Abstract:  A Chinese proverb states: "I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand.” At the Science Institute, Columbia College Chicago, we believe strongly in this Chinese proverb. Therefore, we use visualization so students will remember, but we also have them create their own visualizations, so that they will understand. This moves the class from a passive viewing mode to an active learning mode. The students can visualize using any media they feel the most comfortable, from computer animation (High Tech) to dance and drama (No Tech).

These projects are used as an alternative assessment method where the assessment and evaluation is done in a constructive way by the whole class and not just by the instructor. Many institutions in the US and around the world have adopted this method; the National Science Foundation awarded a collaborative grant (together with Princeton University and Indiana University) to adapt this method at the respective institutions. This method has been proven successful with undergraduate students, with science teachers and with middle and high school students. Examples will be shown during the lecture.

Biography:   Zafra Lerman is Distinguished Professor of Science and Public Policy, and Head of the Institute for Science Education and Science Communication at Columbia College Chicago.

She received her Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel), and conducted research in isotope effects at Cornell University, Northwestern University, and at the Swiss Polytechnic in Zurich, Switzerland.

Professor Lerman developed an innovative approach of teaching science to non-science majors, which has received national and international recognition. She has been invited to lecture on her methods all over the U.S. and in many other countries, including Brazil, Turkey, Hungary, Australia, England, Russia, Germany, Mexico, China, Japan, Taiwan, Cuba, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa and Israel. She has received over $5,000,000 in the past several years to work with Chicago inner-city teachers, parents and students.

Professor Lerman received the 1997 American Chemical Society – Chicago Section Public Affairs Award and the 1998 American Chemical Society Award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences. In 1999 she received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring from President Clinton. In 2000 she was presented with the World Cultural Council's Jose Vasconcelos World Award for Education in Johannesburg, South Africa (the first international award presented in the new democratic South Africa), and in February 2001, she was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is the 2002 awardee for the James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry from the American Chemical Society -- Northeastern Section, and is the 2003 recipient of the American Chemical Society's Charles Lathrop Parsons Award in recognition of outstanding public service to chemistry. The Royal Society of Chemistry in England awarded her with the 2005 Ronald Nyholm Lectureship – Education Division Award, and the New York Academy of Sciences presented her with the 2005 Heinz Pagels Human Rights for Scientists Award. Most recently, she has been named to receive the 2007 George Brown Award for International Scientific Cooperation from the U.S. Civilian Research & Development Foundation (CRDF) – an award established by the US Congress.

She has also been featured by newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations around the world.

Professor Lerman remains very active professionally with national and international associations in the fields of science, science education, and scientific freedom and human rights. It remains Dr. Lerman's tenet that free and equal access to science education is a basic human right that belongs to all.