tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49754680129940613292024-02-18T21:16:47.046-08:00WISE Teacher's Web LogThis is the Teachers and Educators Blog for the Westminster Institute for Science Education [WISE]Phillip Alveldahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07385209784282272315noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975468012994061329.post-79185610472349082002013-11-17T12:18:00.001-08:002013-11-17T12:18:05.098-08:00 WISE Workshop for NAIS Board on Teaching Innovation<p>Early feedback from the WISE workshop on "teaching innovation" that we hosted yesterday at the Madeira School in DC for the leadership of the National Association of Independent Schools [NAIS] was very positive, and a fun time was had by all. It was a real pleasure to meet such highly motivated and capable school leaders, and have a chance to share the WISE mission with like-minded partners that all share our commitment to improve education across the United States. </p>
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<p>Our afternoon workshop covered a broad range of topics, from a beginning discussion to frame innovation, creativity, discovery, and exploration in the context of education, to illuminate uniquely 21st century skills and educational challenges, to a hands-on workshop that embodied the most effective practices in fostering innovation developed over the last thirty years at the world's leading technical universities.</p>
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<p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Workshop description:</span></p>
<p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><strong>Teaching Students to Innovate in the 21st Century</strong><br>
By Dr. Phillip Alvelda</span></p>
<p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">This workshop explored 21st Century STEM education challenges and opportunities, and demonstrate (with an extended hands-on technical challenge) the latest pedagogical and curricular strategies developed and refined over the last three decades at the world’s leading technical universities specifically to foster creativity and innovation. We further discussed how those strategies have proven effective when translated and adapted for K-12 students, typical challenges in implementation, and the extraordinary results that make such efforts more than worthwhile, and their material impact not only in the obviously related design and engineering disciplines, but across curricular boundaries from science and math to English and other liberal arts.</span><br>
</p>
<p>After a short training session to establish common language and goals and context, the participants were challenged to complete a novel design task using the new Lego Mindstorm EV3 robotics kits. It was wonderful to see every single collaborative group go from befuddlement at the myriad of unfamiliar parts and the new and complex software design tools, through a frenzy of creative activity, exploration and experimentation, to fully demonstrable working prototypes that incorporated complex gearing systems, driven motors and sensors, each one unique in design and presentation. It was a perfect example of how these techniques can educate deeply without direct lecture or instruction, while driving stronger engagement and explicitly fostering creativity, collaboration, and innovation. </p>
<p>I feel compelled to add that yesterday's group delivered a rather unusual performance, wherein <strong>every</strong> group in this workshop performed remarkably under severe time pressure, and with minimal mentorship proved successful. I left the event feeling that our nation's private school leadership is in good hands!</p>
<p>I'm hopeful that our efforts will lead to an expansion of these collaborative challenge based approaches across a broad set of new schools, and we can add a few more crusaders to our mission.</p>
<p>Onward and upward!</p>
<p>-Phillip</p>
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<p>I</p>
<p> </p>Phillip Alveldahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07385209784282272315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975468012994061329.post-74579593282183475072011-12-14T07:50:00.000-08:002011-12-14T08:05:59.347-08:00New Program Offerings DraftHi Everyone!<div><br /></div><div>Based on our recent work with all of you great WISE schools, we are embarking upon a redesign of our web site which better articulates simple ways in which WISE can work with schools to enrich and extend their STEM programs.</div><div><br /></div><div>So here's a first draft of how we're thinking about a better productization and packaging of the services and support we offer. Please send us your feedback and suggestions via the comments submission form below! You're the ones who can tell us how we've most helped you and what you most need in the future.</div><div><br /></div><div>cheers,</div><div>-Phillip</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>____________________________</div><div><br /></div><div>WISE Services:</div><div><br /></div><div><ol><li>WISE Design and Innovation Lab planning & equipment for state-of-the-art after-school programs.