Podcast with Intel Foundation on the Intel Science Talent Search

by Clay Burell · 2009-03-02 07:00:00 UTC
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Intel Science Talent Search Society for Science and the Public LogoAnybody who knows this English and history teacher should know that he's also a huge admirer of science and scientists. So I'm really happy to share with you this first Education Change podcast with guest Wendy Hawkins, Executive Director of the Intel Foundation (a fellow Oregonian, I might add, who also blogs here).

Ms. Hawkins joined me on Skype last month to talk about the Intel Science Talent Search. The Intel STS is the most prestigious pre-college level science competition in the United States, and one of the most prestigious in the world. In its over six decades' history, finalists in the competition have gone on to win the Nobel Prize, the Fields Medal, the National Medal of Science, and MacArthur Foundation Fellowships. You can read more about the competition on the Society for Science and the Public website.

The Intel STS announced its 40 finalists for this year's competition in late January, and that lucky 40 are headed to Washington DC for the ceremony that announces the top prize-winner next week, on March 10.

In this first of a two-part conversation, Wendy gives us the details of the competition. Then we move on to talk about the role of science classes in schools - pro and con - in preparing students for a scientific career. We then discuss trends over time in the competition, and then about Intel's new initiatives to promote science education in underprivileged schools. After that, we talk about school programs that successfully prepare students to compete in the competition, and about the role of teachers, parents, and communities in the lives of the students who succeed at becoming finalists.

So grab a cup of coffee and enjoy this 20 minute chat. This is an enhanced podcast, by the way. You can use the drop-down menu in the embedded player to jump straight to the different chapters of the talk (you have to ctrl + a couple times on Firefox to see that dropdown), or you can download it to iTunes and use chapter navigation there and on your iPod. [Update: I added a straight mp3 file below the player, for those of you who don't or can't use Quicktime.]

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