All you earlybirds out there are in for a treat this month if you look eastward just before dawn (and the weather is clear).  Four planets will be engaged in a slow-motion dance, aligning themselves differently day by day in a tight segment of the sky.

NASA has created a nice video describing the phenomenon:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Long-time NSTA exhibitor Thomas “Tom” Nelson Hubbard died Monday, March 21, 2011, in Santa Barbara, California from cardio-respiratory failure.  Born February 22, 1931, in Rockford, Illinois, Tom attended Rockford schools, Hotchkiss School (Class of ’49) and Yale University (Class of ’53).  He is survived by Loretta “Lorry” Hubbard, his wife since 1981.

Tom founded Hubbard Scientific Co. in 1961 and sold it in 1973 and then founded Crystal Productions Co., an art education resource publisher in Northbrook, Illinois. He then moved to Aspen, Colorado in 1975 where he served as Chairman until his death.  The business continues today in its office located in Glenview, Illinois.

Although he became a paraplegic in 1975 following a hang glider accident in Aspen, Tom’s enthusiasm for life, adventure, travel, fly fishing, and the invention and production of educational resource materials, both for science and art, was unhampered.  His sense of humor, his intellect, and his charming smile were enjoyed by all who knew him. Tom was also a talented watercolor landscape artist and showed in various galleries around the country as well as in Aspen, Colorado, where he lived for over 30 years.

Memorials may be sent to the Anderson Ranch Arts Center Foundation in Aspen, Colorado; the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in Santa Barbara, California; or the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation in Santa Barbara, California.

What on earth could this be a recipe for?

NSTA has released the following statement regarding the results of the 2009 Program for International Student Assessment Report (PISA):

The National Science Teachers Association is cautiously optimistic and somewhat surprised in the results for Science in the PISA Report. We are cautiously optimistic in that average science scores are up from 2006; however, this growth only puts the U.S. from the lower middle to the middle of the pack. We are still behind 18 countries and only 29 percent of students tested showed proficiency in science.

We are surprised at the scores because a very limited investment has been made on a national level in training and retaining science teachers. We believe that test scores for our students could be significantly improved if schools, states, and the federal government would commit to a larger investment in science teaching and learning.

As this report shows, our international neighbors are making the investment in science education. Our ability as a nation to remain competitive with other countries is dependent on how well we educate our children in science and mathematics. We hope this report will generate more public discussion about the need to make the necessary investments in science education.

William D. Greene of West Virginia participated in the recent Sino-US Science and Education Forum and has posted this video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click on the tag below to see more blog posts on this subject.

Dr. Christine Royce muses about “time travel” and her recent experiences at the Sino–US Science and Education Forum in Shanghai.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Well, it’s “Back to the Future.” Just as we had all come together in singles, forming groups of two or three, so did we disperse. Due to different flights, we met in the lobby of the hotel at different times (mine being 5:45 a.m.) and were shuttled to the airport with people who were returning to the same city with us. There was no large group good bye, there was no ending group hug, but rather each of us heading back to our respective cities from whence we came. We left on Sunday morning, Shanghai time, and according to the flight itinerary we arrived an hour later Detroit time. Not quite that quick of a trip, but due to the time difference we were literally going “back to the future.” We were going “back” due to the difference in time and location of the time zones, yet we were returning to our future. More knowledgeable about our counterparts in China and with a greater understanding of the people that we met and their intricate culture which is multifaceted.

When we reached Detroit (or LA or Chicago or wherever each plane was headed) we returned to being an individual or pair headed for their own gate—to return to Wisconsin, or DC, or in my case Shippensburg. The group disbanded physically in a rather quick manner however I think that many of us will be the “sticky rice” that was referenced earlier and keep in touch. After all, each of us has a commonality that binds us together—the pursuit of excellence in science education in order to improve the education of our students whatever the level. This pursuit in itself impacts the future of not only the country in which we live—but also countries around the world as we realized by working with our friends, colleagues and counterparts from half way across the world.

