Evolution 2010 in Portland

On Friday I attended events for the Evolution 2010 conference, which was held at the Oregon Convention Center. Most of my day was the evolution education workshop put on by Louise Mead of NCSE and Kristen Jenkins of NESCent. Then I went out to dinner with some other educators from OMSI. In the evening was Sean Carroll’s lecture on Darwin, Wallace, and Bates based on his recent book, Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origin of Species – Carroll is an engaging storyteller, and congrats to him on the Stephen Jay Gould Award! I briefly met Carroll, Jerry Coyne, and Robert Pennock, all of whom I had books with me and got signatures (too bad Carl Zimmer wasn’t there, because I got a free copy of The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution).

My tweets with some photos interspersed:

RT @breakingPDXnews Biologists work hard & play hard @ #evol2010 conf.: #Portland hosts largest #Evolution conf. ever http://dlvr.it/23pnt

Religious accommodationism @ #evol2010? See: http://bit.ly/dx8b90 & http://bit.ly/crp7GB & http://bit.ly/9I6WQo #evolution #religion #atheism

RT @aewright Rumble in Portland? Wife’s at academic Evolution conference #evol2010 sharing venue with Christian homeschoolers. http://twitpic.com/2021ac

Pictures from Friday’s #evolution education workshop & Sean Carroll’s evening talk: http://bit.ly/97u81Z #evol2010 #Portland #pdx #Darwin

@carlzimmer The education workshop w/ @NCSE had several copies of The Tangled Bank to give out, I’m happy to have one!

“Putting the BIBLE FIRST in All Subjects,” Christian homeschooling conf. session concurrent w/ #evol2010 http://twitpic.com/2021ac

Giant #Evolution timeline activity w/ @NCSE at #evol2010 earlier today – get yours @CPlayhouse: http://bit.ly/DBLL http://twitpic.com/2020ug

Sean Carroll talk earlier this evening at #evol2010 abt #Darwin, Wallace & H.W. Bates – nice to see scientist engage w/ history http://twitpic.com/2020ax

While #evol2010 goes on, there is a Christian education conf. at the center & an AIG (Ken Ham) “conference” nearby: http://bit.ly/9l2CGG

I’ll post some pictures from #evol2010 tomorrow along w/ some more thoughts. Everyone enjoy rest of the conference (I just did today only)

Sean Carroll said that collective group of some 1200 or so evolutionary biologists in attendance at his talk are going to hell! #evol2010

@rvosa #evol2010 is the tag of choice, #evo2010 is not unique to this conference!

@pmidford #evol2010 is the tag of choice, #evo2010 is not unique to this conference!

@JoshRosenau Thanks for the retweets Josh, it was nice to meet Steve at the @NCSE booth!

an invite went out to Christian homeschooling conference at same venue as #evol2010 to attend Carroll’s #evolution lecture, they said no!

got signatures in books from Pennock, Carroll, and Coyne today at #evol2010, and a free copy of @carlzimmer’s #evolution textbook – score!

sorry for lack of #evol2010 tweets, but I decided to close laptop 4 Sean Carroll’s talk on #Darwin, Wallace, and Henry Bates. Very engaging!

@JBYoder Hilarious! There was an invitation by Evolution 2010 for them to attend Carroll’s lecture but they said NO

#Evolution education workshop just abt over, then some dinner, Sean Carroll’s lecture @ 8:00. I think the exhibits are open @ 5:00 #evol2010

RT @Sheril_ Are you at #evol2010? We may be doing a quick social media survey Monday abt role of Twitter at academic conferences. Interested?

@labroides #evol2010 is what’s being used so far

new framework for exploring invasion: Holistic & #Evolution -based #evol2010 #biology #ecology

non-indigenous, exotic, alien, biotic exchange, immigrant – what exactly is an invasive species? (definition too narrow) #evol2010

@VeeQt True, true – a dislike of math, by the way, is what pushed me from a science degree to a history (of science) degree

Tiffany Garcia: evolution & frogs #evol2010

@Sheril_ Yes – I am, thought, only attending Friday stuff

thinks, like @colinpurrington, that #zoos need more #evolution, an idea for when I do my degree in #science #education later #evol2010

plugs for Understanding #Evolution (http://bit.ly/hLzAi) & Understanding #Science (http://bit.ly/wk9le) #evol2010

another #evolution #education activity – Clipbirds: http://bit.ly/dp1EIc #science #evol2010 (Patrick has done this: http://bit.ly/da5x3U)

got some WWDD? buttons at #evol2010 #Darwin #evolution

@vhsvhs #evol2010 is better, b/c #evo2010 has other things going for it on Twitter

#science teaching needs all subjects in school 2 ask students to analyze & critically think, otherwise sci teachers = the bad guys #evol2010

better evidence that long necks in giraffes evolved as a defense mechanism rather than for leaves in taller trees #evol2010

the suggestion was to include shorter historical books or #science biographies/autobiographies into course materials #evol2010

yay! a question about how the #history of science can be integrated more into #science teaching… #evol2010 #histsci

someone sharing that they are teaching a course about #science and #literature, in high school! #evol2010 using fiction to explore science

girl sitting in front of me wearing a shirt that says “Here’s to another 200 years of evolutionary thinking” #evol2010

