Division 15 is pleased to announce a special, free webinar event scheduled for Friday, September 15th from 12:00 – 1:00 Eastern Time. We encourage you to attend, and to share this event with friends, colleagues, students, and mentors who may be interested!

Event Description:

Democracies depend on educated citizens who can make informed decisions about important scientific topics relevant to their own lives and others’, and for the good of their health and well-being, their communities, and the planet. How do individuals decide whether to vaccinate their children, eat genetically modified foods, or accept human causes of climate change? The vast scientific information available in our digital society can be complex, confusing, and often conflicting. This webinar presents some of the challenges members of the public face when grappling with understanding science, such as overcoming misconceptions, deciding who to trust as a source of scientific information, and resolving competing knowledge claims. Sinatra will discuss her work with Division 15 member, Barbara Hofer on how educators, media specialists, and scientists might help address these challenges. She will also discuss both educational and policy directions for developing a more scientifically informed citizenry.

Core Topics for Discussion Will Include:

• Challenges members of the public have when trying to understand science
• Insights from educational psychology research into those challenges
• Implications for education policy
• Implications for future research on public understanding of science

About Dr. Gale M. Sinatra:

Dr. Gale M. Sinatra is the Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Psychology and Education at the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. She is the past Editor of the APA Division 15 journal, Educational Psychologist and she is currently the President Elect of Division 15. She is a Fellow of APA, AERA, and the Society for Text and Discourse. She heads the Motivated Change Research Lab, the mission of which is understanding the cognitive, motivational, and emotional processes that lead to attitude change, conceptual change, and successful STEM learning.