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Dr. Keller received her Ph.D. in biophysical chemistry from the University of New Mexico in 1992.
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Posts Tagged ‘Education’
Real science in action: Learning pegs
Last week I announced the winners for the Real Science-4-Kids Virtual Science Fair. All of the projects were great, and it was rewarding to see so many young minds engaged in science.
This week I want to showcase our winners and point out how their projects demonstrate real science in action. (There were two winners for the Pre-Level I age group. In this post I will discuss one of the winners and in the next post discuss the other.)
Naomi is an inquisitive young scientist and at six years old already has a grasp of several fundamental chemistry concepts.
It is the joy of every educator to listen to students explain what they have learned, and Naomi explains atoms and molecules very well. As I watched her video, I thought not only about what she was saying, but what she was doing. In this video Naomi demonstrates that she has acquired the first “learning pegs” for chemistry that will begin to shape her science foundation.
Recently, I had a concrete patio poured in my backyard. I hadn’t seen a patio poured before, so I found the process interesting. On the first day the workers cleared out a space in my backyard and then smoothed and pounded the dirt. They then took a flexible piece of wood, about 4 inches high and several yards long, and shaped the outline of the patio. In order to keep the wood in place they strategically placed pegs on either side of the flexible wood. These pegs are essential for holding the contour of the patio as the concrete is poured.
In the same way, Naomi now has “learning pegs” to shape the foundation of her science education. The “learning pegs” are the concepts and images of atoms, molecules, chemical reactions, acids, and bases that she has learned about by studying real chemistry. Strategically placed pegs are as important to creating a solid science foundation as the strategically placed pegs are for shaping a concrete patio.
And just so you aren’t left hanging, here is Naomi’s second video where her sister Abigail helps her launch an acid-base “outer-space rocket!”
If you need a science curriculum that will give your kids the”learning pegs” they need to lay their foundation for science, visit our website. Naomi used the Pre-Level I Chemistry Student Textbook to learn about atoms, molecules, chemical reactions, acids, and bases.
Read the rest of this entrySynthetic Life?
Last week Dr. Craig Venter and his team announced the results of a landmark experiment to replicate a bacterial cell using a “synthetic” genome. I don’t know the details of the experiment, I am anxiously awaiting a copy of the article published in Science, but I do know that this effort is likely to open new doors for science and science education.
Read the rest of this entryElements of a Valuable Education
This past weekend as I sat in a local coffee shop, I saw graduates pouring in after their various graduation ceremonies. Most were college students. As I thought about whether or not these graduates would be able to get jobs with the diplomas they’d just received, I recalled my recent blog post in which I wondered whether, as a nation, we are “Making the Grade.” Today I want to share my thoughts about the elements of a valuable education and what will help the next generation to “Get the Job.”
Read the rest of this entryDo you trust your local weather forecast?
An online article in last week’s edition of Spiegel Online International, A Superstorm for Global Warming Research, catalogs the sequence of events that led to the ruination of the distinguished career of Phil Jones, the former head of the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. The article gives a good snapshot of what happened in the “Climategate” debacle. Notably, the authors point to the disturbing political agenda behind many climate science conclusions.
Read the rest of this entryCan integrative thinking provide a powerful science education?
I recently came across an amazing little book by Roger Martin called The Opposable Mind: How Successful Leaders Win Through Integrative Thinking. It’s a business book but as I flipped through the pages I realized this was exactly the type of thinking we need to teach our kids.
Read the rest of this entryWhat do we want from science education?
Science plays a huge role in our daily lives. Everywhere we look, science can be found. Science has given us our cell phones, our medical treatments, our washing machines, and even our food. Many people are excited about the new iPad, but a look under the hood will reveal that 40+ years of science and technological development are behind this new product. Steve Jobs and the creation of the iPad have the researchers at the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), among many others, to thank. Modern life would not be what it is today without scientific research, because scientific research leads to technological advances.
Read the rest of this entryIs the Darwin-Creation split creating “two” science educations?
On March 6, 2010 the Associated Press ran an article describing how Christian based science materials dominate the homeschool market. The article explains the frustration a homeschool mom experienced teaching her 10-year old daughter biology using a Biblically based science curriculum.
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