Waukon High School graduate Michael Bechtel named Sound Science Fellow by the National Center for Science Education
Chosen to participate in NSCE Sound Science Fellowship Program ... Dr. Michael Bechtel, a 1989 graduate of Waukon High School and current Associate Science Education Professor at Wartburg College in Waverly, engages with students in his Biology of Ordinary Things class that focuses on “observations of ordinary phenomena connected to basic biological and chemical concepts, and the development of explanatory models using various forms of scientific representations with teaching standards and technology.” Bechtel has been selected to participate for a two-year term in the National Center for Science Education’s (NCSE) Sound Science Fellowship program to help the NCSE develop new approaches to resolving misconceptions about topics that are seen as controversial to the public and conduct research to develop best practices for teaching and learning. Photo credit to the Wartburg College Marketing & Communication Department.
Dr. Michael Bechtel...
Wartburg College’s Dr. Michael Bechtel was one of seven educators selected to serve in the first cohort of the National Center for Science Education’s (NCSE) Sound Science Fellowship program. Bechtel is a 1989 graduate of Waukon High School and the son of Sherry and the late Dean Bechtel of rural Monona.
During his two-year term in the Fellowship program, Bechtel will help the NCSE develop new approaches to resolving misconceptions about topics that are seen as controversial to the public and conduct research to develop best practices for teaching and learning.
“Over my time as an educator, I have become keenly aware of the scientific understanding desert that has been filled with social media memes and anti-science rhetoric,” said Bechtel, an associate science education professor at Wartburg College in Waverly. “I believe the only way these difficult topics can be addressed is through facts, open dialogue, questions and understanding the learner.”
Prior to coming to Wartburg in 2013, Bechtel was a high school science teacher for 19 years in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. As a new educator, he was asked to remove the evolution content from his curriculum to appease community members. He not only defended his curriculum to administrators but invited potential detractors to observe his lessons.
Bechtel, who grew up in Iowa in Allamakee County and has a special interest in agriculture, also has worked with farmers to help them better understand the impact of climate change on crops.
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