
February 2005
Fifth Annual Leadership Initiative in Science Education (LISE) Conference
Discovery in Our Classrooms: Inquiry and the Nature of Science
PHILADELPHIA -- 21 February 2005 -- The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) will hold its fifth annual Leadership Initiative in Science Education (LISE) conference on 27–28 April 2005. The theme for LISE 5 is "Discovery in Our Classrooms: Inquiry and the Nature of Science." The conference, sponsored by CHF and the Dow Chemical Company, will take place at CHF, 315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
LISE 5 will open on 27 April with a three-hour practical inquiry workshop for teachers conducted by Rick Moog, principal investigator for the Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) Project and professor of chemistry at Franklin and Marshall College. Following the workshop, guests can attend a reception and dinner, and then hear the opening address by Norman Lederman, chair of math and science education at the Illinois Institute of Technology and a nationally known speaker on the nature of science.
The second day will feature a plenary address on the importance of inquiry-based learning in science, followed by sessions on the nature of science, training prospective teachers in inquiry, inquiry in informal settings, supporting best practices, and ways to include all students in inquiry-based learning. Speakers include Lawrence Lowery, professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, and principal investigator for the Full Option Science System (FOSS); William McComas, director of the Project to Advance Science Education at the University of Southern California; and Lynn Rankin, director of the Institute for Inquiry at the Exploratorium in San Francisco.
The conference will address the complementary concepts of inquiry and the nature of science. These two concepts are central to achieving science literacy, yet despite their acknowledged importance, they are too often absent from most classroom learning in the United States. LISE 5 will focus on the practical use of inquiry and the nature of science in classrooms by showcasing how they can be used to improve student understanding.
Finally, on 29 April, CHF will host a related conference titled "Universal Design for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education." This follow-up conference will bring together leading experts in universal design (UD) so that they may explore how UD can increase the diversity of people pursuing careers in the STEM field and create a network of parties interested in developing guidelines for the application of UD to STEM education.
There is a registration fee of $40 for the full day of sessions on 28 April. The events of 27 and 29 April are free. Register for all events at www.chemheritage.org (click on "Events and Activities" and then select "April 2005"). Registration deadline is 15 April 2005. If you have questions, contact Don McKinney at 215-873-8266 or at [email protected].