University Science Ed

Dear Colleagues,

I'm putting the finishing touches on my proposals for the GSTA conference in February 2006 and I need your immediate feedback. Although I haven't been able to completely finish the planning I need an indication of support and willingness on your part to participate in my proposed activities. Here is what I'm submitting in outline detail.

I will request the following slots:
On Thursday or Friday -- 60 minute session -- I will present the SCST draft position paper on "The Role of College Science Faculty in Teacher Preparation". I will then open the floor for discussion and comments.

On Saturday -- I've arranged to have the College level attendees special sessions at the Coca Cola Space Science Center (CCSSC). I'll request the early times so that we don't conflict with the closing general session. My current plan is for a 2 hour session.

The first hour would be a presentation on Inquiry Based Learning-How do we do It? This is tentative.

I've obtained the consent of Dr. Donald French, current president of SCST and Professor at Oklahoma State University (excellent and humorous speaker and researcher in both science AND Science Education), to present this session IF I can find some funding to pay his travel expenses and a modest honorarium (I'm suggesting $100).

Otherwise, if I'm unable to come up with funds (I estimate a total of about $750-$1,000, and since I'm retired and no longer have access to grants I'm hoping some of you might be able to help locate support), then I would appreciate it if 2 or 3 of you would be willing to participate in a panel discussion of the role of Science Faculty in Teacher Preparation as a follow up of the previous session.

The second hour would offer 2 or 3 options that might include a Mini-mission in the Challenger Center, or a special viewing in the newly renovated (state of the art) Omnisphere Planetarium, or another option with the Mead Telescope, and general access to the CCSSC.

Please give me any feedback on this proposed agenda. I'm going to approach this in a flexible manner at this point so that we can make this a very meaningful experience for college level science educators. I'll be sending out emailings and solicitations in the near future in an attempt to garner more college level faculty participation at GSTA. So if you know of folks at any of the institutions in Science or Science Education who would be interested and wish to help, contact them and give me their email addresses so I can include them in the mailings.

Finally, I would be open to any other suggestions you might have to meet our objective of getting more science and science education faculty involved in GSTA, NSTA, and SCST.

Thanks so much.
Francis Gardner <fgardner12001@yahoo.com>
Emeritus Professor of Biology
Columbus State University

For the purpose of this website, this page is dedicated to those teaching Science courses or Science Education courses at the technical school level, college level, university level, or graduate school levels. The current University Science representative for GSTA

is:

Randy Spaid, Assistant Professor of Science & Secondary Education
Tift College of Education, Mercer University
spaid_mr@mercer.edu
(478)301-5389