In July I wrote a post entitled God and Science which was prompted by Francis Collins book, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence of Belief. Collins, a Christian, outlines how a scientist-believer can integrate science and faith.
Now Time Magazine has interviewed Dr. Collins and Richard Dawkins. Collins is Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute and Dawkins is Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science, Oxford University.… Read more
Tuesday’s vote in the State School Board elections in Kansas resulted in the ouster of the conservative majority which favored putting evolution under review (and only evolution—no other science concepts and ideas need such critical reveiw).
According to observers of this election, and the ongoing debate between evolution and intelligent design, this was another major defeat for proponents of intelligent design.… Read more
Yes, Kansas is back in the news again regarding the nature of science, evolution, and the Kansas State School Board. Elections for half of the seats on the board are next Tuesday. In a New York Times article, Evolution’s Backers in Kansas Start Counterattack, a contentious election is being played out among the 16 candidates for the five seats that are open.… Read more
I wanted to write about our nations obsession with testing the daylights out of students in our schools, K-12 about a week ago, but got side-tracked by writing about climate change! Go figure. The State of Georgia released the results of its state-wide testing program, and the results showed that more than 25% of Georgia’s school population could be retained in the Fall (06) if they don’t pass the re-test that will be given this summer—of course the state invites the kids to “summer school” to get ready for the test.… Read more
A former evolutionary-biologist turned filmaker has created a new film entitled Flock of Dodos-The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus. According to the New York Times article, “the biologist, Randy Olson, accepts that there is no credible scientific challenge to the theory of evolution as an explanation for the diversity and complexity of life on earth. He agrees that intelligent design’s embrace of a supernatural “agent” puts it outside the realm of science.”
The film he has produced (not his first—he left the biology department at the University of New Hampshire and received a degree in filmaking from the University of Southern California) does not attack intelligent design, but instead challenges scientists to explain evolution in everyday language—something the scientists in the film have great difficulty doing.… Read more
As I reported in the previous posting, a recent study entitled Clergy views on evolution, creationism, science, and religion published in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Volume: 43, Issue: 4, Pages: 419-442 reported very interesting findings that science teachers, parents, and students might benefit from.
The authors used qualitative (indepth interviews) and quantitative (a survey instrument) methods in their study.… Read more
A recent study, published in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching (Vol. 43, 2006) reports findings relevant to this blog’s discussion and comments on evolution, creationism, and intelligent design. The abstract is as follows:
“Spurred by students who felt conflicted accepting evolution and the tenets of their faiths, yet knowing their faiths supported science and evolution, we began a study to determine the views clergy espouse on issues related to evolution, creationism, science, and religion.… Read more
The Art of Teaching Science is the personal blog of Jack Hassard. I am a writer, a former high school science teacher and Professor Emeritus of Science Education, Georgia State University. The blog reflects my opinions on science education and issues related to educational reform from a progressive science and education philosophy.
