Macmillan Learning

If AI makes knowledge abundant, what becomes valuable to learn? At the Reimagining Science in Education Summit, we posed that question to Peter Norvig, Research Fellow at @Stanford HAI; Jessamina Blum, Assistant Dean at the University of Minnesota Medical School; and Eric Sullivan, Senior Desk Editor at Scientific American. Their answers point to a future where learning is less about finding information and more about thinking critically, making connections, and applying knowledge in meaningful ways. Holtzbrinck, Digital Science

I took some time over the holiday weekend to reflect on my experience at the Reimagining Science Education Summit last week. What stands out after reviewing my notes from the excellent presentations, panels, activities, and conversations is the importance of student agency and participation in the learning process. Students come into science classrooms with very different backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences. They learn in a world where information is constantly available and AI tools can generate explanations, summarize content, and solve problems almost instantly. That changes some aspects of education, but it also reinforces the importance of helping students understand how knowledge is established in the first place. Science is not simply a collection of facts. It is a process grounded in experimentation, questioning, testing, failure, revision, and discovery. Setting that baseline matters because students need to be able to interpret scientific claims, challenge assumptions, and engage thoughtfully with information that is often incomplete or evolving. One of the themes I appreciated hearing throughout the Summit was the idea that scientific literacy should be active and participatory. Students are sometimes disengaged until science feels relevant to them. Curiosity is often spurred by questions that connect directly to their lives, whether that is climate change, public health, or a disease that has impacted someone they know. That has implications for how we think about classrooms and assessment. If AI can increasingly handle routine tasks, then communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking become even more important. Those skills are not separate from technical knowledge. They are part of what allows students to effectively apply that knowledge in the real world. I appreciated the work of the many educators, researchers, technologists, and teams who contributed to these conversations throughout the Summit. There is still a great deal of work to do, but I’m reminded of the importance of bringing different perspectives together in a room for a day to think carefully about where science education goes next. Susan Elbe Macmillan Learning Scientific American Springer Nature Digital Science

College is supposed to be hard. But there’s a difference between challenge that builds students and stress that just shuts learning down. In our latest blog, we break down 10 ways instructors can keep rigor high without making burnout part of the curriculum, from reset days and lower-stakes practice to clearer expectations and second windows. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eRF4uQwB #CollegeTeaching #HigherEd #TeachingStrategies #StudentSuccess #FacultyDevelopment

Heading to CTREE Conference 2026? Join us for a session focused on a critical question for economics education: “Assessing the Performance of First-Generation Students in Economics Courses.” Eric Chiang and Erika Martinez, author and contributing author of Economics: Principles for a Changing World, will be joined by Lorraine Li and Andrew Garrison to share insights on how first-generation students are experiencing economics courses, and what it means for teaching and learning. Thursday, May 28, 8:30–10:30 AM, Tropical A+B Explore the full schedule: https://bit.ly/4eDHJFK

Accessibility work doesn’t stop because a deadline changes. This year’s Global Accessibility Awareness Day post from Macmillan Learning reflects something we’ve talked about often internally, which is while the ADA Title II timeline may have shifted, the importance of accessibility hasn’t. The post highlights some of the work happening across the organization, from expanding our Accessibility Advisory Board to launching an Accessibility Advocate Award to listening directly to disability services leaders about UDL, neurodivergence, and student self-advocacy. We're proud of the people continuing to move this work forward every day and especially appreciative of Macmillan Learning CPO Tim Flem and his team for helping bring these stories and conversations together. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eaPQtFHm #GAAD #Accessibility #HigherEducation #DigitalAccessibility #UDL #A11Y

The third edition of my textbook, Nutrition for a Changing World, is now available! https://lnkd.in/eE_dHXAC My co-author, Steve Nizielski, and I spent months working with our editorial team on the updates as we edited and integrated current evidence-based science and research. Our textbook is unique in that it is written in a journalistic style with scientific concepts woven within relevant, real life stories for each chapter to foster engagement and context - why it matters! This edition includes five new stories including topics like ultra-processed foods, gut health, and sports nutrition (featuring Vanderbillt's sports dietitians!). You can read a bit about the textbook here and even access a sample chapter on protein (How much do you really need?? - see Content Material). Our text is in use in many universities across the country!

If you're at ATD tomorrow, you don't want to miss Marcy Baughman's a session, "Beyond Content: Designing Learning That Shows Up on the Job" at 4:15 p.m. PT (Learning Stage 6). She’ll dig into a challenge many L&D teams are facing, which is how we know whether or not learning is actually working. This session goes beyond completion rates and satisfaction scores to focus whether people can apply what they’ve learned when it counts. Expect practical ideas grounded in learning science, from building in meaningful practice to reinforcing skills over time and capturing real evidence of impact. Explore the ATD sessions: https://lnkd.in/dtGiwN8W #ATD26 #LearningAndDevelopment #LearningScience #WorkplaceLearning #Upskilling

In a world where answers are easy to get, what exactly are we preparing students to do? As AI makes information abundant, the fundamental nature of science education is shifting. Ahead of the Reimagining Science Education Summit, we sat down with the educators, researchers, and technologists navigating this moment from the front lines. Their perspectives offer a glimpse into a future where the purpose of the classroom moves beyond building knowledge and toward the "practice of being human", focusing on curiosity, sense-making, and rebuilding trust in an age of infinite information. Meet the voices shaping this conversation and read the full blog here: https://bit.ly/4tweNmE #FutureOfEducation #ScienceEducation #AIinEducation #HoltzbrinckTogether #ReimaginingScience

🦋 Final Call: Share Your Biology Brilliance 🌿 Don't miss the opportunity to have your teaching ideas featured. We are still accepting submissions for the Teach Like a Biologist Challenge. Share a simple activity that helps students think like scientists and receive a professionally refined version of your work plus full credit. You could also win a trip to Tech Ed 2026 in San Diego and a $500 travel stipend. 🌸 🌼 Submit your activity today 👉 https://bit.ly/4uigANk #ThinkLikeABiologist #Biology #HigherEducation #STEMeducation #TeachingInnovation #ScienceFaculty