You are invited to join us in the CREATE seminar space as we welcome Dr. Troy Sadler from the University of North Carolina, School of Education, on October 19, 2022. HIs talk will begin at noon and wrap up by 1:15pm, with time for Q and A.
Light refreshments will be provided!
While we will offer a Zoom option, we would love to see a full house in CREATE on the 19th. Of course, we will stay apprised of COVID information and make any changes necessary. Click here to register for the zoom session. You will not receive the link and passcode immediately; it will be sent prior to the event.
***NOTE: Typically, we don't ask for registration to attend our in-person presentations, however, for this event, we want to move to a larger space than the CREATE seminar area if it would be more comfortable. Please email Sue at carpen16@msu.edu if you will be attending in person and we'll plan accordingly.
Please share this announcement broadly with colleagues - thank you!!
Abstract: Socio-scientific issues (SSI) are complex societal issues that relate to and/or depend on scientific ideas, principles, or data. Climate change and the global COVID pandemic are two of the most pressing SSI facing the world today. I will argue that modern STEM education should help students learn ideas and practices that better prepare them for engaging with and contributing solutions to these critical issues. I will further argue that if we accept this as a goal for STEM education, then we must create opportunities for learners to explore complex issues within STEM learning environments. The presentation will showcase a few projects that leverage SSI as focal issues for curricular units. Research associated with these projects will highlight teaching practices essential for SSI-based education and student learning outcomes. The presentation will also explore a new approach for assessing student practices particularly important for the negotiation of complex societal issues.
Bio: Troy Sadler is a professor of science education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Education and serves as the Thomas James Distinguished Professor of Experiential Learning. Sadler’s research focuses on how students negotiate complex socio-scientific issues and how these issues may be used as contexts for science learning. Sadler’s work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Institute of Education Sciences, the US Department of Education, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as well as local foundations and state agencies. He is Co-Editor of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, one of the world’s leading journals for science education research. Prior to his work at UNC, Sadler was a science education faculty member at the University of Florida and the University of Missouri and served as the director of a STEM education research center.