@ucpress What time do the exhibits open? #evol2010

Panel discussion on teaching #evolution: don’t say “Scientists say” students will never know process of #science, only know facts #evol2010

@BobOHara I now want to see a picture of my doctor!

science is a social process full of errors, we can learn more from errors than from good examples of scientific thinking #science #evol2010

Rowe now discussing Andrew Wakefield, vaccinations, and autism – no credible evidence, no more credible doctor! #evol2010 #science

astrology bogus b/c your physician at birth holds more gravitational force on you than Alpha Centauri #evol2010 #science

using witch hunts & other extraordinary claims to teach students abt evidence & hypotheses to look at validity of a claim #evol2010 #science

Rowe is part of teaching a course at Sam Houston: “Foundations of #Science” to improve critical thinking skills of students #evol2010

Too much focus on rote memorization #evol2010

“Redefining #Science #Education” by Bruce Alberts: http://bit.ly/d38vod – The problem is educators, not students #evol2010

It’s our failure to teach #science properly in courses ALL students take #evol2010

Matthew Rowe: Most Americans are scientifically illiterate, according to a Carnegie report #evol2010

what do they all have in common? All are college graduates! So who taught them their science… #evol2010

Matthew Rowe starts his talk off w/ quotes from Reagan, Palin, Huckabee, Limbaugh, Joe Barton, etc., on their ignorance of science #evol2010

was looking forward to meeting you in Portland, sorry you weren’t able to make it… @CPlayhouse

Louise Mead of @NCSE asks, What did T. rex taste like? http://bit.ly/bTDwt3 #evol2010 #evolution

@rdmpage #evo2010 was not unique, and #evolution2010 too long

@nimblebrain maybe I should have said “I am *doing” some tree-thinking…”

did some tree-thinking, a cladogram activity called The Great Clade Race #evol2010

@JBYoder But you’ll catch Carroll’s lecture tonight, yes?

next up: Kate Miller of @CPlayhouse shows us how to use the Giant #Evolution Timeline (http://bit.ly/9kVxVO) for K-7 #education #evo2010

lizards in White Sands – #evolution you can see and touch #evol2010
Fri Jun 25 2010 09:38:23 (Pacific Daylight Time) via web

Slide of White Sands, New Mexico w/ lizards – “has anyone been here before?” I have, born at a base there, I need to make a trip #evol2010

now on to using rates of evolutionary change as a teaching tool #evol2010 #evolution

Harmon: How do species, like the coelacanth, stay the “same” for hundreds of millions of years? #evol2010

Look in closer, and you see faster #evolution but it’s rapid short term change #evol2010

one should envy the life of an island lizard, Anoles, days on beach extending yer dewlap, but.. life is actually harsh #evol2010 #evolution

Luke Harmon: through bacteria into the freezer to make fossils out of ’em #evol2010 #evolution

“Darwins” & “Haldanes” are units for rates of evolutionary change – I did not know that! #Darwin #evolution #evol2010

Harmon on to rates of evolutionary change #evol2010

Luke Harmon thinks Stephen Colbert is now a champion of #evolution b/c of: http://bit.ly/bWZp8s #evol2010 #evolution

But, it’s not necessary to go to Pandora to see biol. diversity – it’s right here on Earth! #evol2010 #evolution (see: http://bit.ly/9ZjYGY)

Luke Harmon (http://bit.ly/bxhO3y) of U. of Idaho discussing #Avatar using binomial nomenclature for its fauna #evol2010 #evolution

breakout activites geared toward K-7 & 7-12, not comm. college nor informal #education (i.e., museums, science centers) #evol2010 #evolution

Kristen Jenkins of @NESCent now introducing the workshop, this is biggest #Evolution conference ever… #evol2010

Robert T. Pennock discussing why 2009 was important for #evolution (um, #Darwin) #evol2010

some free #evolution shirts at workshop, all too small for me, so I got 1 for Patrick – hope he likes it! Has a starfish on it… #evol2010

is sitting in the Oregon Convention Ctr, waiting for the education workshop at #Evolution 2010 to start, w/ @NCSE #evol2010 #Portland #pdx

If attending Evolution 2010, use #evol2010, not #evo2010 (not unique) nor #evolution2010 (too long) #evolution #Portland #pdx

@PsiWavefunction I can go for #evol2010, shorter than #evolution2010, will keep out other users of #evo2010

@PsiWavefunction I’ll be using the shorter one!

@dgaston83 #evo2010 is being used also…

@NerdyChristie I’ll be there, but just on Friday for the evolution education workshop & then Carroll’s lecture…

@Sheril_ #evo2010

#evo2010 – hastag for Evolution 2010 conference in Portland this weekend?

#Evolution 2010 conference kicks off tomorrow in #Portland, OR, I’m going to evo education workshop & Sean Carroll lecture – who else? #pdx