the 2014 ASTC Conference in Raleigh, NC. The session shared, showcased, and compiled creative new ways to incorporate physicality into the learning process.
Researchers have now acquired so much information about how the brain learns that a new academic discipline has been born, called “educational neuroscience” or “mind, brain, and education science.” This field explores how research findings from neuroscience, education, and psychology can inform our understandings about teaching and learning, and whether they have implications for educational practice. This interdisciplinary approach ensures that recommendations for applying these findings to instructional practices have a foundation in solid scientific research. It also ensures that teachers
In this interview, author and professor R. Keith Sawyer describes the importance of and interconnections among creativity, collaboration, and the science of learning. He explains that the older paradigm of schooling from 50 years ago where rote learning was predominant is no longer relevant in a knowledge-based society. We now have to prepare students for jobs that require adaptability, flexibility, and creativity. He endorses an approach to education that fosters a deeper conceptual understanding, especially through collaborative creativity. He maintains that true innovation usually comes
Recent advances in neuroscience are highlighting connections between emotion, social functioning, and decision making that have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of the role of affect in education. In particular, the neurobiological evidence suggests that the aspects of cognition that we recruit most heavily in schools, namely learning, attention, memory, decision making, and social functioning, are both profoundly affected by and subsumed within the processes of emotion; we call these aspects emotional thought. Moreover, the evidence from brain-damaged patients suggests the
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Mary Helen Immordino-YangAntonio Damasio
This report highlights advances in neuroscience with potential implications for education and lifelong learning. The report authors, including neuroscientists, cognitive psychologists and education specialists, agree that if applied properly, the impacts of neuroscience could be highly beneficial in schools and beyond. The report argues that our growing understanding of how we learn should play a much greater role in education policy and should also feature in teacher training. The report also discusses the challenges and limitations of applying neuroscience in the classroom and in learning
In this article, I review recent findings in cognitive neuroscience in learning, particularly in the learning of mathematics and of reading. I argue that while cognitive neuroscience is in its infancy as a field, theories of learning will need to incorporate and account for this growing body of empirical data.
This is a handout from a session presented at the 2008 ASTC Conference. Advances in neuroscience are revealing biological pathways underlying emotion, attention, and memory. How can this research be integrated with educational pedagogy to enhance free-choice learning? Join experts from neuroscience, education, and museums to explore practical ways in which new insights about the brain can be applied to creating museum experiences.
This report from the National Research Council explores how learning changes the physical structure of the brain, how existing knowledge affects what people notice and how they learn, the amazing learning potential of infants, and the relationship between classroom learning and learning in everyday settings such as community and the workplace. It identifies learning needs and opportunities for teachers and provides a realistic look at the role of technology in education.
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National Research Council
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This White Paper summarizes the work of C-COVES, a two-year IMLS-funded project designed to Create a Collaboration for Ongoing Visitor Experience Studies. Specifically, C-COVES was intended to research the feasibility of creating a multi-institutional network of science centers across the country united in studying the visitor experience within and across organizations nationwide. In August of 2013, 27 museum professionals from 11 science centers ranging in size, community context, and evaluation capacity, as well as 3 consulting or industry organizations, came together to elaborate the
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Museum of Science, BostonRyan Auster
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This article from the Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) offers an introduction to the field of informal STEM education (ISE). It provides a brief survey of informal STEM education projects related to biology and discusses opportunities for scientists to become involved.