Dr. Christine Royce notes that there is old, and then there is old. And also “old.” China has all three, and the new as well, in a heady mix.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Today we spent the day being “tourists”—and doing all of the things that tourists do—visit sights, shop, eat in good restaurants, shop, board more busses to go to the museum, shop etc. In the past few days we had heard about the “old traditions” of schooling, approaches to instruction, and the mindset of the people as well as the new traditions related to the same topics. Jennifer at one point discussed with us how the influx of money has influenced the people of China. Today was a great example of how old traditions collided with new traditions.

The first part of the morning was a visit to the Jade Buddha Temple, which housed an extremely large Buddha made of a single piece of Jade (thus the name). When entering the temple, it was packed, people purchasing incense of sheets to write wishes on and burn; others folding “money” or at least paper meant to represent money to burn for their ancestors in the afterlife; others were praying. Contrasted with these old traditions, were the new ones—people rushing back and forth snapping pictures; those moving in and out of the myriad of shops. Where old meets new would have been a way to describe the clothing that people wore also—some young people wore stiletto heels on knee high boots where some people who could be my grandparents wore the flat shoes and attire that was reserved and modest. Somehow all of them did have a similar purpose for being there—remembrance of their ancestors and the continuation of sending wishes and good will to them in the offerings they made.

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Lunch was in Nanshi Old Town, which Jennifer the tour guide called “China Town”—it is a small village that looked old based on the decor, roof structure, winding paths, and stone walks, however it is relatively new construction—made to look old. One could find anything possible to purchase in this area as well—and it was packed! Today was truly the first day I could feel how many people truly occupied this city based on the street traffic. It was neat to see the “old” structures and have a sense of what construction may have looked like in years gone by. It was also fun to wander in and out of the shops trying to decide what gift to bring home for that friend or relative.

In America, we think old is during the days of the Pilgrims or Colonial Williamsburg, or even during the Civil War. We visit museums and see weaponry constructed during these periods or listen to speeches given by our past presidents. Let’s see that takes us back two, maybe three centuries? As Americans, we have no clue what “old” is until you visit a place like the Shanghai Museum that had pottery dating back to the 1200s. While we didn’t have much time in the museum, we were able to visit a gallery or two and truly have an appreciation for the artistic talents of the people of this country—even hundreds of years ago. All of these original antiques were housed in a beautiful new structure that represented the modern age while at the same time providing almost a reverence for the historical treasures housed here.

Finally, we went to THE SHOPPING STREET of all of China—Nanjing Road. If I thought I felt crowded earlier, this was a wake-up call. You could barely move down the street. I literally got swept up with the flow of the crowd moving from store to store and occasionally had to break free to do some shopping of my own. My purchase this evening—pearls. One colleague on the trip commented that there probably wasn’t a lady in the group who didn’t stop to at least admire the jewels of the sea. Jennifer’s point of the influx of money and the materialistic aspects of some young people rang true on this street. While there were many foreigners among them, it was clear that shopping had its place in the modern world as well.

Old and new, a clash of cultures in a way, but nonetheless both part of the modern China that we had the opportunity to explore over the past few days.

Dr. Christine Royce describes her visit to the ancient city of Zouzhuang as a member of the NSTA contingent at the Sino-US Science and Education Forum.

Friday, November 19, 2010

“Be like sticky rice … not loose noodle.”

You probably think I have lost it by now. What could she possibly be thinking? Well, this was the quote of the day from our tour guide Jennifer on our bus. Today was a field trip day. Well, the entire experience could be considered a field trip, but today was a day where we loaded the buses and headed out of Shanghai to see an “old town,” which we were to compare to Shanghai as a “new town.”

The group set off this morning to Zhouzhuang, which is a water city about an hour and a half west/southwest of Shanghai. It was described to us as being a “very beautiful city” with many bridges and the river. When reading about it in tour books and on the web, the city is actually about 900 years old and has many “historic” type homes. In total, there are 14 bridges in Zhouzhuang, which was made famous by a painting which was purchased by some American gas or oil tycoon. We watched the sites go by as the bus departed the city for the suburbs which seemed to be a continuation of the city—hundreds of towering structures that were apartment buildings; we watched as we entered a rural area which did have agricultural aspects—rice paddies and other types of plant cultivation; and finally we watched as we entered this “small” town which really looked more like a small city.

We listened as Jennifer gave us information about our time frame, where the facilities where (and yes most of the stalls had squatties) and finally directions for following her and her waving yellow flag. At that point, she gave us the initial directions as we were to progress directly to the boats for a boat ride through the city and to the entry point into the town—which has a charge. Her specific directions—you will have time to shop later, do not stop and look or take pictures—”be like sticky rice—not loose noodle.” Many of us decided that was the phrase of the day and was a perfect way to describe her expectations.

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We were somewhat like sticky rice—with a few loose noodles. We wandered, took pictures at the touristy spots to take pictures, and finally did board the boats for the short ride. Eight people to a boat. Oh, and there was no translation problem when the person who would paddle the boat wanted people to switch seats due to an imbalance in weight shall we say.  Jennifer directed us to where we should meet in exactly two hours—which included lunch at the restaurant—the “blue guy (Haibo) near the big marble wall.” Off we went—to lunch which I must say was absolutely the best food of the trip so far (minus the chicken feet that the removed from the table) and then to explore the town and shop. On the excursion to the starting point, there was much to see and plan to buy—handcrafts made by local artisans; Chinese calligraphy; paintings; trinkets, and everything in between. There was also food—lots of it … and not what you would expect.

The smells of the area assaulted your senses—you could walk by places with fish floating in containers right next to the sidewalk; plants were being cleaned in front of you for preparation; and every kind of meat was on display either sitting in or hanging from stations at the stand. I was not adventuresome enough to try and of the local delicacies. Everything you touched had texture; everything you saw had color or intricate details; everything you heard was different—it would get quiet and you could hear a local woman singing songs or a musician playing a traditional instrument and then it would get loud as a tour group passed by with their own flag; everything you smelled simply smelled like something you weren’t familiar with.

We ventured in twos or threes, teamed up with other groups, compared purchases and sent people off in the direction of the stall if they were interested in something we bought; and snapped photos at every turn. As a group we were able to laugh and interact in a way that was informal allowing us to learn about the location, the people, and each other. When 1:50 p.m. came around, we were to be at the wall near the blue guy and Jennifer and Eva (the other tour guide) had us walk single file past them so they could count us—we weren’t demonstrating our skills at being sticky rice—we had become even more loose noodles due to the many things that we could do during the time there.

The day ended with a ride back to Shanghai, shopping for some, and dinner at Shanghai Uncle—a restaurant with a local flavor, as it was described to us.

Hopefully when we return, some of Jennifer’s words of wisdom and direction will follow us home—we have one more day here in this beautiful city and already we are starting to talk about a reunion in San Francisco at the NSTA National Conference this coming spring. I truly hope that the new friends I’ve made and the friendships that have deepened will connect throughout the upcoming months and be more like sticky rice than loose noodles …

Dr. Christine Royce reports on another busy day in Shanghai.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Today was the day for students, lessons, and—for me—personal goals. Now, this may sound like the students are those in the classes we teach or observed and you would be correct. However, the word student took on a much more meaningful connotation today for me and I hope for others. We, the participants in the conference on both sides were the students in that we were learning from each other, our colleagues, and the experience at hand. We also visited schools where we were able to interact with students allowing us to be in a familiar setting.

The morning was spent in concurrent sessions on similar topics from yesterday. The structure—the Chinese present a series of case reports related to the topic, engage in discussion, and then we, the Americans, present on the same topic. While the original intent was that we would do similar things, there was something lost in translation at some point. The group from NSTA convened teams that would present the topic as a team approach, having worked several months on our presentations. I appreciated this approach in that it allowed me to better know some of my colleagues—David, Walter, and Piyush—as well as have a discussion (albeit via email or conference call) on the topic at hand. Our topic was how we prepare teachers in this country, which focused on a historical overview of the structure of teacher certification. In contrast, we received different examples of programs that work with teacher preparation from our friends in China. Each was interesting and informative, just simply assembled in a different manner than we expected.

