... science itself . The acquisition of biological knowledge , for so long a luxury except for those concerned with agriculture and the health sciences , has now become a necessity for all . Material to help achieve that understanding is&nbsp;...

This book makes Moore's wisdom available to students in a lively, richly illustrated account of the history and workings of life. Employing rhetoric strategies including case histories, hypotheses and deductions, and chronological narrative, it provides both a cultural history of biology and an introduction to the procedures and values of science.

The Foundations of Modern Biology

Science as a Way of Knowing

Background information, materials, and step-by-step presentations are provided for each activity. In addition, this volume: Presents the evidence for evolution, including how evolution can be observed today.

Today many school students are shielded from one of the most important concepts in modern science: evolution. In engaging and conversational style, Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science provides a well-structured framework for understanding and teaching evolution. Written for teachers, parents, and community officials as well as scientists and educators, this book describes how evolution reveals both the great diversity and similarity among the Earth's organisms; it explores how scientists approach the question of evolution; and it illustrates the nature of science as a way of knowing about the natural world. In addition, the book provides answers to frequently asked questions to help readers understand many of the issues and misconceptions about evolution. The book includes sample activities for teaching about evolution and the nature of science. For example, the book includes activities that investigate fossil footprints and population growth that teachers of science can use to introduce principles of evolution. Background information, materials, and step-by-step presentations are provided for each activity. In addition, this volume: Presents the evidence for evolution, including how evolution can be observed today. Explains the nature of science through a variety of examples. Describes how science differs from other human endeavors and why evolution is one of the best avenues for helping students understand this distinction. Answers frequently asked questions about evolution. Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science builds on the 1996 National Science Education Standards released by the National Research Councilâ€"and offers detailed guidance on how to evaluate and choose instructional materials that support the standards. Comprehensive and practical, this book brings one of today's educational challenges into focus in a balanced and reasoned discussion. It will be of special interest to teachers of science, school administrators, and interested members of the community.

Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science

This book will be an essential resource for everyone involved in K-8 science educationâ€&quot;teachers, principals, boards of education, teacher education providers and accreditors, education researchers, federal education agencies, and state ...

What is science for a child? How do children learn about science and how to do science? Drawing on a vast array of work from neuroscience to classroom observation, Taking Science to School provides a comprehensive picture of what we know about teaching and learning science from kindergarten through eighth grade. By looking at a broad range of questions, this book provides a basic foundation for guiding science teaching and supporting students in their learning. Taking Science to School answers such questions as: When do children begin to learn about science? Are there critical stages in a child's development of such scientific concepts as mass or animate objects? What role does nonschool learning play in children's knowledge of science? How can science education capitalize on children's natural curiosity? What are the best tasks for books, lectures, and hands-on learning? How can teachers be taught to teach science? The book also provides a detailed examination of how we know what we know about children's learning of scienceâ€"about the role of research and evidence. This book will be an essential resource for everyone involved in K-8 science educationâ€"teachers, principals, boards of education, teacher education providers and accreditors, education researchers, federal education agencies, and state and federal policy makers. It will also be a useful guide for parents and others interested in how children learn.

Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8

Taking Science to School

In this book, Lee McIntyre argues that what distinguishes science from its rivals is what he calls “the scientific attitude”—caring about evidence and being willing to change theories on the basis of new evidence.

An argument that what makes science distinctive is its emphasis on evidence and scientists' willingness to change theories on the basis of new evidence. Attacks on science have become commonplace. Claims that climate change isn't settled science, that evolution is “only a theory,” and that scientists are conspiring to keep the truth about vaccines from the public are staples of some politicians' rhetorical repertoire. Defenders of science often point to its discoveries (penicillin! relativity!) without explaining exactly why scientific claims are superior. In this book, Lee McIntyre argues that what distinguishes science from its rivals is what he calls “the scientific attitude”—caring about evidence and being willing to change theories on the basis of new evidence. The history of science is littered with theories that were scientific but turned out to be wrong; the scientific attitude reveals why even a failed theory can help us to understand what is special about science. McIntyre offers examples that illustrate both scientific success (a reduction in childbed fever in the nineteenth century) and failure (the flawed “discovery” of cold fusion in the twentieth century). He describes the transformation of medicine from a practice based largely on hunches into a science based on evidence; considers scientific fraud; examines the positions of ideology-driven denialists, pseudoscientists, and “skeptics” who reject scientific findings; and argues that social science, no less than natural science, should embrace the scientific attitude. McIntyre argues that the scientific attitude—the grounding of science in evidence—offers a uniquely powerful tool in the defense of science.

Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience

The Scientific Attitude

... Science as a Way of Knowing provides not only a cultural his- tory of biology but also a splendid introduction to the procedures and values of science . 2 &quot; This volume is a worthy addition to the literature on the history of biology&nbsp;...

A general introduction to key issues in the philosophy of education.

A general introduction to key issues in the philosophy of education. The chapters are accessible to readers with no prior exposure to philosophy of education, and provide both surveys of the general domain they address, and advance the discussion in those domains.

The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Education

Throughout this life story, as outer events unfold, the reader is guided to a sense of the inner activities of this very Rosicrucian soul and, perhaps more important, to glimpses of how each of us affects each other through our inner ...

"In the course of every human life, moments come -- often so quietly as to be almost unrecognized -- that are so subtle and unobtrusive, they pass without one being fully aware of them. These moments are like the gentle tones of birds singing in their sleep, the faint sound of a bell ringing far away, or the gentle touch of an invisible hand. "Nevertheless, all these moments, perceived or unperceived, are manifestations of destiny in each human life, 'the evidence of things not seen.' They express the secret language of the heart and invite one to begin a journey. They involve taking important steps on a life path, which one senses instinctively will ultimately lead to the light of one's own higher self and into the world of spiritual reality, the 'land' where the real foundations of life purposes are to be found. Thus, one sets out on a path that can lead to the unfolding of the unique mystery of each individual life story. Such is the substance of the journey described in these pages." --Paul Marshall Allen Paul Allen was born into a Quaker family on June 26, 1913, in the small upstate New York village of Conquest. The life that followed was as varied outwardly as it was deeply committed inwardly to following a path of knowledge. He was a teacher, actor, writer, and publisher, each role connecting him with the world as a "Rosicrucian soul." For Paul, the most important event of destiny occurred when he encountered Rudolf Steiner's spiritual science through the actor Michael Chekhov, leading Paul to dedicate his life to Anthroposophy as a path of inner knowledge and activity in the world. In A Rosicrucian Soul, Russell Pooler takes the reader on a journey through the life of a man who profoundly affected everyone he encountered. During the early days of Anthroposophy in North America, Paul delved deeply into Rudolf Steiner's works and became the "first American-born anthroposophic lecturer," traveling across the continent and bringing the few, far-flung Anthroposophic Society members in North America a greater sense of unity and purpose. In New York City, with Bernie Garber, he began publishing the works of Rudolf Steiner and, with Carlo Pietzner, compiled A Christian Rosenkreutz Anthology. Paul Allen eventually started his own publishing company, St. George Book Service, a mail-order book business in western Massachusetts. Later, destiny took Paul and his wife, architect Joan deRis Allen, to Camphill villages in the British Isles and Norway, where they lived, as Paul produced numerous plays, the most significant of which were Rudolf Steiner's Four Mystery Dramas. Throughout this life story, as outer events unfold, the reader is guided to a sense of the inner activities of this very Rosicrucian soul and, perhaps more important, to glimpses of how each of us affects each other through our inner struggles and consequent actions.

Goethe’s Way Toward a Science of Conscious Participation in Nature

The Wholeness of Nature

The edited volume will appeal to individuals interested in science learning as well as the design of learning environments.

What are scientific inquiry practices like today? How should schools approach inquiry in science education? Teaching Science Inquiry presents the scholarly papers and practical conversations that emerged from the exchanges at a two-day conference of distinctive North American ‘science studies’ and ‘learning science’scholars. The conference goal: forge consensus views about images of inquiry that could inform teaching science through inquiry. The conference outcomes: recommendations for “Enhanced Scientific Method”, “Extended Immersion Units of Instruction”, and “Teacher Professional Development Models”. The edited volume will appeal to individuals interested in science learning as well as the design of learning environments. Scholars, policy makers, teacher educators and teachers will find this volume’s recommendations provocative and insightful. Twentieth century scientific advances with new tools, technologies, and theories have changed what it means to do science, to engage in scientific inquiry and to describe science as a way of knowing. Advances in ‘science studies’ disciplines are updating views about the nature of scientific inquiry. Advances in the cognitive and ‘learning sciences’ are altering understandings about knowledge acquisition, meaning making, and conditions for school learning. The conference papers, commentaries and panel reflections advance novel views about both children’s learning and the nature of science.

