We've put a man on the moon, a personal computer in almost every home and new organs in people whose original tissue has failed. In transportation, energy development, manufacturing, healthcare, information technology, agriculture and virtually every industry, scientists in this country have made discoveries that changed lives for the better around the world. ISB is committed to ensuring that today's students continue on the path of discovery and innovation that has made the United States a global leader.
That commitment is demonstrated in the form of ISB's Center for Inquiry Science (CIS) Celebrating Science guide, which The National Academies and the Smithsonian Institution have selected to help parents and communities support students in a national effort to improve science education.
"An emerging body of research indicates that inquiry-based science programs are effective at improving the learning and teaching of science," said Arlene Elrod, the individual responsible for managing National Science Resources Center (NSRC) Strategic Planning Institute sessions. "CIS's Celebrating Science provides clear direction for engaging families - an often forgotten resource in the community - in science education for K-12 students.
"The NSRC has found this guide to be a valuable resource to share with leadership teams beginning the science education reform journey," Elrod said. The NSRC is a program of the National Academies and the Smithsonian Institution and the Strategic Planning Institute helps school district leaders learn how to implement effective and inquiry-based science education reform.
The Family Science Project and related follow-up programs have reached more than 24,000 family members through Family Science events in the Puget Sound region. Family members, teachers, principals, school district leaders, informal science educators, out-of-school time educators, business leaders and scientists made this success possible, and the process for engaging those audiences can be found in the Celebrating Science guide.
"In our programming we often encounter people who have heard and understand the arguments for improving K-12 science education, but are unclear in how to get involved or make it happen," said Dana Riley-Black, executive director of CIS. "The Celebrating Science guide gives them the information they need to support science education programs for students and future employees." The guide provides teachers, parents and community leaders with step-by-step instructions for building and maintaining family science programs and inquiry-based activities for students and families.
Hard copies of the Celebrating Science guide, can be obtained free of charge by contacting . Online versions can be accessed at http://projects.systemsbiology.net/ celebratingscience.
Reviewing gene expression profiles (top left) Innate Immune Database
The database homepage (bottom)
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