story telling

Brain, Education, and Inquiry

Bryn Mawr College, Fall 2010

Session 3

Class is itself an experiment in a particular form of education: co-constructive inquiry

Learning by interacting, sharing observations and understandings to create, individually and collectively, new understandings and new questions that motivate new observations

Biology in Society Senior Seminar

Bryn Mawr College, Fall 2010

Session 3:
"She's a woman": "Fact" or ... ?

• Are "woman" and "man" well-defined discrete categories?
• Should we try and make them so?
• Is biology relevant to such a discussion?
• What does biology have to say?  How should it contribute?

Some thoughts from last session

Brain, Education, and Inquiry

Bryn Mawr College, Fall 2010

Session 2

Class is itself an experiment in a particular form of education: co-constructive inquiry

Learning by interacting, sharing observations and understandings to create, individually and collectively, new understandings and new questions that motivate new observations

Hi Everyone,

Brain, Education, and Inquiry

Bryn Mawr College, Fall 2010

Session 1

Class is itself an experiment in a particular form of education: co-constructive inquiry

Learning by interacting, sharing observations and understandings to create, individually and collectively, new understandings and new questions that motivate new observations

Biology in Society Senior Seminar

Bryn Mawr College, Fall 2010

Sessions 1,2: Science and Culture/Values

• Is biology/science "objective", value-free, culture-independent, universal?
• Should it be?
• Is there a distinctive biology/science culture? set of values?
• Should there be? 

BBC News Hour 26 August (1300 GMT) segment on medicine and religion 44:01-49:30)

Brain, Education, and Inquiry

Bryn Mawr College, Fall 2010

Course Resource List

This list is an idiosyncratic sampling of materials on the web and elsewhere.  Suggestions for additions to this list are welcome in the on-line forum at the bottom of the page.  

General Serendip resources

Brain, Education, and Inquiry

Bryn Mawr College, Fall 2010

Course Organization

Learning objectives:

Brain, Education, and Inquiry

Bryn Mawr College, Fall 2010

A discussion of intersections between the neural and cognitive sciences and the theory and practice of education.  In addition to in class conversation,  students will participate in on-line forum discussion of papers on this general subject, lead discussions and write web papers on topics of particular interest to themselves.  Others are welcome to join in the conversation by way of background readings and on-line forums associated with each class session (see schedule below), and via the on-line forum at the end of this page.  

Biology in Society Senior Seminar

Bryn Mawr College, Fall 2010

A discussion of the nature of biology, and science in general, and of their reciprocal relationships to broader social and cultural activities.  In addition to in class conversation,  students will participate in on-line forum discussion of papers on this general subject, lead discussions and write web papers on topics of particular interest to themselves, and write a senior paper on one such topic that will also appear on-line.  Others are welcome to join in the conversation by way of background readings and on-line forums.