Education & Training
Ocean Tracks – A Journey Through the Ocean: A Modern Approach to Science Education
Research in the sciences is currently undergoing a massive transformation, as technological advancements shift big data into the forefront of investigative tools, and early education is looking for solutions to keep up. The Ocean Tracks program offers a structured...
Jan N. Hughes and Stephen G. West – The High Cost of Grade Retention
Holding students back a year sets them up for dropping out of school. Young adults who drop out are at higher risk for social and health problems later in life. Professors Jan N. Hughes and Stephen G. West of Texas A&M University and Arizona State University,...
Dr Yu-Ju Kuo | Dr Frederick Adkins – S-COAM: Supporting Students in STEM Education
A report by the US National Science Foundation found that the State of Pennsylvania ranks below the national average on the proportion of mathematics, science, and engineering degrees conferred to students. The Scholarships-Creating Opportunities for Applying...
Professor Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton – Investigating Disparities in Higher Education Environments
Increasing diversity among STEM students is extremely important when it comes to training the workforce of the future. Professor Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, a professor and social psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, has been carrying out extensive...
Dr Maureen Conroy | Dr Kevin Sutherland – BEST in CLASS: Improving Interactions Between Teachers and Students
Young students who exhibit problematic behaviours in school often fail to fully benefit from their educational experiences and can have adjustment problems later in life. Dr Maureen Conroy at the University of Florida and Dr Kevin Sutherland at Virginia Commonwealth...
Dr Andy Frey – Supporting Children with Challenging Behaviours
Children with disruptive behaviours require intensive support in school. Dr Andy Frey, professor at the University of Louisville, has been developing and evaluating interventions that could help these children to begin their school years positively and successfully....
Dr Fern Tsien – Roadmap for Success: Increasing Diversity in the Biological Sciences
Historically, there has been a disparity between the demographics found in the broader population and in academia. Women and many minority groups are underrepresented in science careers. Dr Fern Tsien at Louisiana State University is directing educational programs in...
Dr. Andrea Holmes | Dr. Christina Wilson – Big Student Experiences in Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is poised to be one of the most critical technologies of the near future, yet exposure to nanotechnology techniques is limited for many college students. Dr. Andrea Holmes and Dr. Christina Wilson of Doane University in Crete, Nebraska, are partnering...
Dr John Monahan – The Modern Blanket Toss: Expanding Horizons in Alaska
The Modern Blanket Toss program offers students attending high school in Alaska, the chance to engage in a series of learning activities using drones – focusing on the wellbeing of local communities. Dr John Monahan of the University of Alaska Fairbanks describes...
Jesse M. Heines | Daniel A. Walzer – Teaching a Computer to Sing
As technology permeates more and more aspects of our daily lives, computer literacy and computer programming skills are more valuable than ever in the workplace. Professors Jesse Heines and Daniel Walzer of the University of Massachusetts Lowell are working at the...
Professor David Williamson Shaffer – Transforming Big Data into Meaningful Insights: Introducing Quantitative Ethnography
In the information age, humans produce data at an extraordinary rate, offering social scientists an opportunity to study our behaviour in a manner unprecedented in human history. In his new book Quantitative Ethnography, learning scientist Professor David Williamson...
Philosophy and Science Meet at Humboldt University Berlin
A new program at Humboldt University Berlin encourages academic discussion about Greek, Roman and Arabic models of knowledge and the intersection of philosophy and science. Georgia-Maria (Giouli) Korobili, Benjamin Wilck, Gonzalo Gamarra Jordan and Juliane Küppers are...
Dr Lisa Hibbard – Actively Learning Chemistry: Blended Classes for First Year College Students
Flipped learning is an exciting new educational strategy aimed at maximising learning by delivering the content of courses online, while focusing classroom time on student-centred active learning tasks. Dr Lisa Hibbard at Spelman College in Atlanta, GA has been...
Students Using Nanotechnology to Solve the World’s Greatest Challenges
The field of engineering is central to innovations across science and technology, yet many college students show a lack of interest in pursuing engineering careers. Educators at Auburn University are developing innovative educational modules that engage students in...
Professor Lisa Dierker – Falling in Love with Statistics: Shaping Students’ Relationships with Data
Statistical data analysis is a cornerstone of the sciences and operates as a shared language across disparate fields, from neuroscience to astronomy. However, current curricula often result in disengaged and stressed students who struggle to connect the concepts of...
The RAPP Center: Searching for Answers in Plasma-Astroparticle Physics
The Ruhr Astroparticle and Plasma Physics (RAPP) Center was established in 2015 by Professor Julia Tjus and her colleagues within the University Alliance Ruhr – a collaboration between the three universities of the Ruhr area: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Technische...