Recommendations for Research and Implementation

Teaching Scientific Inquiry

This book focuses on the uses of scientific evidence within three types of environmental discourses: popular nonfiction books about the environment; traditional and social media texts created by a grassroots environmental group; and a set ...

This book focuses on the uses of scientific evidence within three types of environmental discourses: popular nonfiction books about the environment; traditional and social media texts created by a grassroots environmental group; and a set of data displays that make arguments about global warming in a variety of media and contexts. It traces the operations of eight commonplaces about science and shows how they recur throughout these contexts, starting with Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and ending with contemporary blogs and social media. The commonplaces are shown to embed ideological assumptions and simultaneously challenge those assumptions. In addition, the book addresses the potential dangers involved in relying too heavily on aspects of these commonplaces, and how they can undermine the goals of some of the writers who use them.

Commonplaces of Scientific Evidence in Environmental Discourses

Learning Science in Informal Environments is an invaluable guide for program and exhibit designers, evaluators, staff of science-rich informal learning institutions and community-based organizations, scientists interested in educational ...

Informal science is a burgeoning field that operates across a broad range of venues and envisages learning outcomes for individuals, schools, families, and society. The evidence base that describes informal science, its promise, and effects is informed by a range of disciplines and perspectives, including field-based research, visitor studies, and psychological and anthropological studies of learning. Learning Science in Informal Environments draws together disparate literatures, synthesizes the state of knowledge, and articulates a common framework for the next generation of research on learning science in informal environments across a life span. Contributors include recognized experts in a range of disciplines-research and evaluation, exhibit designers, program developers, and educators. They also have experience in a range of settings-museums, after-school programs, science and technology centers, media enterprises, aquariums, zoos, state parks, and botanical gardens. Learning Science in Informal Environments is an invaluable guide for program and exhibit designers, evaluators, staff of science-rich informal learning institutions and community-based organizations, scientists interested in educational outreach, federal science agency education staff, and K-12 science educators.

People, Places, and Pursuits

Learning Science in Informal Environments

This book synthesizes current literature and research on scientific inquiry and the nature of science in K-12 instruction.

This book synthesizes current literature and research on scientific inquiry and the nature of science in K-12 instruction. Its presentation of the distinctions and overlaps of inquiry and nature of science as instructional outcomes are unique in contemporary literature. Researchers and teachers will find the text interesting as it carefully explores the subtleties and challenges of designing curriculum and instruction for integrating inquiry and nature of science.

Implications for Teaching,Learning, and Teacher Education

Scientific Inquiry and Nature of Science

On topics from genetic engineering and mad cow disease to vaccination and climate change, this Handbook draws on the insights of 57 leading science of science communication scholars who explore what social scientists know about how citizens ...

On topics from genetic engineering and mad cow disease to vaccination and climate change, this Handbook draws on the insights of 57 leading science of science communication scholars who explore what social scientists know about how citizens come to understand and act on what is known by science.

The Oxford Handbook of the Science of Science Communication

New York Times science writer Natalie Angier argues that this neglected canon should be essential knowledge - like Shakespeare, Beethoven or Picasso - for any cultured person, and The Canon makes these scientific fundamentals both exciting ...

'Every sentence sparkles with wit and charm . . . An intoxicating cocktail of fine science writing.' Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion An inspiring and imaginative tour through the basics of science, from astronomy to biology and beyond. New York Times science writer Natalie Angier argues that this neglected canon should be essential knowledge - like Shakespeare, Beethoven or Picasso - for any cultured person, and The Canon makes these scientific fundamentals both exciting and easy to understand. 'Delightful and witty ... Angier proves that our lives are enriched when we start understanding what science is all about.' Michael Taube, Financial Times 'The kind of science book you wish someone had placed in front of you at school.' Tim Adams, Observer 'Think you don't need this elegant primer on the basics of science? Go on, then - explain what electricity is, or DNA . . . See, told you so.' Tatler 'The best introduction to essential science I've read for many a year' John Cornwell, Sunday Times 'Angier conveys the real substance of field after field, without distortion or dumbing down . . . I hope it is widely read.' Steven Pinker, New York Times

The Beautiful Basics of Science

The Canon

Central to this text is the idea that science can be viewed as a culture, including specific methods of thinking, particular ways of communicating, and specialized kinds of tools.

