New Roads to Learning-for This Generation

 “The overarching goal of our framework for K-12 science education is to ensure that by the end of 12th grade, all students have some appreciation of the beauty and wonder of science; possess sufficient knowledge of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on related issues; are careful consumers of scientific and technological information related to their everyday lives; are able to continue to learn about science outside school; and have the skills to enter careers of their choice, including (but not limited to) careers in science, engineering, and technology.”

                     Next Generation Science Standards

Wow!  Doesn't that sound nice?  In fact, I am pretty sure that that is exactly what I tried to do my whole career!  Nothing new here.  Or is there?  I was so lucky to have spent my career in a place where I was either supported or encouraged to be creative and make all lessons “hands on” or at least be left alone to my own devices!

Beyond Sharing Stories-Take Them with You

I have had some amazing opportunities over the years from joining a group in the early 80’s that used something called the Electronic Information Exchange System (EIES- pre-www, now called the “internet”) to connecting teachers and students together to share data on local rivers to traveling with a team to the Rain Forest in Hawaii on a Dodge Grant to visiting classrooms in Zambia to recently being invited to watch a missile launch at NASA.  The best thing about these opportunities is that kids could come with me.  The richness of our lives always carries over into the classroom.  However, the changes in technology have allowed us to go beyond “sharing stories” – now, with simple tools like Google Hangout, you can have the kids experience it with you in real time- if not literally, than digitally.

 

Sometimes there are Bumps in the Road- 

On my most recent journey, I attended the Launch of the MMS mission and offered to connect with classrooms through Google Hangout, while we were there. How cool is it that you can carry the class around with you, allowing them to interact with professionals, other students, and actually see all the artifacts in the museum, etc?  Madelaine Travaille, from High Point Regional HS in NJ, is one of those educators that opens her classroom doors and windows wide when opportunities knock!  Despite some glitches in our first attempts at connecting, she was willing to try to make it work the following day to offer her students a unique experience.  Great learning opportunities are not always as safe as having your notes on the board or a pre-made PowerPoint, but staying in that safety zone of scripted learning does not prepare your students for the imperfection of the real world.  (Nor does it teach them persistence and problem solving!)  Check out our imperfect Google hangout video here.

Jennifer Miller, Extraordinary Educator from TX, connects kids regularly with STEAM professionals, here she  interviews Dr. Patricia Reiff, true Rocket Scientist, from Rice University

Students at High Point Regional High School listen to Troy Cline, MMS Outreach Specialist

Open the Door to Next Generation Learning

My point is…that it is now easier than ever before to reach the overarching goals of the NGSS. Technology has flattened the walls of our classrooms so that our students can witness the beauty and sometimes devastation of the world, speak directly to experts in the field, connect their learning to the real world, and have the skills and knowledge to enter the profession of their choice.  The barriers are coming down, you just have to be willing to open the door when opportunity knocks. 

Get Real! Check out the Science happening Right Now!

This week your students can become a part of history!  They can become part of a team made up of artists, social media, NASA officials, and more to help celebrate the launch of the Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) mission this week.  What’s that, you say?  The MMS Mission is a set of 4 satellites that will be launched this week to study magnetic reconnections in the magnetosphere?  Still not clear?  These four satellites are going into space to study the explosions that cause “space weather.”  These explosions of energy can wreak havoc with our electrical systems, astronauts, other expensive satellites and our everyday tv, radio and phone transmissions. 

The first challenge

A couple of years ago, I was given the opportunity to help develop lessons around a new NASA Mission, The Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) a mssion that was not even going to launch for a couple of years.  Our mission (and we chose to accept it) was to design a lesson that would teach kids around the world what the mission was all about and why it was important AND we had to include a social media component.  We decided to design a truly authentic mission and turn that challenge around to our students.  The MMS Challenge was born. Students from all over participated and shared their videos, artwork, models and activities that would teach other children about the MMS Mission.  Check out what students have done to meet the challenge.

A new challenge

Fast forward to today….the mission is launching this week and we are once again asking students to become an integral part of the team.  What better way to demonstrate in a very real way, the wide variety of careers involved in such an undertaking than to talk to some of the people that are directly involved.  We would love to have your students meet our team, learn about the mission and share through social media.  Our team includes Father of Digital Art Laurence Gartel, NASA MMS Education Outreach TEAM, NASA MMS Social Media Team, students and teachers. 

