NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2015/06/05
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2015-06-05 17:00.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE, Zack Kopplin continues to document the teaching of creationism in Louisiana's public schools. Plus a preview of Tools for Critical Thinking in Biology, a new milestone for NCSE's presence on Facebook, and the debut of NCSE's new Teacher Network.
CREATIONISM REVEALED IN LOUISIANA SCHOOLS, CONTINUED "We will read in Genesis and them [sic] some supplemental material debunking various aspects of evolution from which the student will present." So wrote a Louisiana science teacher to her principal, as quoted by Zack Kopplin, writing in Slate (June 2, 2015). In his article, Kopplin continued his presentation of evidence that the teaching of creationism is prevalent in Louisiana's public schools. As in his earlier article for Slate (April 21, 2015), he relied on material obtained from various Louisiana school districts via public records requests. NCSE's Josh Rosenau commented, "We know that one in eight high school biology teachers advocate for creationism, even though it's unconstitutional," but also suggested that the so-called Louisiana Science Education Act may have encouraged Louisiana's teachers to do so. "Louisiana politicians have supported the Science Education Act because they intended it to allow creationism in the classroom," Kopplin observed, noting that the proponents of the bill in the legislature as well as the governor have conceded as much. Welcoming the prospect of a lawsuit over the revelations produced by his public records requests, Kopplin concluded, "But for the moment, because Louisiana politicians refuse to take action, Louisiana students are reading Genesis in science class." For Kopplin's articles in Slate, visit: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2015/06/louisiana_science_education_school_boards_principals_and_teachers_endorse.html http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2015/04/creationism_in_louisiana_public_school_science_classes_school_boards_and.single.html And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in Louisiana, visit: http://ncse.com/news/louisiana A PREVIEW OF TOOLS FOR CRITICAL THINKING IN BIOLOGY NCSE is pleased to offer a free preview of Stephen H. Jenkins's Tools for Critical Thinking in Biology (Oxford University Press, 2015). The preview consists of chapter 5, "From Causes to Consequences: Considering the Weight of Evidence." Causation in biology often takes place through complex webs, Jenkins explains, taking as his central examples "the hypotheses that sea otters are a keystone species in nearshore marine environments and that killer whales caused a crash in the population of sea otters in the Aleutian Islands in the 1990s." "An expert biologist and wonderful teacher who cares deeply about his students -- and now about us, his audience -- [Jenkins] has the knack of a science journalist to turn scientific investigation into a series of fascinating stories. In the process of reading about research into the amazing behaviors of a variety of critters, the genetic basis of diseases, and much else, we almost painlessly learn to think critically about claims, evidence, and argument. What emerges is the realization that we don't have to be experts in order to ask intelligent, probing questions," writes Thomas Nickles. For the preview of Tools for Critical Thinking in Biology (PDF), visit: http://ncse.com/book-excerpt For information about the book from its publisher, visit: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/tools-for-critical-thinking-in-biology-9780199981045?cc=us&lang=en& FACEBOOK: N > 100,000 A milestone: there are now over 100,000 fans of NCSE's Facebook page. Why not join them, by visiting the page and becoming a fan by clicking on the "Like" box by NCSE's name? You'll receive the latest NCSE news delivered straight to your Facebook Home page, as well as updates on evolution-related and climate-related topics. Or if you prefer your news in 140-character chunks, follow NCSE on Twitter. And while you're surfing the web, why not visit NCSE's YouTube channel, with hundreds of videos for your watching pleasure? It's the best place on the web to view talks by NCSE's staff, including the recent series of activist workshop webinars. For NCSE's Facebook page, Twitter feed, and YouTube channel, visit: http://www.facebook.com/evolution.ncse http://twitter.com/ncse http://www.youtube.com/NatCen4ScienceEd NCSE'S NEW TEACHER NETWORK NCSE is pleased to announce the debut of the NCSE Teacher Network. Are you teaching climate change or evolution in your K-12 classroom? Are you interested in finding quality materials on these topics to use? Are you wondering how to deal with challenges? Join the NCSE Teacher Network! Members of the network will receive a free monthly e-newsletter containing recommendations of quality materials on climate change and evolution, strategy and advice -- written by teachers for teachers -- on dealing with challenges, and opportunities to hear about the latest in NCSE's educational initiatives. In addition to the e-newsletter, the NCSE Teacher Network will be participating in social media on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/NCSEteach/820855294655868) and on Twitter (https://twitter.com/NCSEteach). K-12 teachers (and others) are welcome to enroll in the NCSE Teacher Network on NCSE's website. For enrollment in NCSE's new Teacher Network, visit: http://ncse.com/taking-action/teachers For NCSE's Teacher Network on Facebook and Twitter, visit: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NCSEteach/820855294655868 https://twitter.com/NCSEteach WHAT'S NEW FROM THE SCIENCE LEAGUE OF AMERICA Have you been visiting NCSE's blog, The Science League of America, recently? If not, then you've missed: * Minda Berbeco relating how one teacher dealt with proselytizing against evolution: http://ncse.com/blog/2015/05/science-teaching-science-talking-0016391 * Guest blogger Karen James lamenting the derailment of the NGSS in Maine: http://ncse.com/blog/2015/06/ngss-blocked-maine-scientist-speaks-out-0016415 * Stephanie Keep complaining of teleological language in Science News: http://ncse.com/blog/2015/05/say-what-big-fail-science-news-magazine-0016394 And much more besides! For The Science League of America, visit: http://ncse.com/blog Thanks for reading. And don't forget to visit NCSE's website -- http://ncse.com -- where you can always find the latest news on evolution and climate education and threats to them. -- Sincerely, Glenn Branch Deputy Director National Center for Science Education, Inc. 420 40th Street, Suite 2 Oakland, CA 94609-2509 510-601-7203 x303 fax: 510-601-7204 800-290-6006 branch@ncse.com http://ncse.com Check out NCSE's new blog, Science League of America: http://ncse.com/blog Read Reports of the NCSE on-line: http://reports.ncse.com Subscribe to NCSE's free weekly e-newsletter: http://groups.google.com/group/ncse-news NCSE is on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter: http://www.facebook.com/evolution.ncse http://www.youtube.com/NatCen4ScienceEd http://twitter.com/ncse NCSE's work is supported by its members. Join today! http://ncse.com/join
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