Connecting Beyond the Lab.
Pat Marsteller, Professor of Practice at Emory University, is a career educator who sees firsthand the work AAAS does to bring science out of laboratories and into daily conversations. She values the association’s longstanding efforts to make science accessible and understandable to an audience that includes the general public, elected officials, journalists and teachers.
“Making science relevant beyond the scientific community is a rewarding and never-ending process. AAAS leads the way.”
Being a scientist is much more than conducting research. It’s also critical to broaden access to science, and Professor Marsteller works regularly with undergraduates, graduate students and faculty to broaden access. “Making science relevant beyond the scientific community is a rewarding and never-ending process. AAAS leads the way with excellent diversity resources, articles on workforce diversity and career guides.”
As an AAAS Fellow and member of the AAAS Education Section, Professor Marsteller is deeply involved with projects that provide opportunities to interact with local teachers and educators. She frequently leads science workshops for area teachers, knowing that fostering their interest in and understanding of science is the key to informing the next generation.
“If I can help one teacher have an ‘a-ha’ moment, I’ve reached the teacher’s entire class.”
It’s easy to see the far-ranging impact members of the AAAS community, interacting like Professor Marsteller, have on the future of science education.
Teachers are not the only audience AAAS works with. It connects with journalists to help them develop an awareness and appreciation of current events, research and trends in the world of science. Professor Marsteller knows these two areas of outreach are just a start, and that limitless additional opportunities exist for members to interact with members of their local communities.
“If I can help one teacher have an ‘a-ha’ moment, I’ve reached the teacher’s entire class.”
Leading by example with the Atlanta Science Festival, Marsteller and her colleagues help people young and old see how science makes a difference in their daily lives. Now in its third year, the Festival drew over 30,000 attendees. Science beyond the lab indeed!
Professor Marsteller relies on one particular aspect of AAAS in her own work to teach and involve her students. In fact, it’s part of her weekly routine. “The first thing I read every Friday morning is my digital issue of Science. It’s where I learn about what’s happening in the scientific community, what’s important, and what I want to share with my students to help them learn and push them in new directions.”
Local engagement beyond the lab. For Pat Marsteller and AAAS, it’s something worth doing every day.