Speaker: Science Education in the 21st Century: Using the methods of science to teach science

Friday, March 20, 2009, 11:00 a.m.
Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman
Oak West, 2nd floor of Tresidder Union, Stanford University
Refreshments served at 10:45. Open to public.

The Physics department will host a special lecture on March 20, 2009 by Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman, Director of the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative at the University of British Columbia.

Science Education in the 21st Century: Using the methods of science to teach science

Guided by experimental tests of theory and practice, science has advanced rapidly in the past 500 years. Guided primarily by tradition and dogma, science education meanwhile has remained largely medieval. Research on how people learn is now revealing how many teachers badly misinterpret what students are thinking and learning from traditional science classes and exams. However, research is also providing insights on how to do much better. The combination of this research with modern information technology is setting the stage for a new approach that can provide the relevant and effective science education for all students that is needed for the 21st century. I will discuss the failures of traditional educational practices, even as used by “very good” teachers, and the successes of some new practices and technology that characterize this more effective approach, and how these results are highly consistent with findings from cognitive science.

Speaker: Carl Wieman, U of British Columbia, U of Colorado,
Director of the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative at University of British Columbia (http://www.cwsei.ubc.ca/)
Director of the Science Education Initiative at University of Colorado
(http://www.colorado.edu/sei/)

Kaye Storm
Director, Office of Science Outreach
Stanford University
650.724.4332
kstorm@stanford.edu