Teaching and learning science in U.S. K-12 schools just got more interesting. Working with the National Research Council (NRC), an advisory group of scientists, cutting-edge child education experts, and science teachers have developed the first set of science teaching standards in more than 15 years. This framework for science education offers students and teachers the means to engage with science through more hands-on experiences and includes a section on developing climate literacy, which has not previously been included.
Dr. Michael Wysession, science textbook author and associate professor of earth & planetary sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, served as a member of the NRC's Committee on a Conceptual Framework for New K-12 Science Education Standards, which helped put together the new Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Wysession is the lead-off speaker for the NGSS session at the meeting of The Geological Society of America in Denver this week. In his talk "Earth and Space Science in the Next Generation Science Standards," Wysession will emphasize the significant changes in the NGSS for the teaching of earth and space science.
Wysession says, "The greatest disservice you can do to American students is make them memorize long lists of facts." The new standards take the pressure off students and teachers by making experiential learning the focus, rather than working through a long list of facts. "Jargon is not the focus," he says, while asking questions is fundamental. Each of the eight science and engineering practices, presented in the NGSS, Wyession notes, "begins with a verb." These are 1. Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering); 2. Developing and using models; 3. Planning and carrying out investigations; 4. Analyzing and interpreting data; 5. Using mathematics and computational thinking; 6. Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering); 7. Engaging in argument from evidence; and 8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.
Wysession points out that teachers are now being asked to meet a growing demand: U.S. businesses are calling for a work force that is educated in science and technology. These new standards, and the classroom dynamics that they will help to create, are a huge step forward for both educators and businesses, as well as for students.
Susan M. Buhr-Sullivan of the University of Colorado Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), who will also speak in the kick-off session, writes, "The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) represents the best opportunity for geosciences education since 1996, describing a vision of teaching excellence and placing Earth and space science on a par with other disciplines."
Read More: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131027123419.htm
Sorry, guys, life doesn't begin at 40 any more! Most men now only feel settled at 54
The famous saying 'life begins at 40' doesn't now ring true for most men, if a recent survey is anything to go by.
According to new research, life begins at 54 for most men - that's the age of Simon Cowell, Hugh Laurie and Kevin Spacey.
The main reasons that men believe their life begins later are financial pressures and the trend towards late fatherhood.
Traditionally, 40 was the age when men were finally able to enjoy life as a 'real adult'.
When a man reached 40 he was supposed to have left behind the insecurities of his 20s and 30s and achieved a level of financial stability.
In the past, his children would have reached an age where they were approaching self-sufficiency.
But the average age of a first-time father has shot up to 32 - with two-thirds of babies in the UK born to fathers over the age of 30.
The survey looked at the top insecurities that have lead to men not feeling settled until they are 54 - just 11 years off the retirement age of 65.
Top of the list of insecurities was the fear that they will never be able to pay for their home.
The second biggest body insecurity for men is losing their hair, the third biggest fear is losing their job and the fourth is not being in a settled relationship.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2478374/Sorry-guys-life-doesnt-begin-40-Most-men-feel-settled-54-Simon-Cowell.html#ixzz2j2hoj4He
The discovery of antibiotics in 1928 by Professor Alexander Fleming revolutionized medicine, allowing doctors to treat hundreds of millions of people suffering from illnesses that had been considered terminal for centuries.
But now the tides have turned as medicine and lifestyles have changed dramatically.
We've reached the end of antibiotics': Top CDC expert declares that 'miracle drugs' that have saved millions are no match against 'superbugs' because people have overmedicated themselves
A high-ranking official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared in an interview with PBS that the age of antibiotics has come to an end.
'For a long time, there have been newspaper stories and covers of magazines that talked about "The end of antibiotics, question mark?"' said Dr Arjun Srinivasan. 'Well, now I would say you can change the title to "The end of antibiotics, period.”'
The associate director of the CDC sat down with Frontline over the summer for a lengthy interview about the growing problem of antibacterial resistance.
Srinivasan, who is also featured in a Frontline report called 'Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria,' which aired Tuesday, said that both humans and livestock have been overmedicated to such a degree that bacteria are now resistant to antibiotics.
‘We're in the post-antibiotic era,' he said. 'There are patients for whom we have no therapy, and we are literally in a position of having a patient in a bed who has an infection, something that five years ago even we could have treated, but now we can’t.’.
Dr Srinivasan offered an example of this notion, citing the recent case of three Tampa Bay Buccaneers players who made headlines after reportedly contracting potentially deadly MRSA infections, which until recently were largely restricted to hospitals.
About 10 years ago, however, the CDC official began seeing outbreaks of different kinds of MRSA infections in schools and gyms.
‘In hospitals, when you see MRSA infections, you oftentimes see that in patients who have a catheter in their blood, and that creates an opportunity for MRSA to get into their bloodstream,’ he said.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2477273/Weve-reached-end-antibiotics-Top-CDC-expert-declares-miracle-drugs-saved-millions-match-superbugs-people-overmedicated-themselves.html#ixzz2iqkc6JJE
Snacking has become something of a national pastime, with an estimated 97 per cent of people munching their way through at least one snack a day.
While this habit may keep hunger at bay, it's fuelling an obesity epidemic.
Now new American research may hold the answer - munching on almonds can reduce hunger without increasing weight.
Researchers at Purdue University, in Indiana, found that eating 1.5oz of dry-roasted, lightly salted almonds every day reduced volunteers’ hunger, improved their Vitamin E levels and ‘good’ fat intake, and did not cause them to pile on the pounds.
1.50z of almonds is equivalent to 43g or around 30 individual nuts.
The researchers conducted a four-week trial to investigate the effects of eating almonds on weight and appetite.
The study included 137 adults at increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
The participants were divided into five groups - a control group that avoided all nuts and seeds, a group that ate 1.5oz of almonds at breakfast and one that ate the nuts at lunch.
There was also a group that snacked on them in the morning, and one that ate them in the afternoon.
The volunteers were not given any other rules other than to follow their usual eating patterns and physical activity.
The results showed that even though they were eating approximately 250 calories a day in the form of the almonds, they did not eat any more calories overall.
‘This research suggests that almonds may be a good snack option, especially for those concerned about weight,’ said Dr Richard Mattes, professor of nutrition science at Purdue University and the study's lead author.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2476628/Always-hungry-Eating-30-almonds-day-reduces-hunger-pangs-doesnt-cause-weight-gain.html#ixzz2ikfiK8wW
