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Pamela Harman
The theme of evolutionary change is evident throughout contemporary science. Everything changes – from the cosmos, to our planet, life, and even human technologies. As the SETI Institute’s Education and Outreach Manager, Pamela Harman introduces teachers to the Institute’s innovative high school science curriculum, Voyages Through Time, constructed around the framework of evolutionary change. Evolution offers scienctific explanations for the age-old question, “How did we get here?” In Voyages Through Time, students learn that the complexity of the universe and life will never reveal a finished story. Instead, they discover that science is a process for advancing our understanding of the natural world, not a set of final answers.
“Educating and exciting the next generation of science researchers is important,” she emphasizes. “There must be effort made to improve science education in the face of the changing role of media in everyday life, as well as the challenges of disequal funding systems and economic downturn.” For Harman, this means extensive educational outreach and professional development for science teachers. “We exhibit at science teacher conferences, conduct short courses and workshops, conduct a week-long astrobiology summer institute for high school teachers, and distribute a quarterly electronic newsletter,” she explains. From the outset of Voyages Through Time, students and teachers grapple with issues and methods essential to understanding the nature and prevalence of life in the universe. “We bring the nature of science,” Harman says, “to the classroom, so that students see science as a great, incomplete adventure. The adventure begins with the questions, ‘Are we alone? Is anybody out there? How do we know?’”
- SETI Institute Explorer, Special Edition 2005