Just like scientific findings themselves, the processes by which scientists communicate within their communities and with others can be nebulous. Historically and today, academic scientists have developed a contentious relationship with public communication of their work (e.g., books, news, social media, etc.), which has been perceived by other scientists as a sign of questionable scientific… Read more »
Tag: science education
The process of science and politics and the risks to education
As recently as Thursday of last week, two different versions of a tax reform bill were working their way through a reconciliation committee comprised of House Representatives and Senators. The House version of the tax reform bill had called for changes to the tax code that would have dramatically affected the personal finances of graduate… Read more »
FoREM: Bringing modern research to the physics classroom
The author is ScIU guest writer Corrine Deegan, a graduate student in IU’s Department of Physics. What do you remember the most from your pre-college physics lessons? Perhaps you learned something about how every action has an equal and opposite reaction, or perhaps you were lucky enough to be shocked by a Van der Graaf generator. Upon… Read more »
What are scientific facts?
Whether it’s the “alternative facts” from politicians or the “fake news” from the media, facts are at the fore. While they can’t agree on much else, politicians, pundits, and the public do agree (mostly) about facts: facts are separate from fictions, they are reliable and authoritative, and, most importantly, they have something to do with… Read more »
How to get the best instruction for you
There is a dizzying array of things to think about when signing up for classes and again later when you’re thinking about what to keep the first week of classes. You may have to consider requirements for your major or for the Common Ground and Shared Goals curricula at IU. You may try to sign up… Read more »
The smell of chemistry
Chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven. Your grandmother’s perfume. Newly cut grass. Each of the listed descriptions is extremely different but can be linked together by one fundamental thread–smell. Smell or olfaction is an essential sense in everyday life that helps guide what we eat and how we perceive the world around us. It… Read more »
Makerspaces and their growing role in STEM education
As a young child, years before the first Harry Potter book was published, I sat at my mother’s kitchen table mixing together anything I could find into a tall glass and calling it a potion. Now, this was just pure imagination and I’m sure that none of my concoctions were palatable, possibly even so bad… Read more »