From Civic Engagement to Civic Courage—Science Education's Next Chapter

Posted: Jun 8 2023 by

Eliza Jane Reilly
National Center for Science and Civic Engagement

Eliza Jane Reilly, Executive Director, National Center for Science and Civic Engagement

It is hard to escape the fact that the relationship of evidence-based or scientific thinking to civic life in a democracy--which had been acknowledged by the science advocacy community for over a century--has attained a new urgency in the age of fake news and alternative facts. Recently a colleague remarked that the project I helped found and now lead, Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER) "was ahead of its time," and I've been reflecting on that idea. Historians love to quote the philosopher Kierkegaard who observed, "we live forward, but understand backward." And I've spent a lot of time this year trying to "understand backward" the broader cultural and educational context that produced SENCER to consider whether SENCER was indeed "ahead," or more accurately an embodiment of the best thinking available in its own time.^[1]  I'm especially concerned with considering what elements of our collective past can support a future of civically and socially-engaged learning in science, despite a dramatically altered academic landscape. This changed landscape includes the precarity of faculty status and autonomy, the contraction of institutional finances, unprecedented student needs and expectations, and frankly, the decline of administrative leadership in the face of political pressure, which has provided much less space for creativity and academic innovation. More

Creating new knowledge about change by combining research-based knowledge with the wisdom of practice

Posted: Feb 28 2023 by

Charles Henderson
Western Michigan University

Kadian Callahan
Kennesaw State University

Charles Henderson, Western Michigan University

Kadian Callahan, Kennesaw State University

One of the core ideas behind the formation of the Accelerating Systemic Change Network (ASCN) is to create and amplify knowledge by fostering interactions between two basic types of people who are working to improve postsecondary education: change researchers and change agents. While there is some overlap in these groups, they mostly operate independently. And, more importantly, each has access to different ideas and types of knowledge.
Through knowledge creation and amplification, ASCN builds capacity within and across these two groups to more successfully enact change in undergraduate STEM education. Specifically, ASCN uses the model of a "Knowledge Creating Company." This way to think about business organizations was first published by Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) who credited it for the success of Japanese companies in the 1980s and 1990s. It has since become highly influential in focusing businesses worldwide on the importance of knowledge and knowledge creation. In contrast to the Western approach to knowledge management, which views knowledge as explicit, Japanese companies place significant value on tacit knowledge. More

Including Diverse Scientists for an Inclusive Class

Posted: Feb 14 2023 by

Patricia Marsteller
Emory University

Patricia Marsteller, Emory University

Dear friends, did you ever do the draw a scientist exercise? Indulge me for a moment. Close your eyes. Visualize a scientist doing science. Draw or describe what you see.

Although this exercise was developed and studied mostly for elementary and middle school students, when I ask college faculty or students, many of the results are similar. Many see only men with beakers, chemicals, and often wild hair! Faculty with their eyes closed often grimace because they don't like what they first envision.

Another quick test is to ask your students to name as many scientists as they can...on the first day of class. Look at your textbooks and your class slides. Who is depicted? Whose work is mentioned? More

Happy National Mentoring Month!

Posted: Jan 31 2023 by

Patricia Marsteller
Emory University

Patricia Marsteller, Emory University

Since Odysseus left Mentor in charge of his family, estates, and his son, the art and science of mentoring has been critical to guiding career and educational development. Like Mentor, I aim to be a wise and trusted counselor, guide, guardian, and teacher or as the title of a widely read book indicates, an Adviser, Teacher, Role Model, Friend (National Academies of Sciences, 1997). I have learned that mentoring is an alliance between people and that both mentors and mentees benefit from agreements about how the relationship will evolve and how to include social support, career development, and growth. With faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates, mentoring often involves getting to know the whole person, their aims and aspirations, and their qualms about the future. Connecting students to the right resources or empowering them to bring up difficult questions with their faculty or research mentors requires that you be open, listen carefully, and know them as persons. More

Flying with Sankofa: Moving forward by learning from the past

Posted: Aug 23 2022 by

Ruthmae Sears
University of South Florida

Laura Frost
Florida Gulf Coast University

Alec Cattell
Texas Tech University

Alec Cattell, Texas Tech University; Laura Frost, Florida Gulf Coast University; and Ruthmae Sears, University of South Florida

*All authors contributed equally to the document.

It is important to celebrate the heroes in our society who spoke up, and who took action to change systems and improve the lives of many. For instance, our nation celebrates heroes like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose legacy continues to inspire civil rights initiatives and advocacy for equitable opportunities. The living legend Shirley Malcom, director of the American Association for the Advancement of Science's (AAAS) SEA Change program, was recently celebrated when her name was recognized on a building at her alma mater, Penn State University. Over her career, Dr. Malcom has tirelessly advocated and brought attention to the challenges of intersectionality, specifically the challenges faced by women of color in the sciences. More