CSTA logo
California Science Teachers Association California Science Teachers Association California Science Teachers Association California Science Teachers Association California Science Teachers Association

CALIFORNIA SCIENCE EDUCATION CONFERENCE
OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 2, 2008
SAN JOSE CONVENTION CENTER

FOCUS SPEAKERS

Focus Speakers are highly regarded scientists and education experts who present one-hour, in-depth sessions on subjects relevant to science teaching. The Focus Speaker series allows you to expand your understanding in a wide range of critical topics. Focus Speaker sessions are included with your conference registration.

New this year! When available, click on the "Learn More" button to learn more about the presenter by visiting their web site.

Last Updated: 3/27/2008

Bioprocessing: Historical Successes and Future Challenges

Matthew Croughan, George B. and Joy Rathmann Professor, and Director, Amgen Bioprocessing Center, Keck Graduate Institute

The historical success of bioprocessing will be reviewed from ancient beer making to recombinant protein production. The future challenges regarding biofuels, biodefense, and stem cell therapies will be discussed.

Thursday, October 30, 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

 

Ocean pH: Bringing Chemistry to the Public

George Matsumoto, Senior Education and Research Specialist, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

Ocean acidification and the threat to our world's oceans by increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide is not as well publicized or understood by the public. This presentation will focus on current research efforts on this topic as well as efforts by researchers around the world to reframe their research efforts in an attempt to relate better with the public and educators.

Friday, October 31, 8:00 am - 9:00 am

 

Tapping the Talent Pool: Diversity Among Scientists

Gibor Basri, Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion, UC Berkeley

The United States faces an increasing challenge in finding domestic students who will continue our nation's leadership in the sciences. The U.S. population is becoming increasingly diverse compared with the last generation of scientists. Along with the continuing under representation of women (slowly improving), the under representation of people of color is worsening as their demographic representation increases. We cannot afford to lose out on the talent inherent in large swaths of our population. Come and learn about some of the steps that universities are taking in reaction to this ongoing problem.

Friday, October 31, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

 

Increasing Content Learning in Science: A Self-Sustained Approach

Richard D. McCallum, Literacy Specialist, Graduate School of Education, UC Berkeley

Recent efforts at "reform" in science instruction have focused on having science teachers integrate English/language arts as an integral part of their science instruction. The purpose of this presentation is to show how one science department in a moderately sized district was able to reform their approach to content learning while being cognizant of the high-stakes language arts/reading requirements. Lessons and activities from their work will be shared as a way to provide science teachers with a framework for effective reform.

Friday, October 31, 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

 

Using Data to Improve Student Learning in Science: Do We Teach in Light of the Data or in Spite of the Data?

Dennis Fox, Education Consultant, Los Angeles County Office of Education

The purpose of assessing student learning is to provide the science teacher with information he/she can use to determine the degree to which students have mastered the targeted content and to evaluate and adjust instruction to ensure the most effective learning experiences for students. We will discuss user-friendly strategies for using classroom assessment data in science to continuously improve the effectiveness of science instruction.

Friday, October 31, 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

 

Communicating and Illustrating the Complexities of Climate Change

Carol M. Tang, Director, Visitor Interpretive Programs and Research Associate, California Academy of Sciences

In designing educational materials about the science and impacts of climate change, the California Academy of Sciences discovered a lot about learner expectations, how to effectively communicate key points, and how to engage diverse audiences. Our data reinforces the idea that we must reach students and young people in order to make a difference in solving climate change issues in the near future. Gain insights about addressing the critical but complex topic of climate changes in this session.

Saturday, November 1, 8:00 am - 9:00 am

 

Great Experiments with Bugs and Stinky Stuff

Robert Kimsey, Associate Adjunct Professor, Department of Entomology, UC Davis

The biology of forensics currently holds a special fascination for young people, as judged by the number of TV programs on this subject. This presents teachers with a special opportunity to link this fascination with the teaching of biology. A simple carrion decomposition experiment can be used by teachers as an entree to diverse topics in biology and the natural sciences.

Saturday, November 1, 9:30 am - 10:30 am

 

Surprises in the Behavior of Magnetic Nanostructures on Surfaces

Barbara A. Jones, Head, Theoretical and Computational Physics, IBM Almaden Research Center and CPN, Stanford University

When magnetic atoms such as Mn, Fe, or Co are placed on specially constructed surfaces, surprising behavior can occur due to the chemistry of these nanostructures. I will describe these systems, constructed by a scanning tunneling microscope (STM), and our calculations of their various properties which show this interesting chemistry.

Saturday, November 1, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

 

Predicting Ecosystem Response to Global Climate Change

Peter D. Roopnarine, Curator of Geology and Paleontology, California Academy of Sciences

Biological communities and ecosystems are complex systems of interacting species. While we understand to some extent the various impacts of climate change on some species, there is very little knowledge of how ecosystems will respond. Work based upon statistical models and simulations of high diversity, complex communities, as they are disturbed by various physical impacts of climate change, will be presented.

Saturday, November 1, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

 

Learn Physics by Doing Physics

Paul Doherty, Senior Staff Scientist, Exploratorium Teacher Institute

The best way to learn about modern physics is to create and explore hands-on exhibits which display the phenomena of physics. We'll look at some modern inexpensive tools such as laser pointers and light emitting diodes and show how they and other readily available tools can be used to allow interested learners to explore physics. From electricity and magnetism to quantum mechanics, everyone can explore modern physics.

Saturday, November 1, 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm