Issue 25

Editorial

Motivating Science, a collection of articles from the first five years of The Pantaneto Forum is now available from bookshops. We are offering a discount for direct orders, see our order page.

 

Next year we will be publishing Science on Television by Bienvenido León. The book is a clear and systematic guide to the narrative and rhetorical techniques used by science documentary filmmakers. The book is due out at the end of May 2007 and will be priced at £18.50, with a 20% discount for advance orders.

 

 

India, at the present time, has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. In addition, it is taking a much more assertive role in the field of science. In “Science Journalism in India”, Manoj Patairiya documents the state of science journalism in India during this challenging time and highlights areas which need greater priority in order to improve science reporting.

 

In science communication the “wow” factor is important in engaging the attention of the audience. However, there has to be a balance between the elements of science, technology and enchantment. This latter term was introduced by Max Weber, and in “How to Tell Science under the Dome while Preserving the Enchantment”, Giangiacomo Gandolfi et al have applied a Weberian analysis to the “Planetarium Experience” offered by the Rome Planetarium.

 

Creativity is an integral part of culture and is just as important in the sciences as in the arts. Creativity is not so much taught but fostered, nurtured and encouraged by teachers who motivate and inspire. In “Creative Minds: Building Communities of Learning for the Creative Age”, Robert Fisher addresses the issues of why creativity is important and how it can be encouraged in both the individual and the group.

 

Science teaching often concentrates too much on “knowing” rather than “understanding”. As a result students are indoctrinated rather than educated. In “Teaching the Nature of Science to Secondary and Post-Secondary Students: Questions Rather Than Tenets”, Michael Clough considers that science teaching should be looked on as encouraging questions rather than learning tenets.

 

Nigel Sanitt
Editor

ISSN 1741-1572

Contents

Articles

Science Journalism in India, Manoj Patairiya

How to Tell Science under the Dome while Preserving the “Enchantment”, Gandolfi, G, Catanzaro, G, Giovanardi, S, Masi, G, and Vomero, V

Creative Minds: Building Communities of Learning for the Creative Age, Robert Fisher

Teaching the Nature of Science to Secondary and Post-Secondary Students: Questions Rather Than Tenets, Michael Clough