HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

First published online September 7, 2009; doi:10.3732/ajb.0900014 American Journal of Botany 96: 1760-1766 (2009) © 2009 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

What's this?

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: ajb.0900014v1 96/10/1760    most recent Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Google Scholar Articles by Scotchmoor, J. Articles by Potter, S. PubMed Articles by Scotchmoor, J. Articles by Potter, S. Agricola Articles by Scotchmoor, J. Articles by Potter, S. Social Bookmarking                            What's this?

Improving the public understanding of science: New initiatives¹

² University of California Museum of Paleontology, University of California Berkeley, 1101 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, California 94720-4780 USA ³ American Institute of Biological Sciences, 1444 I Street, NW, Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20005 USA

ABSTRACT

The United States may be on the brink of losing its global edge in science. Many American students are underprepared for and uninterested in the scientific and technical careers they may be asked to take on. Furthermore, these students, their teachers, and the broader public lack basic understandings of what science is and how it works, which may negatively impact their ability to make reasoned and informed decisions about science-related issues. We describe two unique and recently developed projects designed to help tackle these problems by improving public understanding of and interest in science. The Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science is a grassroots effort to lower the barriers between the scientific community and the public. It aims to inspire broad appreciation of science, inform the public about the nature and process of science, and make science accessible to everyone. Understanding Science is a web-based project that aims to improve teacher understanding of the nature of the scientific enterprise, to provide resources that encourage and enable kindergarten through undergraduate (K–16) teachers to reinforce the nature of science throughout their teaching, and to serve as a clear and accessible reference that accurately portrays the scientific endeavor. The botanical and broader scientific communities are invited to participate in these efforts.

Key Words: education • nature of science • outreach • public understanding of science • teaching

Received for publication 15 January 2009. Accepted for publication 3 August 2009.

FOOTNOTES

¹ Funding for COPUS workshops was provided to the University of California Museum of Paleontology by the National Science Foundation (grants EAR-0606600, EAR-0628790, EAR-0814048). Funding for Understanding Science was provided to the University of California Museum of Paleontology by the National Science Foundation (grant EAR-0624436). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the views of the National Science Foundation. Additional funding for COPUS is provided by the American Institute of Biological Sciences, the Geological Society of America, the University of California Museum of Paleontology, the National Science Teachers Association, and The Whitman Institute.

⁴ Author for correspondence (e-mail: jscotch{at}berkeley.edu)

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Facebook    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. H. Haufler and M. Sundberg Symposium on scientific literacy: Introduction Am. J. Botany, October 1, 2009; 96(10): 1751 - 1752. [Full Text] [PDF]