Science Education in the Modern World; Why and How

Dr. Carl Weiman (pictured), the 2001 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics, will speak at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis on 11 March as part of the Center for Teaching and Learning's Winter Lecture series. This lecture series honors nationally recognized scholars who have made a contribution to their discipline as well as teaching and learning within their discipline.

Dr. Wieman will talk of how, guided by experimental tests of theory and practice, science has advanced rapidly in the past 500 years. Guided primarily by tradition and dogma, science education meanwhile has remained largely medieval. Research on how people learn is now revealing how many teachers badly misinterpret what students are thinking and learning in traditional science classes and from exams. However, research is also providing insights on how to do much better. The combination of this research with modern information technology is setting the stage for a new approach that can provide the relevant and effective science education for all students is needed for the 21st century. Wieman will discuss the needs of science education in the modern world for all citizens, and describe what research is telling us about how the brain learns, the failures of traditional teaching practices to meet today's educational needs, and teaching practices that have been shown to be much more effective.

This event is free and open to the public, but registration is possible. The event on 11 March in CE 450, Campus Center, IUPUI, will begin with a reception from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. followed by the lecture from 5:30 to 7 p.m.