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ASLA’s history - Patrick Ryall

The Atlantic Science Links Association (ASLA) has metamorphosed through various configurations in response to changing pressures. This project was started by Mike Keen. Mike had been Chairman of the Geology Department at Dalhousie, had been Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science, and then became Head of the Atlantic Geoscience Centre at BIO. Somehow, he had become aware of the need to make available to teachers at various levels, scientific expertise beyond their training. The reality is, that in many cases, teachers were finding themselves in situations where they were dealing with subject matter with which they were not fully familiar. Many of them felt that they and their students would benefit from the expertise of a scientist who worked in the area concerned, someone who would have the background to cover the topics in depth. Some of this demand may have been fuelled by the introduction of plate tectonics into science programmes in the years before. Mike ran a pilot programme in the city of Dartmouth in 1989 using the expertise of people known to him. This programme was well received and so he got a group of people, about a half of them geoscientists, together to explore the possibility of establishing a long-term programme. My involvement dates to that time, since I was Chair of our Geology Department, and I had known Mike since my student days.

Current news

ASLA’s Third Conference Translating advanced climate science into a compelling lesson plan aimed at teenagers might seem like a tall order, but a recent Dal-hosted event offered junior high teachers from across Nova Scotia a leg up with the task, To read more, click here ASLA’s Second Conference The second conference used a variety of hands-on activities to introduce teachers to methods illustrating important concepts in a variety of science disciplines. To read more, click here ASLA’s First Conference The Atlantic Science Links Association (ASLA) held its first free conference for science teachers on Friday August 25th, 2017 at the Life Sciences Centre, Dalhousie University. To read more, click here Closing session and a photograph to commemorate the day, Aug, 2017 ASLA’s Presenters at The AST Conference Four presenters from ASLA contributed at the Atlantic Science Teachers (AST) conference held on the 28th of October, 2016. Four presentations (two in Geology, one each in Biology and Health Sciences), and a field trip in Geology took place involving around 80 teachers.