Hi Dan,
The
"On the Cosmic Horizon" talk is something that I pitch to
the general public; while faculty might enjoy it, they are unlikely to
learn anything new from it. For the department seminar, my talk is on
"Strategies for Teaching Science." I've put a full abstract
at the end of this e-mail. A couple of related notes:
* The Strategies talk for the department uses examples
drawn primarily from physics and astronomy, but the same ideas apply
equally well across all the natural sciences. As a result, some of the
other schools where I've given the talk have invited colleagues from
other science departments. While this has the slight drawback of
increasing the audience size, I've also found it tends to spur more
interesting discussion as people from different departments can relate
their experiences to each other.
* Please don't feel any obligation to set-up a public
talk! It's just something I like to offer if you are interested. If
you decide you DO want me to do one, it's best to schedule it for the
evening, say 7 or 8 pm. I usually recommend a fairly large classroom,
as in some places where I've done the talk I've drawn upwards of 200
people; the audience size depends largely on the advertising, which
generally consists of nothing more than a press release to the local
newspaper (which I can help you with) and telling students in the
astronomy classes...
* If you wish, I can also do the On the Cosmic Horizon
talk as a guest lecture in a class...
Thanks.
Jeff
----------------------
Titles/abstracts: First I've put the info for the department
talk, followed by an abstract for a public talk.
TALK FOR THE DEPARTMENT
Title: Strategies
for Teaching Science
Abstract:
No matter whether you are teaching school children,
undergraduates, or colleagues, a few key strategies are always useful.
After an introduction on teaching philosophy, I will discuss five key
strategies for teaching science, with examples (drawn primarily from
astronomy and physics):
(1) Provide a
Contextual Framework: It is much easier to learn new facts or concepts
if they can be "binned" into a pre-existing mental framework
that gives a broad context for the detailed study to be
undertaken.
(2) Create
Conditions for Conceptual Change: Many people hold misconceptions
about scientific ideas. Therefore we cannot teach them the correct
ideas unless we first help them unlearn their prior
misconceptions.
(3) Make the
Material Relevant: It's human nature to be more interested in subjects
that seem relevant to our lives. Therefore we must show students the
many connections between science and their personal
concerns.
(4) Limit Use
of Jargon: The number of new terms in many introductory science books
is larger than the number of words taught in many first courses in
foreign language, which is a clear recipe for failure. We must find
ways to replace jargon with plain language.
(5) Challenge
Your Students: Don't dumb your teaching down; by and large, students
will rise to meet your expectations, as long as you follow the other
strategies and practice good teaching.
Note: This talk is
based in large part on my article Strategies for Teaching Astronomy
in Mercury, Nov/Dec 1999.
Brief Biography:
Jeff Bennett
received his Ph.D in astrophysics from the University of Colorado in
1987. He has taught more than 50 college courses in astronomy,
physics, mathematics, and education. He is the author of college-level
textbooks in astronomy, mathematics, statistics, and astrobiology. He
has also published one book for the general public (On the Cosmic
Horizon, Addison Wesley, 2001) and a science book for children
(Max Goes to the Moon, Big Kid Science, 2003). He proposed the
idea for and served as a co-Principal Investigator for the
Voyage Scale Model Solar System, which opened in October 2001 on
the National Mall in Washington, DC.
TALK FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC
Title: On the Cosmic Horizon: Ten Great
Mysteries for Third Millennium Astronomy
Abstract:
Do you enjoy the
astronomical headlines, but wonder what they really mean? Astronomer
and author Jeffrey Bennett will help you put it all into context with
his personal "Top 10" list of the biggest mysteries in
astronomy today. He'll explain how the Hubble Space Telescope and
other astronomical observatories are helping us seek answers to these
mysteries. He'll also discuss how past astronomical discoveries have
changed our perceptions of ourselves as a species and what future
discoveries may mean to us and our planet. By the end of this talk and
slide show, you should be much better prepared to understand the
astronomical headlines likely to dominate the news over the next ten
years. This talk does not assume any prior background in astronomy.
(Children are welcome; those over about age 10 should be able to
understand most of the talk, and younger children will still enjoy the
pictures.)
--
Jeffrey Bennett
jbennett@casa.colorado.edu
http://www.jeffreybennett.com