I would be most grateful if you would post to the newslist the following
invitation from Dr. Leon Lederman, Nobel Laureate and Resident Scholar at
the Illinois Math and Science Academy.
Responses should be directed to me, not the list.
Many thanks,
Yvonne Twomey, ytwomey@fnal.gov
YOU ARE INVITED!
DR. LEON M. LEDERMAN invites you to share your experiences as a science
teacher implementing either a physics-first or integrated high school
science curriculum.
WHO: Do you teach biology, chemistry or physics in a school that offers a
physics-first or integrated science program? Will you be at the upcoming
NSTA National Convention in San Diego in March? If the answer to both
questions is "Yes!," Dr. Leon Lederman would be delighted to have you join
him at an evening workshop in San Diego.
WHEN AND WHERE: We have scheduled duplicate workshops to reach as many
volunteers as possible. You need to attend only one. The first workshop is
Tuesday March 26 and the second is Thursday, March 28. Both meetings are in
the evening from 6 PM =AD 9 PM at the Manchester Grand Hyatt (one of the
Convention headquarters hotels), One Market Place, San Diego. The format of
the workshop is small-group discussion facilitated by your teaching peers.
WHAT: Help answer such questions as: How did your school place students in
the sequence, either from 8th grade or as transfer students? What about
transferring out of the course sequence? What kind of training did you need?
What kind did you receive? What preparations did your school make prior to
the curriculum change? How was the change viewed by the interested parties?
What problems did you encounter? How has the change worked out?
The American Renaissance in Science Education program, ARISE, advocates
change in the high school science curriculum to make it coherent and to
provide students with an interconnected three-year science experience which
is rich in process and the explanatory power of proceeding from the simple
to the complex. An increasing number of schools across the nation have
adopted these ideas and moved from the traditional sequence of biology,
chemistry and then physics, to one where students are exposed to physics
early in the curriculum. Some schools teach the sequence of conceptual
physics, chemistry, then biology; others teach sciences as an integrated
subject. In each case, the appropriate math courses may be coordinated. The
goal of ARISE is to enable all students to develop a scientific way of
thinking.
If you are a science teacher whose school has made such changes, then your
experience is valuable. We ask you to share these experiences and to provide
any data that you may have available which shows the effects of the change.
Your input will be used to help colleagues who are currently considering or
starting to implement the kinds of curricula which you already teach. We
need your help!
SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Dr. Lederman has invited the distinguished physicist
Dr. John Marburger III, science advisor to the President and newly confirmed
Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, to speak at a
special session. Plan to attend this session on Wednesday, March 27. Dr.
Marburger will be ordering this Administration's priorities for science
research and education, and is therefore a person of great importanceto all
science teachers. We will provide further details about this special
presentation when they are available.
Dr. Lederman will be most appreciative of your help. We have a limited
number of slots and will fill them on a first-come, first-served basis. To
sign up, or for further information, please contact Yvonne Twomey at the
address below. PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THE LISTSERV!!
Yvonne Twomey
E-mail: ytwomey@fnal.gov
Phone: 630-840-5058 o Fax: 630-840-2500
Lederman Science Education Center, Fermilab, MS777 Batavia, IL 60510
For further information about ARISE see: http://www-ed.fnal.gov/arise/