Meeting Abstract

S10.2  Jan. 7  Why you need the SICB Digital Library: its place in current pedagogy HIEBERT, S.M.; Swarthmore College, Swarthmore PA shieber1@swarthmore.edu

The science education literature, including several recent reports by the National Research Council on the current status of science education, provides insights into how the population of learners has changed in recent decades and how we as science educators can better address their particular strengths and weaknesses. These changes have resulted not only from the rapidly evolving technological environments in which our students have grown up but also from the changing goals and practices of K-12 education, which have created new gaps in science literacy in high school graduates. Simultaneously, the field of science education continues to improve our understanding of the ways in which students learn best, and the ways in which teaching practices can stimulate excitement, engagement, and acquisition of knowledge in the classroom. This presentation will discuss some of these pedagogical issues and the ways in which Digital Library materials are envisioned to address them. The goal of the Digital Library is to allow educators to keep their pedagogy up-to-date in the fields that find a special home in SICB, without having to invest large amounts of time generating all of their own materials and ideas.