The following contributed papers, panels, and workshops have been scheduled for the Fourteenth National STS Meeting (STS-14) next 4-6 March at the Holiday Inn Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD, as of press time. If you have a proposal to present, contact NASTS at The University of Iowa, 7656 Van Allen Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242-1478 (e-mail: robert-yager@uiowa.edu) for a proposal form. Deadline for proposals is 15 November 1998 Preliminary contributed STS-14 papers, panels, and workshops
20-minute papers
Classroom Netiquette for On-line Operations
Ernie Faw, Cabarrus College of Health Sciences, Concord, NC 28025With ten timely tips for computer NETiquette, teachers at all levels are able to cover expectations concerning proper computer usage for classroom on-line study in a timely fashion. Relevant examples with emphasis on Internet research and free e-mail for students are included in hard-copy form that teachers may take from the presentation and use in their classrooms immediately.
Technology and Science
Richard Satchwell, Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology, Normal, IL 61790-5960The Technology and Science project funded by the Illinois State board of Higher Education seeks to help science teachers facilitate the new National Science Education Standards dealing with technological design.
Integration of Scientific Learning and the Visual and Performing Arts
Bernice Hauser, Horace Mann School, Riverdale, NY 10471This paper discusses the integration of scientific learning with the visual and performing arts as dynamic and educational tools which professional educators can successfully use with nursery and primary children to shore up scientific concepts. Using a play written collaboratively by students after their completion of a miniunit on matter, we will discuss how an integrative, interdisciplinary approach aligns with current reforms and assessment programs.
Talking to Parents About Technology
Linda Freeman, Greater Cleveland Educational Development Center, Cleveland, OH 44115Many of the parents of the students we teach may be wary of technological change, reflecting not only their own experiences with technology but also their roles as parents. Misused educational technology, computer viruses, "down" computers, sensational headlines about cybersex, and the cost of technology to the local school budget can all contribute to parents' skepticism. How can educators communicate more effectively to parents about the value of technology? Acknowledging and respecting their apprehensions, clearly articulating how educational technology can support the school's goals without becoming a goal in itself, and keeping the focus on student achievement can all reassure parents and strengthen teachers' and administrators' communication repertoire.
Determining Disciplinary Perspectives of Technology
Bryan C. Maser, West Virginia University, WVThe Demise of Organizational Integrity and the Rise of Institutional Chaos: A History of the US Atomic Energy Commission's Early Leadership and Culture Jason N. Krupar, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
one-hour workshops
Integrated Mathematics, Science, and Technology
Richard Satchwell, Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology, Normal, IL 61790-5960This workshop will involve participants in activities of the NSF-funded curriculum project, Integrated mathematics, Science, and Technology (IMaST), which provides a two-year program for middle school. IMaST is currently seeking funding for a sixth grade program, which would make it the only three-year project integrating the three disciplines.
Implementing Modified Pedagogy to Teach Science
Thomas G. O'Brien, Nassau Community College, Garden City, NY 11530Traditional pedagogy focuses on the deposition of knowledge and is teacher-centered. Active learning coupled with other instructional strategies such as collaborative learning benefits the teaching of information literacy in the sciences. This technique does not abandon course content, but does require reorganization of instructional strategies. This workshop will demonstrate how a lesson plan can be organized and will also provide insight into implementation of specific active learning exercises.
How STS Topics and Situations can be used in the classroom to meet the National Science Education Standards
E. Joseph Piel, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY 11794Many teachers and supervisors are shying away from STS in the classroom because they are concerned about the "Standards." This workshop will provide examples of how STS topics are being used in many schools as part of the science and mathematics curriculum to meet the Standards.
Science, Technology, and Humanity: A Biblical View
Richard A. Deitrich, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802Biblical passages pertaining to the topics of this workshop will be read and freshly translated for exploration, and the insights of well-known commentators will be available. Ethical and sociocultural issues concerning science as a way of knowing, technology as a way of doing, and humanity as the end/means for knowing and doing will be raised and discussed.
A Web-Based STS Course
Joanne English Daly and Thomas T. Liao, SUNY, Stony Brook, NY 11794This workshop will focus on how to redesign an existing STS course about modern communications technology for delivery as a Web-based, on-line course. Participants will be engaged in a simulated learning activity that demonstrates how on-line students interact with each other. A comparison of in-person versus on-line instruction will also be provided via participation in an STS learning activity.
one-hour panels
Summer Research Opportunities Lead to Technology Transfer
Ernie Faw, Cabarrus College of Health Sciences, Concord, NC 28025; Julene Messick, INEL Institute, Idaho Falls, ID 83404; Andrew Shaw, Westminster Christian Academy, St. Louis, MO 63124; Matt Downing, Shawnee High School, Medford, NJ 08055The Idaho National Environmental and Engineering Laboratory (INEL) in Idaho Falls, ID, has sponsored teachers for summer research opportunities for the past eight years. Teachers from around the nation engage in many different activities from working with students on summer projects to assisting research scientists in their current research topics. The manager of the INEL Institute's Academic Relations and three teachers with a combined 14 summers of research will share their experiences, methods, and materials used in the transfer of new technology to their individual classrooms. Relevant examples and hard copies of lesson plans will be available at this presentation.