Introduction to the mission

There are a number of great short videos that you can use to introduce your students to the mission.

NASA mms video

NASA Edge Part 1

Transcript

NASA Edge MMS Video Part 2

Starting the Mission

How it will deploy?

Mission overview

More Resources

Another way to get your students acquainted with the purpose of the mission is to use the SCAN tool at TregoED to learn and discuss why the mission is important from different points of view.  SCAN is a free, private online discussion tool.  Teachers should register at TregoED.org and set up the SCAN lesson, Space Exploration and You: SCAN the NASA MMS Mission to get a unique URL for their class discussion.  Each step of the SCAN critical thinking strategy will allow students to See the important issues, clarify them, Assess what is important and Name next steps.  Students discuss the issues from the point of view of an astronaut, student, electric company owner, and satellite company owner to determine how the MMS mission could have an impact on their daily lives. An engaging way to get them talking about the mission in a real time online classroom. 

Find lesson plans and activities that your students can do to learn about the mission. 

Make the math-science connections by mapping out the size of one of the satellites in your classroom with this activity.

Get them involved

Encourage your students to participate as a journalist, scientist, artist or engineer and share their knowledge of the launch through social media.

Details coming soon (email me at sanwoz@gmail.com if you want me to email you the details) on how you can join a student led team, on the afternoon of March 11 or 12. Meet the Father of Digital Art Laurence Gartel, NASA MMS Education Outreach Team, NASA MMS Social Media Team, and other NASA MMS Officials and follow and post on our social media channels (#magrecon):

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MagMultiScale
Twitter: http://twitter.com/NASA_MMS
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/nasamms 

How can you resist the (Science, LA, Character Ed) lessons of Deflate-gate?

It’s that time of year…a long winter stretch where many of us will need a recharge.  Why not re-energize your classroom with a topic that seems to have everyone talking!

Deflate Gate!   

Although there are probably a number of reasons why you might not want to discuss deflated balls in the middle school classroom, the great tie-in to the science curriculum, character education, sportsmanship, research and writing may overcome them all! Deflate Gate is a STEM PBL waiting to happen!  

Start with a little research

Have your students list all of the things that they “need to know” in order to investigate what happened.What are the facts? What are the precise rules that are involved? How did the rules come about?  

Listen to the coach’s scientific explanation.  List the science vocabulary and determine if he was using it correctly.  What do real scientists have to say?

Become a "PSI CSI"

Get them experimenting!  This is a great opportunity to have students see if they can replicate this experiment done on some footballs.

or

Have them design their own experiments to discover the effects of temperature on air pressure using balloons. Have them measure the diameter of the balloon at room temperature, and then after being in the refrigerator or the freezer.  Collect data.  Graph the results.  

or

Have them bring in their own footballs to measure PSI and see how much theirs differ from each other.  Which ones are easiest to handle? Throw? Lots of good science here:  measuring, graphing temperature vs circumference, graphing temperature vs PSI (with a good bike pump), determining variables (why weren't all the balls affected?).
or
Check out this "just released" Kahn Academy video on deflate-gate.  Sal asks "Does the Ideal Gas Law" show that there was no foul play?"

What about the cheating aspect?

If it is discovered that the winning team’s footballs were not properly inflated, on purpose, should there be consequences?  Perhaps your students might be interested in why some people cheat?

Some argue that the balls would not have made a difference in the outcome of the game.  Others argue that the integrity of the game is at stake and the team should be punished.  The team has been caught cheating before, but at this time it is unclear exactly what happened.  Should the team be held responsible?  If you punish the team do you punish the fans?  What actions would be fair?  Is it “just a game” or a billion dollar business that is supported by fans who expect better? 

Why not let your students get in on the conversation and collaborate on a solution using the free SCAN tool at Tregoed.org.  Set up the lesson titled “Sports, Cheating, and the Big Game” to get them talking and writing.

Deflate-gate has everyone talking?  Will it be part of your classroom discussions?

Drive them to Think! My Favorite STEM Challenges

One of the key elements of a PBL is to provide a driving question.  That driving question provides the open-ended challenge or problem that we want our children to work on.  Bottom line, the question should be open-ended, require collaboration, critical thinking and teach students new skills.  These building blocks of inquiry are why STEM education goes with problem-based learning like macaroni goes with cheese! 

