Cory Forbes, associate professor of science education and science literacy coordinator, will present "Discipline-based Education Research on Teaching and Learning in Elementary Science Learning Environments" at 3:30 p.m., Sept. 3 in the Hardin Hall auditorium (room 107). The seminar is free and open to the public.
To develop scientific literacy, elementary students must be supported to engage in scientific practices in the classroom to develop robust knowledge of disciplinary concepts that lay a foundation for lifelong science learning. Forbes' presentation will explore a discipline-based educational research program grounded in three externally-funded research and development projects focused on cultivating conceptually rich and epistemically engaging K-6 science learning environments. Specifically, findings are presented from empirical studies investigating a) 3rd-grade students' model-based reasoning about water systems and b) how elementary teachers’ knowledge of disciplinary content influences instructional practices for science. Implications for K-12 science teaching and learning will be discussed, as well as how such work informs perspectives on discipline-based educational research.
Forbes holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Kansas, in addition to master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan. He joined UNL in September 2013 as part of an IANR hiring initiative, which aims to fill 36 new positions primarily in the areas of science literacy, stress biology, computational sciences, healthy humans and healthy systems for agricultural production and natural resources. Forbes was recently awarded the 2014 Early Career Research Award by the National Association for Research in Science Teaching.
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/h2ci