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'''Science Education at the Crossroads''' is an annual national [[academic conference]], currently funded by the [[National Science Foundation]], designed to enable various stakeholders in [[science education]] to confer in a legitimate and productive manner.
▲'''Science Education at the Crossroads''' is an annual national [[academic conference]], currently funded by the [[National Science Foundation]], designed to enable various stakeholders in [[science education]] to confer in a legitimate and productive manner. Perhaps more notably, the conference offers an alternative to the standard model of confering and professional development. Conference creators and coordinators are [[John Settlage]] of the [[University of Connecticut]] and [[Adam Johnston]] of [[Weber State University]].
== Philosophy ==
Many organizations and conferences exist for science educators. These include the [[National Science Teachers Association]] (NSTA), the [http://narst.org/ National Association for Research in Science Teaching] (NARST), the [http://aste.chem.pitt.edu/ Association for Science Teacher Education] (ASTE), and many others dedicated to specific fields (e.g., physics and chemistry) within science education. While these organizations are adept at presenting research results or at sharing innovations in teaching, organizers and many participants in Crossroads feel that none of them provide a means for new research questions, policy directives, or general science education goals to be discussed and deliberated.
Crossroads uses the [[Vexation and Venture]] format for conference sessions in which an "Incubator Forum" allows for an interactive, discussion based and dynamic intersection of views.<ref>Johnston, A. & Settlage, J. (2006, January). [http://physics.weber.edu/johnston/research/crossroads_ASTEproceedings_2006.pdf Science Education at the Crossroads]. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Science Teacher Education, Portland, OR.</ref> This mode of interaction has been shown to engage presenters and participants in a way that new ideas and problems can be proposed, and the group takes on responsibility for a generative session. In this format, problems (vexations) are dissected and their possible specific solutions (ventures) are proposed. In this manner, the process of research and innovation is presented in a public forum in its early development stages, rather than after its completion, as would be the case in other [[academic conference]] formats. <ref>Settlage, J., Johnston, A., Meadows, L., Harkins, H., Kittleson, J. (2007, January). [http://physics.weber.edu/johnston/research/ASTE%202007workshop.pdf Professional Development at a Crossroads. Using Vexations as the Focal Point.] Workshop presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Science Teacher Education, Clearwater, FL.</ref>
Participants represent backgrounds from science and education, and represent perspectives from classroom teaching, policy, and research. This
▲Participants represent backgrounds from science and education, and represent perspectives from classroom teaching, policy, and research. This richness in perspectives allows each participant to tap into expertise that they might not otherwise encounter within the typical course of their professional lives. In this regard the metaphor of a [[Crossroads (culture)|crossroads]] describes a [[culture]] and place where people can meet.
== History ==
Crossroads originated from a disenchantment with more [[professional conference|traditional education conferences]].
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== Future ==
''Science Education at the Crossroads'' plans to oscillate its conference each fall, from east to west and back again, at least through the year 2009. Tentative plans include a conference in Utah in the fall of 2008 and possibly in Georgia in the fall of 2009. Funding has been provided by conference attendees in the past, as well as from grant agencies. Most notably, [[National Science Foundation]] funding has been established to fund the conference through the year 2008.
== See also ==
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