"Teaching Science to Every Child provides timely and practical guidance about teaching science to all students. Particular emphasis is given to making science accessible to students who are typically pushed to the fringe - especially students of color and English language learners. Central to this text is the idea that science can be viewed as a culture, including specific methods of thinking, particular ways of communicating, and specialized kinds of tools. By using culture as a starting point and connecting it to effective instructional approaches, this text gives elementary and middle school science teachers a valuable framework to support the science learning of every student. Written in a conversational style, it treats readers as professional partners in efforts to address vital issues and implement classroom practices that will contribute to closing achievement gaps and advancing the science learning of all children. Features include "Point/Counterpoint" essays that present contrasting perspectives on a variety of science education topics; explicit connections between National Science Education Standards and chapter content; and chapter objectives, bulleted summaries, key terms; reflection and discussion questions. Additional resources are available on the updated and expanded Companion Website www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415892582 Changes in the Second Edition Three entirely new chapters: Integrated Process Skills; Learning and Teaching; Assessment Technological tools and resources embedded throughout each chapter Increased attention to the role of theory as it relates to science teaching and learning Expanded use of science process skills for upper elementary and middle school Additional material about science notebooks "--Provided by publisher

Using Culture as a Starting Point

Teaching Science to Every Child

In the work of Durkheim, Marx, Weber, and Mead, human beings are placed on the center stage, shaping and interpreting the world around them.

Are we losing touch with our humanity? Yes, contends Alan Wolfe in this provocative critique of modern American intellectual life. From ecology, sociobiology, and artificial intelligence to post-modernism and the social sciences, Wolfe examines the antihumanism underlying many contemporary academic trends. Animal rights theorists and "ecological extremists" too often downplay human capacities. Computers are smarter than we are and will soon replace us as the laws of evolution continue to unfold. Even the humanities, held in sway by imported theories that are explicitly antihumanistic in intention, have little place for human beings. Against this backdrop, Wolfe calls for a return to a moral and humanistic social science, one in which the qualities that distinguish us as a species are given full play. Tracing the development of modern social theory, Wolfe explores the human-centered critical thinking of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century scholars, now eclipsed by post-modern and scientistic theorizing. In the work of Durkheim, Marx, Weber, and Mead, human beings are placed on the center stage, shaping and interpreting the world around them. Sociology in particular emerged as a distinct science because the species it presumed to understand was distinct as well. Recent intellectual trends, in contrast, allow little room for the human difference. Sociobiology underlines the importance of genetics and mathematically governed evolutionary rules while downplaying the unique cognitive abilities of humans. Artificial intelligence heralds the potential superiority of computers to the human mind. Post-modern theorizing focuses on the interpretation of texts in self-referential modes, rejecting humanism in any form. And mainstream social science, using positivist paradigms of human behavior based on the natural sciences, develops narrow and arid models of social life. Wolfe eloquently makes a case for a new commitment to humanistic social science based on a realistic and creative engagement with modern society. A reconstituted social science, acknowledging our ability to interpret the world, will thrive on a recognition of human difference. Nurturing a precious humanism, social science can celebrate and further refine our unique capacity to create morality and meaning for ourselves. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1993. Are we losing touch with our humanity? Yes, contends Alan Wolfe in this provocative critique of modern American intellectual life. From ecology, sociobiology, and artificial intelligence to post-modernism and the social sciences, Wolfe examines the antihu

Animals, Computers, and the Necessity of Social Science

The Human Difference

However, the sustainability of biological collections is under threat. Without enhanced strategic leadership and investments in their infrastructure and growth many biological collections could be lost.

Biological collections are a critical part of the nation's science and innovation infrastructure and a fundamental resource for understanding the natural world. Biological collections underpin basic science discoveries as well as deepen our understanding of many challenges such as global change, biodiversity loss, sustainable food production, ecosystem conservation, and improving human health and security. They are important resources for education, both in formal training for the science and technology workforce, and in informal learning through schools, citizen science programs, and adult learning. However, the sustainability of biological collections is under threat. Without enhanced strategic leadership and investments in their infrastructure and growth many biological collections could be lost. Biological Collections: Ensuring Critical Research and Education for the 21st Century recommends approaches for biological collections to develop long-term financial sustainability, advance digitization, recruit and support a diverse workforce, and upgrade and maintain a robust physical infrastructure in order to continue serving science and society. The aim of the report is to stimulate a national discussion regarding the goals and strategies needed to ensure that U.S. biological collections not only thrive but continue to grow throughout the 21st century and beyond.