Science dean honored as national leadership fellow in science and civic engagement
Janel Shoun |
“We in the National Fellowship Board and the National Center have the highest hopes and expectations for the success of Ben’s efforts and look forward to having the benefit of his advice and counsel as we plan for the future,” said David Burns, the executive director of the NCSCE.
As part of Lipscomb’s ongoing efforts to provide the best possible general education foundation for freshmen and sophomores, science faculty have often discussed the possibility of a general science course that would span multiple scientific disciplines, said Jim Arnett, professor of biology, who will be team-teaching the prototype general science course this fall with Linda Phipps, associate professor of chemistry.
In 2007 the science college discovered Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER), an NCSCE program based in Pennsylvania, which emphasizes learning science principles through community engagement. Hutchinson and many of the faculty felt that SENCER would be a good fit to kick-start an integrated science course for general education, Arnett said.
Hutchinson led a team of four science and education professors and one student to attend the 2007 SENCER Summer Institute, held by the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement. Hutchinson’s team proposed an inter-disciplinary, general science course in which students would work in teams to test the water quality of the Harpeth River in Middle Tennessee. In November 2007, Lipscomb was awarded a grant from the SENCER program to pursue developing the general education science courses incorporating civic engagement.
This fall’s prototype general science course will provide plenty of hands-on learning opportunities paired with exploration of community issues relevant to daily life, Arnett said. For example, students will discuss global climate change and conduct laboratory experiments to demonstrate the scientific principles behind the controversial subject. Students will discuss another hot topic in the news -- antibiotic resistant bacteria -- and bring in samples to the lab to test the phenomenon.
“Serving as the leader of Lipscomb’s SENCER team, Dean Hutchinson used his experience at the SENCER Summer Institute to help develop an impressive transdiciplinary course sequence for general education students,” said David Ferguson, distinguished service professor of Stony Brook University and chair of the SENCER National Fellowship Board. “As a result, two new courses targeted to the needs of education majors and those not intending to major in science fields have already been approved. He is a powerful advocate for service learning – a pedagogy that fosters intellectual achievement and produces civic benefits.”
Only one section of the interdisciplinary general science courses will be offered in the 2008-09 school year as an experiment, Arnett said. Then faculty will evaluate how successful the courses were and determine whether to incorporate more SENCER ideals in the science curriculum.
“As a SENCER Leadership Fellow, Ben plans to support faculty colleagues who are developing SENCER courses at all levels and to work to expand partnerships with other institutions in Middle Tennessee to design science-education projects focused on regional issues,” said Ferguson.
According to the NCSCE, a Leadership Fellow’s responsibilities include promoting the SENCER ideals in undergraduate science education, guiding the development of at least one SENCER project, engaging and mentoring other faculty and connecting with and supporting regional activities.
The NCSCE is a research center affiliated with Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Pennsylvania and supported by the National Science.
SENCER stimulates student engagement in science and mathematics through courses and programs focused on real world problems. This method extends the impact of student learning across the curriculum to the broader community and society.