03/19/2009
A panel of science faculty at SUNY Cortland will discuss "Evolution and Global Warming: Misinformation and the Challenge for Science Education" on Thursday, March 26, in Sperry Center, Room 105.
Sponsored by the student organization Cortland Students Advocating for a Valuable Environment (C-SAVE) and the campus clubs in biology, chemistry, geology, physics and engineering, the discussion will take place from 7-8:30 p.m. The talk is free and open to the public.
Panelists will include Christopher McRoberts, professor of geology; Brice Smith, assistant professor and chair of physics; David Barclay, associate professor of geology; Peter Ducey, professor and chair of biological sciences; and Angela Pagano, assistant professor of biological sciences.
"Science is a process that attempts to explain the natural world through observation and experimentation, with results subject to revision when appropriate," McRoberts asserts. "Despite reform efforts focused on scientific literacy, recent polling data suggest that more than 60 percent of Americans poorly understand the nature of science and lack the ability to evaluate information about scientific issues such as global warming and evolution."
As a result of misunderstandings regarding science, actions by local, state or federal legislatures, school boards and regulatory agencies have threatened science literacy in the U.S. by removing or relaxing standards, adopting curricula containing incorrect or biased content, or by including non-scientific content alongside scientific concepts, Pagano added. The challenge of science education in the U.S. is to make clearer both the methodological basis of science, its factual and theoretical content, and how it can be used to inform decisions in the public sphere.
"An understanding of issues such as global warming, loss of biodiversity and evolution is essential for decision making by an educated citizenry and by their elected representatives," she said.
For more information, contact Smith at (607) 753-2822 or brice.smith@cortland.edu.