The National Science Teachers Association
Founded in 1944, the Virginia-based National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) is the largest organisation in the world promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all. In this exclusive interview, we talk to Executive Director of...
Dr Edmund Gordon | Dr Cynthia Mc Callister – Centring Students and Changing the Landscape of Classroom Education
Recent advances in science have demonstrated that human learning and thinking are highly social processes, governed by the learner’s ability to manage attention and effort. Drs Edmund Gordon and Cynthia McCallister propose an approach to education that centres the...
Dr Edward Maibach – Climate Matters: A Novel Approach to Educating Americans About Humanity’s Greatest Challenge
Over the past few decades, global climate change has emerged as the preeminent issue facing modern society. In many countries around the world, climate change is shifting weather patterns for the worse, with impacts predicted to grow increasingly more erratic and...
The European Federation of Geologists: Shaping the Future of Geoscience Through Outreach and Education
The European Federation of Geologists (EFG) is a non-governmental organisation representing over 50,000 geoscience professionals from 25 countries. Founded in 1981, EFG was established with the aim to work towards the safer and more sustainable use of the natural...
Dr Beate Priewasser | Dr Josef Perner – Revealing Human Nature Through Early Competition
Developmental psychologists Dr Beate Priewasser and Dr Josef Perner at the Centre of Cognitive Neuroscience and the Department of Psychology of the University of Salzburg play games with young children to reveal nuances of social development and illuminate how we...
The STEM Education Coalition
The STEM Education Coalition was founded more than 15 years ago with a mission to raise awareness in the U.S. Congress, the administration, and on the state level about the critical role that STEM education plays in enabling the U.S. to remain the economic and...
Professor Thomas Fleischner and colleagues – Why Field Studies Matter for Teaching Biology
Professor Thomas Fleischner and his colleagues at the Natural History Institute at Prescott College, and across the United States, are working to highlight the importance of field studies for teaching biology. Here, we discuss why the decline of field studies should...
DIGS-BB: Setting the Standard for Modern PhD Training
Over the past decade, the Dresden International Graduate School for Biomedicine and Bioengineering (DIGS-BB) has risen to the forefront of PhD student training. The program combines cutting edge research projects with innovative mentoring strategies to train...
Dr. Deanna L. Wilkinson – Growing Opportunity in the Inner City
Dr. Deanna Wilkinson founded the Urban GEMS – Gardening Entrepreneurs Motivating Sustainability – to give disadvantaged adolescents an alternative to violence and an opportunity to explore new skills and opportunities while contributing to the health of their...
Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Honor Society
Founded in 1886 at Cornell University, Sigma Xi is an international community of scientists and engineers dedicated to promoting excellence in research, enhancing public engagement with science, and fostering the next generation of researchers. Here, we have had the...
Soapbox Science
Soapbox Science was founded as a public outreach platform for promoting women scientists and their research. Now in its seventh year, Soapbox Science takes female scientists out of the lab and onto the streets, to talk to the passing, unsuspecting public about...
Kimberly Kowal Arcand – Somewhere, Outside The Rainbow
NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory orbits high above the earth, beaming back images of the high-energy universe impossible to obtain from the ground. Bringing this data to the world is Kimberly Arcand, Visualisation Lead for the project. Here we go into detail on some...
Professor Pamela J. Lein – Contributions To Environmental Health Through Research And Training
Professor Pamela J. Lein is a neurotoxicologist and current Program Director for the Advanced Training in Environmental Health program at UC Davis. She investigates the potential roles of environmental contaminants as risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders....
The Society For Developmental Biology – Choose Development! Increasing Diversity In Developmental Biology
The Society for Developmental Biology is successfully increasing the diversity of undergraduates wishing to pursue careers in developmental biology through a programme called Choose Development! Lack of diversity in science A 2011 report published by the National...
Drs Sheila Murphy & Lourdes Baezconde- Garbanati – Transforming Health Promotion Through Narrative
Dr Sheila Murphy and her team including Dr Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, Dr Meghan Moran and Dr Lauren Frank are utilising the potency of narratives in order to change knowledge, attitudes and behaviour and reduce health disparities both in the United States and...
Professor Jim Koropatnick – Paving The Way For The Future Through Innovative Training And Research
Determined to have a commanding presence on the scientific global stage, Canada has developed crucial plans to generate high yield research opportunities. Two research training programmes known as Cancer Research and Technology Transfer (CaRTT) and Partners in...