Dr. Ebert-May will present a seminar on "New Ways for Scientists to Nurture Scientists" at 3 PM on Friday, October 18, in the Graduate Student Center (ROTC 101). Refreshments will be provided.

Dr. Diane Ebert-May is a Professor in the Department of Plant Biology and Director of the Lyman Briggs School at MSU. She is also the Director of Assessment for the College of Natural Science and the Division of Science and Mathematics Education.

Dr. Ebert-May is the project director for MSU's NSF-sponsored Faculty Institutes for Reforming Science Teaching (FIRST-II) program (run through the Kellogg Biological Station).

She will be meeting with the members of MTU's FIRST II institutional team, consisting of Susan Bagley (Bio. Sci.), Brad Baltensperger (Education), Casey Huckins (Bio. Sci.), Linda Nagel (Forestry), and Jim Schmier (Forestry).

Additional information about Dr. Ebert-May and the FIRST II program can be
found at these websites:

Dept. Plant Biology:
http://www.plantbiology.msu.edu/ebertmay.shtml

FIRST II Program:
http://www.first2.org/

An abstract for her presentation is:

Higher education faculty are responsible for providing all students
meaningful learning experiences through rigorous curricula implemented with first-rate instruction. Although graduate education is often excellent at preparing individuals to design and carry out disciplinary research, it inadequately and haphazardly prepares them to take on the increasingly complex demands of the professoriate, especially the role of educator.

Preparation of future faculty today is neither deliberate nor coherent in anticipating all contemporary faculty responsibilities. Rather, newly
minted doctorates learn to teach science and improve educational practices serendipitously, generally without the consistent mentoring, peer review, or access to accumulated knowledge that build over a sustained program of professional development in the sciences.

Establishment of cooperative academic environments provides a new model for change where the scholarship of science teaching and learning is fully integrated into the professional culture along with discipline-based activities.

Change must begin from within, drawing from the strength of the discipline but relying on the interdisciplinary knowledge base of the social sciences, especially education and cognitive science.

Recognition and rewards for faculty successfully participating in this new academic environment are advocated in a forthcoming report by the National Research Council, by many professional societies, and are currently implemented in several science departments throughout the country.