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We were also students learning about the other countries programs and efforts to improve science education. For example, one presenter was sharing that the Chinese education programs are attempting to move away from traditional programs towards competency based programs. This point was reiterated on the American side in that we are doing the same. One aspect that did amaze me during the presentations was our counterpart’s ability to interweave examples of their programs and efforts with those of other countries. Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, and France were but a few of the countries that were mentioned. Usually the connection was related to something the other country has done that China has adapted or modified. If we are all lifelong learners—it was clear today that I—and I would venture to say, some of my colleagues—aren’t as skilled at knowing what China is doing as quickly as they know what we are doing. The lesson I learned from this aspect is that it is a large global world, and too often I get caught up in the happenings within America only. My goal for the future is to broaden my horizon to learn more about science education efforts worldwide.

Following lunch, one of the highlights of the trip thus far: visiting a primary school and high school. First we were treated to a presentation at Haihua Primary School, which would be considered a “key” school, or as we call it, “magnet school.” This elementary had as an emphasis science and technology. Much of the focus was related to the environment and man’s impact on the environment. Upon entering the room, the delegation naturally gravitated to the back of the room where students were sitting at different stations, ready and willing to show us their activities. After being gently guided to our seats for a presentation about the structure and purpose of the school, we were then able to interact with the students, ask them questions, observe them building or constructing things, and get a sense some activities that were identified as lessons. Activities included using paper magazines to make ecological holders for pencils as well as constructing cars from kits provided. Several students also demonstrated two “magic” activities which had a connection to science content. It was enjoyable to meet these students, most of which could converse with us in very good English (thank goodness, since we weren’t able to converse in Chinese). They answered our questions, showed us their activities, and were generally pleased to represent their school.

This was one of the factors that came to the forefront at both schools—a sense of pride in what they were doing and a sense of belonging to their school. Students at the high school were engaged in demonstrating similar activities as well—robotics and a biology investigation. While not as conversant with us, the sense of enthusiasm was present for what they were doing. We had a presentation and question-and-answer session with the administration and teachers at Luwan Senior High School. One of the interesting answers to the question “What are your challenges in the classroom?” related more to the big ideas than what we often hear if American teachers were to answer this question. There are many reports that describe teacher challenges as classroom management, class size, impact on time, lack of parental involvement, as well as a myriad of others all of which do impact learning and the classroom environment. The teachers talked about average class sizes of thirty-five students and having less instructional time in the week than we have. The teachers provided reasons such as “breaking traditional thinking of the students,” how to get them to think independently without the help of a teacher, and “how to make the lesson more interesting to meet the needs of the students” were answers provided. My lesson learned here is that we often focus on the logistics and process of running the classroom, which I know is important, and often forget that there are bigger ideas to consider such as those mentioned by our Chinese friends. My goal is to try and remember the bigger picture even when the day becomes overwhelmingly filled with those minor details.

Finally, the last student experience of the day was an individual one. I was fortunate to have a former graduate student and graduate assistant Tian Shen join our team for today’s presentation. Tian was at Shippensburg University for two years obtaining his Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction and has since returned to his home city of Shanghai, where he teaches at the Shanghai International School High School Division. While not a science teacher, as he teaches 7th grade math, Tian was able to join the team and provide comments related to his experience of taking classes in a teacher preparation program during the session. The excitement he demonstrated at being asked to participate in this event made the day absolutely wonderful. He was an outstanding student in our department and is obviously becoming a well-respected teacher at his school. The most important lesson of all is that involving your students engage in opportunities such as these as well as those that are present in your classroom allows them to grow. What seems like a simple goal—involve more students in opportunities that meet their needs and desires is often overshadowed by the two lessons mentioned above—only focusing on the local agenda, the here and now if you will, as well as becoming consumed by the daily logistics and not looking towards that big picture. My final goal that I set today is to involve more students in opportunities and programs in which I am involved, to help broaden both their and my own views of education in a global society.