Scientific Work Experience Programs for Teachers: A Unique Form of Professional Development
Kaye Storm, Industry Initiatives for Science and Math Education, Palo Alto, CA 94306-1017; Jay Dubner, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032Industry Initiatives for Science and Math Education (IISME) and Columbia University's Summer Research Programs for Science Teachers are two of 75 Scientific Work Experience Programs for Teachers (SWEPT) around the country that offer science and math teachers the opportunity to work in industry or conduct research at universities for an extended period during the summer. These two programs have awarded almost 1300 summer fellowships to teachers since their inception in 1985 and 1990, respectively. The IISME model has been replicated widely throughout the country. The Columbia program is the only SWEPT which has systematically measured student outcomes. IISME and Columbia's programs are the lead programs for a large multisite study of SWEPT teacher professional development programs.
Religion and Science: Dialogue on Sustainable Society
Donald Conroy, North American Coalition on Religion and Ecology, Washington, DC 20005; Rodney Petersen, Boston Theological Institute, Newton Centre, MAAn increasing number of studies are focusing and rethinking theology and science in relation to a just and environmentally sustainable society. Exploring such terms as "creation," "wilderness," and "sustainable community," this discussion will engage both scientific and religious-cultural educators and thinkers on presenting a new world view.
The Agility Revolution: STS in the New Industrial Order
Steve Goldman, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PAEnvironmental Justice, National and International Dimensions
John Byrne, University of Delaware, Newark, DECross-Cultural Perspectives on Climate Change
John Byrne, University of Delaware, Newark, DEtwo-hour workshops
Teaching Students How to Prepare Environmental Assessments for Proposed Infrastructure Projects as Defined by the National Environmental Policy Act
Dale Luecht, US Environmental Protection Administration Region 5, Water DivisionThis paper discusses the integration of scientific learning with the visual and performing arts as dynamic and educational tools which professional educators can successfully use with nursery and primary children to shore up scientific concepts. Using a play written collaboratively by students after their completion of a miniunit on matter, we will discuss how an integrative, interdisciplinary approach aligns with current reforms and assessment programs.
MATERIALS: The Gateway Science for Technological and Scientific Literacy
Rustum Roy, Penn State University; R. P. H. Chang, Northwestern University; and David Kingery, University of ArizonaIt is our thesis that concrete or real sciences (such as materials, agriculture, health, engineering) are the only route by which ALL citizens can begin to be introduced to "science." Among this set, materials is the most general and most easily bridged to the abstract sciences. Hence it follows that in the long run (50 years) one should replace the content of "science" (now physics, chemistry, and biology) by these real sciences. This will be justified by reference to epistemology, anthropology, and empirical educational data.
The presentation will consist of three parts: (a) Learning Rationale for Materials as the Key Science (Roy), (b) Materials Through Human Hisory (Kingery), and (c) teaching modules and kits (NSF-funded) for grades 9-12 and college (Chang, Kingery, and Battelle project). The three presenters are very senior materials research faculty who are deeply involved in teaching, especially to nonscientists.
Chesapeake Choices and Challenges
Debbie Julian, Jamie Baxter, and Sarah Bodor, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Annapolis, MD 21401This workshop presents an ongoing program with STS as a component on restoring oysters in Baltimore Harbor. Through hands-on classroom activities, it educates students about real-life problems in their environment and gives them the skills to investigate personal connections, weigh choices, and develop solutions.
two-hour tutorials
Democracy at Risk in the New Millennium
Jeremy Wright and Deva Beck, The Wellness FoundationOperating beyond national boundaries without redeeming social and environmental accountability, the emerging global economy -- driven by short term monetary returns, unfettered competition, and greed -- is placing our jobs, our wages, our cities, our communities, our local ecologies, our educational systems, our social institutions, and even democracy itself at increasing risk. A one-hour video based on the international discussions at the June 1996 U.N. Conference on Human Settlements, The Cities Summit, in Istanbul and shown at the 1997 United Nations Habitat Day will be followed by a hour of open discussion on the values appropriate for the global civilization of the next millennium.
Global Citizenship in the Information Age
Deva Beck and Jeremy Wright, The Wellness FoundationThe imperative for a holistic view of Wellness -- "a continuum of evolving human potential through physical, mental, emotional, social, cultural, environmental, and spiritual wellbeing" -- to underpin informed 21st century global citizenship will be outlined. Based on Florence Nightingale's legacy, this tutorial will elaborate on the responsibilities of both men and women in sustaining development, in creating healthy families, and healthy communities -- the basic building bricks of our global family. An open hour of discussion of the determinants of personal and community health and sustainability and its implications for STS -- what we each require to truly flourish -- will ensue.
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