Carl Wieman on Taking a Scientific Approach to Science Education

The Science Literacy Program (SLP) has the great privilege of hosting Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman. Dr. Wieman is a Professor of Physics and of the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University and founded the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative at the University of British Columbia. He also served as Associate Director of Science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He is a leader in the study of science teaching and has written extensively about the national direction of STEM education reform.
Date: Friday, February 6, 2015
Event: Science Literacy Program Lecture
Title: Taking a Scientific Approach to Science Education
Speaker: Carl Wieman, Stanford University
Place: 182 Lillis
Time: 3:00-4:00pm
Host: Science Literacy Program
Abstract:
Guided by experimental tests of theory and practice, science and engineering 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 much more effective ways to teach and evaluate learning than what is in use in the traditional science class. The combination of this research with information technology is setting the stage for a new approach to teaching and learning that can provide the relevant and effective science education for all students that is needed for the 21st century. I will also cover more meaningful and effective ways to measure the quality of teaching. Although the focus of the talk is on undergraduate science teaching, where the data is the most compelling, the underlying principles come from studies of the general development of expertise and apply widely.