Driving Questions

Driving questions can, among other things, challenge students to solve a problem, design a better way to do something, build something useful or educate others.  Build, design, create and make are all verbs that bring the element of engineering into your classroom.  Adding constraints to a problem (things that students may or may not use, size/weight limitations, safety rules, etc.) not only adds to the challenge but reflects the reality of every day problem solving.

One of my all-time favorite examples of constraints in problem solving is the square peg in a round hole problem that was given to the Engineers at NASA to help Apollo 13 astronauts.  It has all the makings of a great problem:  It’s real and has real constraints. I use this great  video clip from the movie to have students practice defining a problem and listing the constraints

My Favorite STEM Challenges

Here are some of my favorite STEM challenges that I have used with kids to cover a variety of content:

1.       Build a better ________________.  Your students come across design flaws every day.  Ask them to listen to the complaints of their peers or parents about something that “just doesn’t work right” and develop a solution to the problem.  It could be a machine (like a mousetrap), law (like immigration), toy, or whatever.  They should gather information about the product, propose a solution, build a prototype, and present it to the class.  Example:  I recently had to use an airline travel toothbrush for a week – it collapsed into two pieces every time I brushed. Surely someone can come up with a better design!

2.       Rube Goldberg Contraptions.  The best engineering programs in the world participate in Rube Goldberg challenges.  Share a few Rube Goldberg cartoons, a couple of great YouTube videos and challenge your students to design and build a Rube Goldberg contraption that can do any or all of the following:

a.       Uses both a chemical change and a physical change.

b.      Uses 4 different simple machines.

c.       Uses both a mixture and a solution.

d.      Uses 4 different energy transfers.

e.      There is a whole lot of physics and chemistry that can be learned here.  Video tape their demonstrations and explanations to share with parents and post them to share with the rest of the world.

3.       Build a solar cooker with recyclable materials.  Food is a great motivator!  (and S’mores demonstrate both chemical and physical changes -burnt marshmallow, melted chocolate, broken graham crackers).  Have students research, design and build a cooker that will melt the chocolate for your s’more.  (Just saw that they now sell flat square marshmallows just for s’mores in the microwave-build a better marshmallow?)

4.       Build a SCALE Model of a large object (NASA’s latest MMS satellite, the solar system, the continents) or a small object (a life size lego man, cell, the Jolly Green Giant’s cell phone) using tape on the floor or string outside.  Lots of math involved!

5.       Make a model with moving parts using just paper (research paper engineering), Legos or recyclables of any science concept:  life, water or nutrient cycles, mitosis, meiosis, laws of thermodynamics, etc.  

Build, design, create, make, are all words that are key to putting engineering in your STEM lesson and developing problem solving, collaboration, creativity and communication.   Put the learning in their hands!

What are your favorite engaging STEM Challenges?

Earth Day-Bringing it Home Everyday!

STEM?  The objective is to not teach separate subjects, but to teach those subjects within the context that they occur in the real world.  Earth Day reminds us that there are hundreds of environmental issues that need to be resolved many of which are right in your own backyard. 

Earth Day is an everyday opportunity!

Looking at environmental issues any day of the year is a great source of problems that need solving – ripe for an authentic Problem Based Learning Unit.  Many times environmental issues are full of different perspectives (global warming for example) that are perfect for helping students understand perspectives, read informational texts, find evidence to support claims and collaborate on solutions fitting perfectly with the Common Core.  It is easy to hit Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics principles (STEM) if you are collecting data, graphing, problem solving, engineering solutions and using technology to share results and campaign for solutions all within a local habitat.

So what is in your backyard? 

Have students check out the local paper to see if there are land use issues or other environmental issues going on around town:

Does your community have sound, noise, light, or air pollution?

Does your community have water issues, too much, too little, too polluted?

Does your community need sprucing up?  Is graffiti or litter a problem?

How about your school building?  Can you do a simple litter survey in the halls? What types of litter did you find?  Who is responsible for it?  How could it be stopped? 

How about the lunchroom?  How much garbage do you generate? Where does your garbage go?  Can it be reduced?  What can be re-used (we raised a pig at our school to eat all of the leftovers!)? Recycled?  How can plants help the environment inside or outside your school building? 

How about doing an energy audit of your building or your home? 

Act Local, Think Global

You can help your students learn about and improve the world around them with simple projects based on local problems. 

Want to go global?  Edutopia has some great Earth day projects with global sharing opportunities.

Want to teach your students about activism?  Check out this blog on Teaching and the Environmental Crisis, which features schools that have taken action to improve their environment and communities.

