Fwd: [The Brights] Brighten Op - Teaching Sound Science Poster Project (PILOT)

[Dr. Sharada]

Dear friends,

 

Enclosed a link to an interesting poster for teaching evolution, the origin of the universe and geological history.

 

Some of you may also not have heard of this organisation and may like to explore their website.

 

Sharada

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Paul Geisert and Mynga Futrell <the-b...@the-brights.net>
Date: 29 December 2010 09:06
Subject: [The Brights] Brighten Op - Teaching Sound Science Poster Project (PILOT)
To: shara...@gmail.com

Fellow Bright,

 

Infrequent "BrightenOp" messages invite you, as an individual, to take a timely action.  Whether to act on a Brighten Op (and if so how), is something each Bright decides on his/her own. Brighten Ops will generally relate to something of currency and require quick action to be effective.

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"Turn up the Brightness!" Announcement:

 

Current Initiative -- Here is an opportunity for our Brights’ action group to make a real difference in high school science teaching! Help us to kick off this pilot project to send a pictorial narrative of evolutionary change to classroom teachers that will help as they endeavor to do a better job giving students an authentic understanding of evolution!

 

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Dear Brights Action Group member:

 

The Brights’ Net is pleased to let you know that your SIG (some time ago, you registered as a participant) has an opportunity to make a significant impact on a large number of science teachers and their students.

 

Brights Central has developed a project directed toward the much abused scientific subject of evolution. If you have concerns about the amount and quality of science education, this is an opportunity to stimulate and upgrade teaching about evolution.

 

BC has laid the groundwork, but now needs funding to enable us to forge ahead and expand the project.

 

Currently, we are inviting only members of this SIG to support a pilot endeavor, with initial focus being USA schools, which confront great and growing challenges to the teaching of evolution. (If we find we are able to develop a sufficiently solid base of action in American schools, we will be able to grow this pilot activity into activities in as many other nations as possible.)

 

The plan is to begin providing a unique and high quality evolution teaching resource FREE to pre-college science teachers who will commit to use it to teach about evolution.

 

There are now 800 SIG members who say they care about science education. Here is a chance for each and every one of you to take a concrete and worthy step backing sound science. Your action (now) can enable more Brights (later) to begin to be recognized as manifestly furthering the teaching of evolution in science classrooms.

 

The Possibilities -- How many classrooms will reap the rewards? That is up to you and other Brights. By supporting this project, you can make a real difference in American schools. Yes - you can!

 

A teacher in a typical high school science classroom may be able to influence up to 150 students a day by the information presented (which includes evolution as well as the historical timeline of the physical evolution of planet earth). The more posters Brights can provide, the more schools and students we can influence.

 

Brights Central needs your financial support to gear up for the initial printing and distributing to teachers. The poster contains copyrighted material and cannot be sold, but you can help provide donated posters to active high school science teachers.

 

For teachers, there is the accuracy of a well designed and vetted poster. For students, there is the rather large “Wow! Factor” of a chart that extends over five feet and provides colorful information on animals, plants, humanity, as well as a timeline of history! It will make a big impression in any classroom.

 

The Request -- Your donation can have double the impact, too! Please donate to this project to enable BC to print and distribute the first batch of posters. Thanks to a generous donor, we are able to match SIG donations up to US$3500 and that will almost reach the requisite amount ($7200) for supplying to 400 teachers (possibly up to sixty thousand youngsters).

 

Earmark a donation (any amount) to The Brights’ Net via PayPal or send a check to The Brights Net, P O Box 163418, Sacramento California 95916). Say “Evolution Poster Project” to distinguish this donation from a general donation. Note: Links to all donation pathways are on the website, in the "Support the Brights" section.

 

For more information on this project, please see “Background to the Request” (below)

 

Thanking you in advance,

 

Mynga Futrell

Brights’ Net Classroom Poster Project

 

PS -- It seems perplexing, but our arrangements with the originators of the poster do NOT allow our selling the poster to any interested buyer. In short, the pictorial has copyrighted material restricting its use. We have to abide by the restrictions. Although the developers do not permit the pictorial matter to be sold, they do firmly support the concept of giving high school science educators access for using it as a classroom teaching tool.

 

PPS -- If you would like to give a significant donation to be used to enhance our initial matching grant, please communicate directly with Dr. Futrell by emailing her at TheBri...@aol.com

 

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Background to the Request -- Brights Central has arranged permissions for the printing of a superb classroom wall poster entitled, Earth and Life: changes over time. The pictorial portrays the sweep of evolutionary change, both physical and biological.  The high quality images permit printing of an over 5-foot wide classroom wall poster.

 

Developed by faculty at Kankakee Community College, the draft pictorial has undergone review by two different USA groups - the National Science Teachers Association and the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, and is now being evaluated for classroom use by 50 classroom teachers who attended the National Association of Biology Teachers annual convention. Based on early feedback from the sets of reviewers (and also some Brights who viewed it), we have executed some revisions to further improve the draft chart, the uniqueness of which has been lauded by almost all who have seen it.

 

NOTE: The revised poster will display the Brights’ logo and URL, and gives credit as follows:

 

“Disseminated free to teachers as an educational service in support of sound science education, by the The Brights’ Net”

 

We are planning for free poster distribution to teachers according to a set protocol that abides by the developers’ agreement. The cost of printing a single full color poster is $40, but printing as many as 400 posters reduces the price to a manageable $15 each (a thousand posters would be even less expensive).  Additionally, there are shipping costs.

 

Please help make evolution better come alive in the classroom of every interested science teacher who wants to implement it and help their students to better comprehend how evolutionary changes have been happening on earth.

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 illuminating and elevating the naturalistic worldview

openness/visibility - constructive engagement - civic participation

 

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[Vijay Prakash]

The poster really looks great and interactive.
Thanks for sharing!
Regards,
Vijay