Gov. Gary Locke will visit Washington State University Vancouver today (March 22) to dedicate the university’s new Engineering and Science Institute. The ceremony will be held from 10:30-11:30 a.m. in the Engineering Life Sciences Building on the WSU Vancouver campus. WSU Vancouver Chancellor Hal Dengerink, Clark College President Wayne Branch, Lower Columbia College President Jim McLoughlin and Columbia River Economic Development Council President Bart Phillips will join the governor. For more details, see https://wsunews.wsu.edu/detail.asp?StoryID=4441
The Ninth Annual Women and Leadership Forum “Choosing to Lead” will be held March 24-25 on the Washington State University campus. Donna Shavlik, a former senior fellow with the American Council on Education, will give this year’s keynote address. Shavlik’s address will be at 7:30 p.m. March 24 in the Samuel H. Smith Center for Undergraduate Education, Room 203. For further information, see https://wsunews.wsu.edu/detail.asp?StoryID=4423
Academic Showcase, part of a two-day event highlighting WSU’s outstanding programs, will be held from 8-10 a.m. Friday, March 26 in the Compton Union Building’s Carey Ballroom. Academic Showcase will feature faculty research as well as work by undergraduate and graduate students and will be an opportunity for members of the university community to network with colleagues and learn about cutting-edge research and programs. The public also is invited to see the latest in WSU research. For more on all of Friday’s and Saturday’s events, see https://wsunews.wsu.edu/detail.asp?StoryID=4448
In the news
Overcoming science fears: When teachers are intimidated by teaching science, students develop the same feelings about learning it. Lynda Paznokas, an associate professor at WSU’s College of Education, was named the Washington State Teachers Association Higher Education Science Teacher of 2003. She said that elementary education majors often fear their science content and methods courses, which can lead to fear of teaching science. That continues in their own classrooms. Meanwhile, children start school very interested in science and the world around them. Students’ dislike of science can develop over time, however, as a result of the way they are taught. Paznokas gives pre-service teachers a survey that asks: During the times you felt most successful in science courses, what accounted for that feeling? The leading responses? A hands-on approach to learning, assignments and instructions that were understandable, relevant topic of study, willingness of the professor to help, enthusiasm of the professor and use of visual aids. Paznokas hopes that when prospective teachers recognize what has helped them succeed, they will apply those lessons in their own classrooms. Paznokas is available at 509.335-0987 or lpaznokas@wsu.edu.
