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Archive for the ‘Science’ Category

Education for sustainable development is a relatively new field of education. Can be seen an as  kind of innovative educational future to connect schools child development future challenges of society. I do not think that education for sustainable development is the key word forgotten in recent years. In a global perspective and a local perspective we should direct education towards what would be really helpful for all children and for every society in the future. To have a good life should be accessible to all children wherever they are born. In too many parts of society and the world’s children grow up in a dangerous environment with a very bad state for basic needs and bleak prospects for the future. ESD comes from the Brundtland Report focuses on Sustainable Development (SD).

States are in varying stages of developing their NCLB science assessments. Typically, states contract with assessment companies which have a history of producing standardized, norm referenced tests, e.g., the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), the Tera Nova, the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-9, SAT-10).

These new NCLB science tests must include either criterion-referenced assessments or augmented norm-referenced assessments, or both. The world of the standardized, multiple-choice, norm referenced test is disappearing as standards-aligned, criterion-referenced tests emerge.

Because many states’ science standards include science inquiry and science process skills that are difficult to assess with conventional multiple-choice questions, more and more science assessments are taking on a different format and look. To assess a student’s skills, students must “perform”.

Recent breakthroughs in science have opened the door to a whole new realm of possibilities. From cloning and stem cell research to decoding the human genome, the potential for regrowing limbs, curing diseases and restoring sight are just some of the implications. Although skeptics may be quick to criticize, the potential for helping mankind far outweighs the risk.

You see it all the time. A new movie comes out and suddenly the world is being taken over by robots. It’s this constant portrayal of worst case scenarios that causes people to fear science more than they praise it. Perhaps the most disconcerting is the thought that it is now possible to conjure up life in a petri dish. While it may not seem like this is in our best interest, understanding what is driving the research is important to calming fears.