There was cake, balloons and a rousing singalong of Happy Birthday. The man himself – Charles Darwin – stood off in a corner ready to pose for selfies. A birthday hat sitting atop his head. OK, it wasn’t the real Darwin, but a life-size cutout. However, the celebratory feel was real as 60 educators and […]
David L. Kirk, professor emeritus of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018, at Dougherty Ferry Assisted Living in St. Louis after a long illness. He was 84. Kirk, who was an active and passionate member of the university community for nearly 50 years, spent a […]
Evolution should be an important part of a sound K-12 science curriculum For much of his career, Washington University biology professor David Kirk, PhD, focused his research on the spherical, multicellular green alga, Volvox carteri. Kirk, in collaboration with his late wife Marilyn M. Kirk, their students, and other fellow scientists had initially focused on […]
A life-size cutout of Charles Darwin stands in the corner. Next to him are party hats and a selfie stick. His face adorns a birthday cake that’s wheeled out to much excitement. Numbers are read and fossils are raffled off. Attendees sport buttons that read “I love evolution” and “Team Darwin.” This isn’t your ordinary […]
Institute for School Partnership Faculty Fellow David Kirk is being honored as an outstanding science educator by the Academy of Science – St. Louis. Kirk, PhD, professor emeritus in the Department of Biology in Arts & Sciences, has been chosen to receive the 2018 Science Educator Award. It recognizes a distinguished individual on the basis of outstanding contributions […]
Teacher Deirdre “Didi” Noelker climbs up on a stool and grabs an animal skull from atop a cabinet. It’s a replica of a saber-toothed cat. A gift from her husband. “The more I teach, the more I realize evolution weaves through everything I teach in biology,” says Noelker, as she cradles the skull. “Everything I […]
When David Kirk was leaving for college, his father had some parting words for him – professors would try and teach him about evolution and he wasn’t to believe a word they said. The advice wasn’t completely unexpected. Kirk’s dad was religiously ultraconservative. Kirk, professor emeritus in the Department of Biology in Arts & Sciences at […]
The first time a parent told Elizabeth Petersen not to teach evolution, she caved. No, she did not skip Charles Darwin’s concept altogether. But she avoided the “E word,†opting instead for phrases such as “natural selection†and “adaptation.†“That parent intimidated me,†said Petersen, who taught seventh grade science. “I was so shocked, I […]