Science Debate 2012: Education
The leading U.S. science and engineering organizations developed a list of 14 science policy questions facing the U.S. in 2012. You can read these questions–and the Presidential candidates’ answers–at ScienceDebate.org. For each of the Science Debate 2012 questions, we’re going to provide you a selection of the authoritative and unbiased resources of the National Academies to [...]
Happy National Teacher’s Day!
To celebrate National Education Week, we created a list of recommended books and resources to teach climate change. Check out these top titles from NAP, climate change videos, and information from the Division on Earth and Life Studies.
Inspire a Scientist: Twelve Resources to Promote Science
A new report from the Council on Foreign Relations reaffirms the importance of science education for the future of our nation. The National Academy of Sciences has developed resources to inspire future scientists and engineers, and expand the public’s interest in science in general . All of this media is free and is intended to [...]
Take 5: Top Gifts for K-12 Educators
Got educators on your holiday shopping list? Take five and check out our top gift ideas. NAP books and merchandise make thoughtful gifts for thinking people. Successful K-12 STEM Education: Identifying Effective Approaches in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (STEM) are fundamental aspects of everyone’s lives as citizens, consumers, parents, [...]
Promoting Minority Participation in Science and Technology Careers: Keeping America Innovative and Competitive
The U.S. labor market is projected to grow faster in science and engineering than in any other sector in the coming years. Minorities are the fastest growing groups of the population but have the least amount of representation in these fields. This is especially true of underrepresented minorities—including African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans— who [...]
The Nation’s Science Report Card: Perspectives from the Board on Science Education
On the National Assessment of Educational Progress 2009 Science Report Card released last Tuesday, the United States received an overall grade of “needs improvement.” The test, which measures science proficiency, was administered to 4th, 8th, and 12th graders and underscores one of the major focal points of President Obama’s State of the Union address: the [...]
New Report States Smoking and Obesity Shrink U.S. Lifespans
A new report released Tuesday says that the nation’s history of heavy smoking is a major reason why lifespans in the U.S. fall short of those in many other high-income nations, and evidence suggests that current obesity levels also play a substantial part. According to Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries, three to [...]
Living in a Food Desert: How Lack of Access to Healthy Foods Can Affect Public Health
Need to run to the grocery store? For some of us, this is relatively easy because we probably live fairly close to one. For others, a trip to a grocery store represents a significant transportation challenge. In the United States, “food deserts”, neighborhoods and communities that have limited access to affordable and nutritious foods, tend [...]
DNA Testing: From the Doctor’s Office to the Drugstore
The Human Genome Project, completed in 2003, identified the genes that make up human DNA. Major advances in genomic technologies in the early 21st century have helped to increase dramatically the number of genes identified as playing a role in a variety of common disorders. Genetic or genomic testing can be used to guide medical [...]
Perspectives on the PISA Test Results from the Board on Science Education
The performance of U.S. students in science has been in the news this week, as we ranked 23rd in an international standardized assessment given to 15 year-olds in schools. We asked Martin Storksdieck, the director of the National Research Council Board on Science Education, for his perspective. On December 7th the results of the largest [...]
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