Teaching Science 2.0

A major pollution-mapping program that ends September 9 has turned up startling trends in climate-warming gases and soot. The data it collected over the past five years from a National Science Foundation aircraft show the tropics periodically belch huge plumes of nitrous oxide — a potent greenhouse gas — into the upper atmosphere. Arctic measurements show that the recent record summer retreats of ice cover have allowed seas there to exhale unexpected amounts of methane, another potent greenhouse gas.

Then there’s soot. Parts of the supposedly pristine Arctic skies host dense clouds of these black carbon particles. During some flights, “We were immersed in essentially clouds of black carbon that were dense enough that you could barely see the ground,” recalls Stephen Wofsy of Harvard University, a principal investigator in the program. “It was like landing in Los Angeles — except that you were 8 kilometers above the surface of the Arctic Ocean.”

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Welcome to this week’s issue of Science Matters in Wisconsin.  As a quick reminder, this is the new title for WSN eNews.

– Professional Development

Brad Wysocki (Bloomer) and Jason Brazzale (Prescott) are kicking off a West-Central Wisconsin science sharing group this fall.  Meetings will include large group sharing and discipline specific break-outs.  Save the date – Oct 5^th for the first meeting.  Details will follow.

The next La Crosse Science Pub meeting will be held Sunday, September 11 at 1 PM at

Schmidty's, 3119 State Road. Science Pubs are not specific to teachers, but provide a great way to learn more science in a very informal way.  They are a lot of fun! Dr. Belby, a fluvial Geomorphologist from UW-La Crosse, will be discussing the geologic history of the Driftless Area and the Mississippi River and how humans have modified the surrounding andscape over the past 150 years. So bring your questions on the bluffs, caves, glaciers and megafloods for an interesting and fun conversation about the region we live in. http://sciencepub.us/

– Student Competition

Grades 3-8: Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and administered by the National Science Teachers Association, the America's Home Energy Education Challenge aims to enhance and extend existing energy-focused programs, provide specific home energy-saving tips, and make materials that support the learning of science and energy available to schools. Participating schools compete for more than $200,000 in prizes distributed at the regional and national levels of the competition.  http://www.homeenergychallenge.org/About.aspx

– Science Spotlight

“In an effort to help preserve endangered rhinos and primates, biologists have converted skin cells taken from the animals into pluripotent stem cells, which can grow into nearly anything, given the right conditions. They might even grow into egg and sperm cells, eventually, the researchers think, suggesting a cell biological route to conservation.” http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/09/06/stem-cells-from-skin-suggest-a-way-save-endangered-rhinos-and-primates/

– Website of the Week

Berkeley’s Understanding Science website is a great resource for learning more about the process of science.  The resource goes much deeper than the standard “PHEOC” model of the scientific method by emphasizing peer review, the testing of ideas, a science flowchart, and “what is science?” checklist. http://undsci.berkeley.edu/

Understanding Science also provides a variety of teaching resources including case studies of scientific discoveries and lesson plans for every grade level. http://undsci.berkeley.edu/teaching/index.php

– From AAAS Science NetLinks

Science Netlinks provides hundreds of reviewed lessons and other resources keyed to science topics.  Many of the lessons use engaging news stories about current science discoveries.  This month’s Science NetLinks newsletter highlights resources for UNESCO’s International Literacy Day (9/8), United Nations’ Ozone Day (9/16), and the World Heart Federation’s World Heart Day (9/28). http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/news/news_sept2011.php

– Contact

To subscribe to Science Matters in Wisconsin, please visit - http://bap.nsta.org/Content/Home/BecomeAContact/Default.aspx

For questions about Science Matters in Wisconsin, please contact me:

Eric Brunsell, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh  brunsele@uwosh.edu

Posted via email from Science Matters in Wisconsin

Posted via email from Science Matters in Wisconsin

Wolfgang Wagner, the editor-in-chief of Remote Sensing, where Spencer's latest work was published, acknowledged these criticisms. "Comparable studies published by other authors have already been refuted in open discussions and to some extent also in the literature," he writes, "a fact which was ignored by Spencer and Braswell in their paper and, unfortunately, not picked up by the reviewers." In other words, if the work has flaws that have been widely recognized by other scientists, those arguments should be considered even if they did not take place entirely within the scientific literature. Science blogs, and the scientists behind them, are now part of science's "open discussions" and deserve serious consideration. 

Posted via email from Science Matters in Wisconsin

Posted via email from Science Matters in Wisconsin

Posted via email from Science Matters in Wisconsin

How do we turn the tide and better prepare students for STEM careers? It's a multilayered problem, but—like most everything in education—it starts with the teacher. An enthusiastic and knowledgeable teacher can become the role model who triggers students' interest in STEM and helps them develop the foundational skills needed to pursue careers in those fields."

Posted via email from Science Matters in Wisconsin

Posted via email from Science Matters in Wisconsin