An update from Dr. Christine Royce, a member of the NSTA team at the Sino–US Science and Education Forum in Shanghai.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Today in one sense was a long day—this was heard stated by many of the participants here. It wasn’t that we were uninterested in what was said; it wasn’t that we started any earlier or finished any later. It might have felt like a long day since as one person stated –the adrenaline rush of being in a foreign country on such a journey is starting to wear off and jet lag may be setting in just a bit. The reason I think it felt long to others and specifically the reason it felt long to me was simple—with the exception of tea breaks (which by the way is customary everywhere you go) we sat. To clarify—we sat on our butts all day and listened to speakers—eight in all. Now please don’t get me wrong—the topics the speakers presented on were wonderful—informal science education, preparation of teachers, curriculum design, and research relating to improving the field. There will be more on these later, however to get back to why the day felt long—it’s because the consensus among an informal survey of participants was—we rarely ever sit that long. One person even went as far as to comment that we now know what our students may feel like at the end of a day.

Today’s presentations from both sides presented interesting and informative perspectives to consider. One of the main points that jumped out towards the end of the day as Elizabeth Mulkerrin was speaking was when she said something like science is the bridge to helping students learn in reference to a particular program she was highlighting. That phrase summed up the entire day for me. Science truly bridges many barriers.

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As I understood his presentation, science is the key connector between all aspects of the future as the Chinese see it—it bridges the past with the future. Dr. Dinghua continued to discuss the components that go into making their national curriculum (which does have a certain percentage determined by the local provincial offices) better and future- looking—teacher efficiency, a reduced workload for student homework, the need to foster creativity and continuing to strengthen hands-on experiences of the students. His point was further reflected by a statement in Dr. Liu Enshan’s presentation on biology curriculum later in the day. He stated that part of the national agenda was in order to “maximize human capital to build a creative country; science education should play a critical role in general education.” He further discussed that science is taught in grades 3–11 with integrated content being covered up through grade 9 followed by discipline specific topics for high school. Dr. Enshan focused on a change that has been implemented into the biology curriculum in recent years—that of inquiry.

Which led nicely into the session presented by Dr. Alan McCormack and Dr. Karen Ostlund. Alan and Karen focused on how to engage students, including preservice educators, in inquiry based experiences. Discrepant events were presented which resulted in an equal reaction between the Americans and Chinese—a look of wonder as well as a brief bit of confusion as the water should have come right through the glass that had a hole poked in it. What followed was another example of science serving as a bridge.  Even though we were still SITTING, they had us do the “fish inquiry”—you know the one—where a red fish cut out of cellophane like put on the palm of your hand and you observe what happens to it … does it curl up, have its head move or its tail. Next they distributed simple materials and asked us to design an experiment to test our hypothesis as to why the fish moves. If you can picture Chinese educators who speak little English, and American educators who speak almost NO Chinese, sitting side by side in an auditorium, communicating with each other through pictures and hand gestures designing and conducting an experiment—to observe the event was unbelievable but to participate in the opportunity was amazing. The act of “doing science” crossed barriers of language and allowed us to engage in a meaningful way with each other thus making additional connections between individuals.

In considering Elizabeth’s statement and the events of the day—science truly does bridge many barriers that often divide individuals and countries. Classroom science bridges the achievement gap according to information presented by Dr. Janet Carlson and Dr. Arthur Eisenkraft today during their presentations. Science information brings nations together for summits on global warming, nuclear energy, and natural disasters. I am not saying that everyone reaches the table with the same goals or agrees on the desired outcomes—but that too is part of science—presenting your side and evidence in a persuasive argument and then should it come to it– agreeing to disagree—but continuing the conversation and pursuit of scientific knowledge. Science education has brought together all of the people attending this forum who will now have connections to maintain in the future. Some may be intermittent, while others may be regular. The important point that I learned from today is that there are many ways to cross a divide or conquer a barrier—and science education and the experiences at this forum will help us all to build many bridges and connections well into the future.