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Science Education

Formerly known as European Learning Laboratory for the Life Sciences

Our inspiring educational experiences share the scientific discoveries of EMBL with young learners aged 10-19 years and teachers in Europe and beyond. We belong to EMBL’s Science Education and Public Engagement office.

Seminar: Mind the gap – How teachers can strengthen science learning and empower students

Mind the gap: How teachers can strengthen science learning and empower students

Interactive virtual seminar | Friday 26th March | 15.00–16.15 CET 

How can you, as an educator, strengthen and empower your students’ science learning? Would you like to know how factors like family, school, socio-geographic circumstances affect your student’s science learning attitudes?

Over the past three years we have investigated, in-depth, science learning attitudes of learners across Europe. The effects of the pandemic were also fed into this massive endeavour. Due to the pandemic traditional learning approaches were forced to rapidly evolve to overcome the challenges of distance-learning. This situation exacerbated existing and brought new inequalities to science learning creating a pressing need to focus on equity in science.

This interactive seminar will feature relevant findings of a comprehensive project called, SySTEM 2020 and highlight how formal educators can support equitable science learning practices in their communities. A panel of experts will discuss how to strengthen science learning attitudes followed by a flash workshop on empowering students through ‘Zines’.

The seminar is aimed at formal and non-formal educators and is freely available upon registration.

WHEN: 26th March | 15.00–16.15 CET Please be aware of your time zone
WHERE: Zoom

Agenda  | 15.00–16.15

Details

Panel – Strengthening science learning attitudes through equity (45 min)
Panelists – Eva Durall, Vanessa Mignan Jenkins and Irina Vana
The panelists will discuss the emotional, behavioural and cognitive aspects of science learning and explore the role of formal education in shaping learning attitudes of students. You will learn how you can help foster positive science identities in your classrooms and help your communities develop equitable resources.

Flash workshop – The power of ZINES (pronounced ‘zeens’) (20 min)
Speaker & facilitator – Autumn Brown
You will learn how to use this fantastic tool which can be used to empower students. Zines nurture deep self-reflection and freedom of expression to explore science topics and have been found to be particularly useful in communities made of diverse cultures.

Your takeaways from seminar:

  1. You will be equipped with strategies for supporting equitable science learning in your classrooms and communities
  2. You will get a concrete strategy on how to empower students through the power of Zines
  3. You will get an insight on which factors influence science learning attitudes of young learners between the ages 9-20 yrs across Europe

The speakers and panelists have backgrounds across research and practice in science learning.

Session speakers, panelists and contributors

Autumn Brown (Science Gallery Dublin, Ireland) – PhD researcher exploring how art, science, and society shape one another.
Eva Durall (Aalto, Finland) – Postdoctoral researcher exploring the interactions between learning, technology and participation.
Sophie Perry (Science Gallery Dublin, Ireland) – Research and learning coordinator.
Lisa M. Seebacher (ZSI Austria)  Interdisciplinary trained social scientist.
Vanessa Mignan Jenkins – Independent trainer and consultant with over a decade experience in science engagement.
Irina Vana (ZSI Austria) – Trained as sociologist and social historian.
Shweta Gaikwad (EMBL, Germany) – Ex-molecular biologist turned science educator.

SySTEM2020 project

Learn more about the SySTEM 2020 project which maps the landscape of out-of-school science learning across 19 countries in Europe and Israel on the ELLS project page.

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