Helping teachers and students learn to engage in science authentically
What Is Idealized Science?
Idealized Science is a framework that enables students to participate in authentic scientific practice. We believe that all students, regardless of their demographic, can develop the habits and dispositions of scientists through this framework.
Historical Origins
The above image pays homage to Dialogo, Galileo’s seminal work showing how science progresses through dialogue. Critique through discourse is a core tenet of the Idealized Science framework.
The Problem
Despite broad consensus in educational research communities, contemporary science education remains:
Overly-dependent upon sanitized resources (textbooks, simulations, cookie-cutter labs)
Convinced that quality education requires sophisticated and expensive materials
Primarily teacher-led, failing to sufficiently engage students in authentic science practices
Our Solution
While there is no singular solution to these problems, the Idealized Science Institute aims to transform education through our offerings (summarized to the left), including:
Enabling teachers to attend, or run, authentic science conferences at the high school level
Providing detailed training videos designed to foster productive scientific dialogue
Free or low-cost teacher-friendly educational materials
The Idealized Science podcast, which distills educational research for high school teachers
The Key
“Long-terms” are original research projects carried out by students in which they:
Conceive of an original idea and formulate claims
Design and build experimental apparatuses
Collect, analyze, and represent data
Present their work and receive critiques from the instructor and, more importantly, their scientific peers
All in an iterative fashion culminating in a presentation at a Science Conference at High School
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Stay up to date on exciting developments from the ISI! For any questions, please contact:
Brian M. Wargo, President and co-founder
bwargo@idealizedscience.org
Jacob Beckey, Vice-president and co-founder
jbeckey@idealizedscience.org