 |
|
||||||||||
Modern Biology Goes to School: June 14 - 15 2010
|
The symposium is over. Soon you will find the presentations and audio files on this website. |
Symposium of EducETH in cooperation with the Life Science Learning Center at ETH Zurich and University of Zurich
 Background Biology is a school subject with a long tradition, and it is quite popular among students. Nevertheless, scientists are increasingly concerned about the growing gap between school curricula and the rapid scientific progress in the field. While at school biology is still largely taught as an ever-growing collection of loosely connected observations and facts, from a scientific point of view the subject is more aptly understood as a set of emerging concepts that are rooted in the process of evolution. Moreover, while chemistry, physics and mathematics are becoming an integral part of scientific biology, many students have severe difficulties with the demands of molecular biology and are unable to use mathematics as an instrument for modeling biological processes. In addition, biologists are concerned about public opinion of evolution as a contentious theory rather than understanding it as the basis for the diversity and the unity of life. |
Aim of the Symposium
Scientists from the fields of biology, biology education, cognitive psychology and distinguished teachers from the Zurich area will discuss frameworks for modern biology education that are applicable in schools at all grade levels, with a special emphasis on the Gymnasium.
The goal is to merge and refine the work that has been done by the guest speakers and by two initiatives in Zurich: The Life Science Learning Center, which provides a platform for inquiry-based instruction in genetics and molecular biology, and the HSGYM-Biology initiative. Two major demands have been formulated for school biology:
- Evolution should no longer be dealt with as an isolated chapter in the biology curriculum, rather should be treated as the major organizing principle of biology from the very beginning of instruction.
- Core properties of biological systems, including energy use, growth, reproduction, and homeostasis must be taught in an interdisciplinary context of mathematics, chemistry and physics.
Long term goals
Changing classroom practice is a long-term process that needs more than just suggestions. Design studies are a well-established form of cooperation between schools and universities.
Teachers and scientists develop material for classroom practice based on researched scientific understanding on how students learn. This material is then systematically tested and improved in an iterative process. As more schools participate, the reforms conveyed by the material will be further disseminated. This symposium is considered as a starting point for initiating design studies with primary and secondary schools.
You can download the flyer here.
Wichtiger Hinweis:
Diese Website wird in älteren Versionen von Netscape ohne
graphische Elemente dargestellt. Die Funktionalität der
Website ist aber trotzdem gewährleistet. Wenn Sie diese
Website regelmässig benutzen, empfehlen wir Ihnen, auf
Ihrem Computer einen aktuellen Browser zu installieren. Weitere
Informationen finden Sie auf
folgender
Seite.
Important Note:
The content in this site is accessible to any browser or
Internet device, however, some graphics will display correctly
only in the newer versions of Netscape. To get the most out of
our site we suggest you upgrade to a newer browser.
More
information