Looking for more great resources?  Check out Great Interactive Resources for Earth Day.

What is in your backyard? Have your students been involved in a community environmental issue?  Please share!

Sochi Lessons for Every Classroom

Shoveling again!  Between our record breaking cold, 7 snow days and the winter Olympics approaching, tying your lessons to snow seems like a no-brainer, no matter where you are!

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) lessons of course are an excellent fit, but why not include art (STEAM) and Reading (STREAM) and Social Studies (STREAMS)…there are lots of resources and opportunities to take advantage of this global event in your classroom.

If you have snow in your backyard, there are lots of questions you can explore:  Why does it form crystals (flakes) sometimes and other times it is just ice?  How does salt help snow to melt?  Are there environmental consequences of salting the roads?  Can you design a better snow shovel?  Why does some snow make better snow balls than others?  How do ski areas make snow?  

If you don’t have snow in your backyard (hard for me to believe!), there is plenty of snow science going on in Sochi.  I recently learned from an NBC (Orlando) reporter, Stewart Moore, on his way to cover the Olympics, that Sochi was a “tropical resort” in Russia, with weather comparable to Atlanta (except for the nearby mountains!). Snow was actually saved from last year under blankets just in case they need it!  Imagine all of the logistics involved in pulling off an event like this (science, technology, engineering, math, anyone?)!

There are lots of great resources to get students engaged in relevant learning in your content area this month!

Science:    Check out these great videos on the Science and Engineering of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games including the “Science of Ice” “Science of Snow” and “Building Faster and Better Bobsleds” complete with in-depth lesson plans!  You can find more videos on the Science of the Olympic Games 2010 related to individual sports and gear.  Just for fun, check out this fascinating sound interactive which illustrates in sound the fractions of a second separating finishers in events at the Olympics.  This was found amongst the gems offered in TeachersFirst’s Resources for the Sochi Olympics.

Technology:  Yesterday, I witnessed a great Digital Day Winter Olympic Challenge going on between students in Indiana and Lousiana.  Hosted by William Krakower in NJ, students met in a Google Hangout and answered challenge questions based on the Olympics.  The questions included “How many miles from your school to Sochi?  How many kilometers? What is the time difference between your school and Sochi?” These students were totally engaged and motivated by the hot (cold?) topic of the Winter Olympics and the social capital built in.  You can easily replicate this with your own set of questions, set up game show style within your classroom, with a class across the hall, a class across town, or a class across the globe.  Kudos to those teachers who brought this cutting-edge activity to their students despite some technical difficulties and weather cancellations.

Reading:  WhyFiles.org has some great articles that feature different perspectives, ask great questions and cover ethical issues that make for great reading and persuasive writing.  Some examples include “Sports Doctors:  Conflict of Interest?” or “Too Much Training?”  Find the articles by searching for Olympics or Science Meets Sports.  Discover more ideas for Olympic-related reading and writing activities at ReadWriteThink.

Engineering:  There are lots of opportunities for engineering research from the Olympic venue to the athlete’s gear.  Check out this simple student challenge from We are Teachers which has students build their own bobsled out of Popsicle sticks.  Or use the video on Engineering Faster and Safer Bobsleds and the accompanying guide for STEAM activities related to designing the bobsled.

Math:  Have you seen Yummy Math?  This site provides “mathematics relevant to our world today.” Their most recent post was on the lighting of the Olympic Torch and one on how Olympic ski jumping is scored, both great math lessons with authentic and timely connections.    Check out the Mathletes video and lesson for another activity on scoring in the Olympic Games.   There are some very simple ideas on what you can do with results (including fake result pages) that you can use for simple math activities involving reading and building tables. 

Social Studies:  Delve into the history of the Olympics, geography of Sochi or research an athlete to discover the culture and geography of their country.   There are lots of links for the History of the Games, Olympic Games and Politics, and Ancient Olympic Games on the TeacherVision site.

Looking for more STEM Activities?

Matt Davis provides some quality links and ideas incorporating STEM into Olympics in the student engagement blog on Edutopia.  Highlights include mapping the Olympic Torch Relay, math activities from Scholastic and great hands on activities from Science Buddies.

Looking for Debate topics?  Who should host the 2022 Winter Olympics? 

The Olympic Games are an excellent opportunity to connect the interdisciplinary dots in an engaging way!  How will you take advantage?