SENCER “Do-Now” KQED social media in the classroom

By developing opportunities for students to learn through compelling current events, learning environments are improved.   Inspired students discover relevance to their lives, create dialogue and gain confidence in their ability to expand civic capacity.   Social media has been used to provide an experimental venue for this enhanced learning in selected courses nationally through project SENCER (Science Education for New Civic Engagement and Reform), an NSF sponsored national education reform initiative.   In the fall of 2015, the New Century College course Mysteries of Migration was one of six courses selected nationally for the inaugural SENCER collaboration with KQED in San Francisco, where social media blogs called “Do Now” are flourishing.  In this session, I will discuss the implementation of “Do Now” blogs into Mystery of Migration’s semester–long case study assignment.   This course is interdisciplinary in scope, integrating the biology and ecology of migratory organisms with public policy.   In this session I will discuss the student reactions and evidence of learning through the use of “Do Now” and the merits of implementing social media into existing courses.