Jon D. Miller

Speaker abstract

Jon Miller"Civic Scientific Literacy: A Survival Tool for the 21st Century"
Civic scientific literacy refers to a set of mental tools -- some words but mostly constructs -- that individuals need to be effective citizens in the 21st century. Individuals that do not understand the structure of matter will have little chance of understanding nanotechnology. Individuals that do not know that they are composed of cells built and operated by DNA instructions will have little chance of understanding the debate about stem cell research.

Two decades of research shows that most of these basic constructs are acquired during formal schooling (especially in college science classes for non-majors), but the level of understanding acquired in school is not sufficient to allow a person to function as a citizen for the next 30 years. Rather, these basic constructs become the tools for reading the Tuesday New York Times or watching a Nova television show and are essential tools for life-long learning. Science media and scientific organizations and societies must play a role in adult science learning throughout the life cycle.

View the presentation (Powerpoint)

Biography

Jon Miller has measured the public understanding of science and technology in the United States for the last three decades, and has examined the factors associated with the development of attitudes toward science. He directed biennial national surveys for the National Science Board for 20 years, the results of which were reported in Science and Engineering Indicators. He has pioneered the definition and measurement of scientific literacy and his approach to the public understanding of science has been replicated in more than 40 countries. He continues to conduct important studies of the public perception of science in the United States and other nations.

Jon is the founder and director of the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY). The LSAY began tracking approximately 5,000 public school students in grades 7 and 10 in 1987 and continues to collect data once each year. This is the longest and most intensive longitudinal study of student interest in science and mathematics and the development of STEMM career interests ever conducted in the U.S. It has been funded by the NSF since 1986.

Jon is the Director of the International Center for the Advancement of Scientific Literacy in the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. He has published four books -- Citizenship in an Age of Science (Pergamon Press, 1980), The American People and Science Policy (Pergamon Press, 1983); Public Perceptions of Science and Technology: A comparative study of the European Union, the United States, Japan, and Canada (Foundation BBV, Madrid, 1997); and Biomedical Communications: Purposes, audiences, and strategies (Academic Press, 2001) -- and more than 50 journal articles and book chapters. He is a member of the editorial boards of the journals Public Understanding of Science (Sage) and Science Popularization (Beijing).

Jon is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has served two six-year terms on the AAAS Committee on the Public Understanding of Science and Technology. He was a Sigma Xi National Lecturer for two years between 1989 and 1991. He is a member of the Board of the Chicago Council on Science and Technology.

Jon’s expertise in the measurement and analysis of the public understanding of science and technology is recognized internationally. He served as President of the International Council for the Comparative Study of the Public Understanding of Science and Technology for six years. He has served as a consultant to the European Commission, the National Institute of Science and Technology Policy in Japan, and the China Association for Science and Technology.