</li><li>Innovative STEM curricular and special event materials inspired by decades of transformative science and engineering education experience at Cornell, MIT, Caltech, and NASA.</li><li>Support for participation in external STEM programs like FIRST, Intel-Siemens, and Science Olympiad.</li><li>Teacher training workshops and mentorship in the very latest project-based curricula and pedagogy which specifically fosters creativity, innovation, and design-thinking.</li><li> Special STEM weekend and after-school events planning, organization and management.</li><li>Fund raising and development support to finance all of these new STEM extensions both from within your school community , and from outside agency grants including the NSF, and the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. </li><li>Speaking engagements and special hands-on events for adults to raise awareness, support, and funds from school parents, boards and communities.</li></ol><div>Did I miss anything?</div></div>Phillip Alveldahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07385209784282272315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975468012994061329.post-16370009550477075712008-05-09T07:22:00.000-07:002008-05-09T07:34:45.864-07:00Making Chickensaurus Skeletons from WiredHere's a great <a href="http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Make_a_Chickensaurus_Skeleton">activity for budding paleontologists from the Wired Wiki</a>. Have your students reconstruct chicken skeletons...or diversify and give them many different animals to puzzle out. On the more creative rather than investigative side, have your adventuresome students combine bones from several species to make fantastic new "scientific mistakes."<br /><br /><a set="yes" linkindex="26" href="http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Image:Chicken_puzzle.jpg" class="image" title="Image:Chicken_puzzle.jpg"><img style="width: 366px; height: 518px;" alt="Image:Chicken_puzzle.jpg" src="http://howto.wired.com/mediawiki/images/Chicken_puzzle.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a set="yes" linkindex="28" href="http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Image:Making_chickensaurus.jpg" class="image" title="Image:Making_chickensaurus.jpg"><img style="width: 365px; height: 488px;" alt="Image:Making_chickensaurus.jpg" src="http://howto.wired.com/mediawiki/images/Making_chickensaurus.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a set="yes" linkindex="12" href="http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Image:Chickensaurus.jpg" class="image" title="Image:Chickensaurus.jpg"><img style="width: 368px; height: 530px;" alt="Image:Chickensaurus.jpg" src="http://howto.wired.com/mediawiki/images/Chickensaurus.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"> Check out the wired article for details, but prep and execution are pretty simple..<br /><br /><ol><li>Boil whole chicken (easily available in Asian markets)</li><li>Soak the de-fleshed chicken in Liquid Draino</li><li>Hot-glue the bones together, using 16 gauge wire to string the vertebrae</li><li>Refer to chicken anatomy pages via Google search (<a href="http://4hembryology.psu.edu/figure3.gif">like this one</a>) for reference.</li><li>Get creative with other animal skeletons and composites<br /></li></ol><br /></div></div>Phillip Alveldahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07385209784282272315noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975468012994061329.post-78004371947675862242008-02-07T05:55:00.000-08:002008-02-07T07:48:12.734-08:00WISE Teacher CompensationAh yes. 'Tis the season for performance evaluations, everyone's favorite time of the year. So I thought I would weigh in on some of what we at WISE consider best practices in terms of motivating teachers to go the extra mile in motivating and challenging their students to excel in science, math and technology. This is also a post intended to support administrations who ask the important question, "how can we effectively support and motivate change and improvement in our science programs." One very simple supporting answer (though clearly not one that will stand alone) is, "unequivocally tie compensation to the fulfillment of your goals." So since this is the time of the year to make amendments to compensation plans, here are our suggestions.<br /><br />Let me start this post by admitting that I am a BIG fan of performance-based pay despite die-hard opposition from most teachers' unions. And before you tenured folks get all excited, let me also say that what I am proposing is how merit BONUSES should be applied, and not that some portion of a teacher's regular base salary be variable based on performance (though in the long run, I do think that might also be worth considering).<br /><br />As we have begun to work with a range of schools, we at WISE have observed that one of the biggest challenges in updating science education practices is that even many of the most capable teachers find themselves operating in an environment of changing goals and motivations. Clear and unambiguous direction is often rare given that school administrations are themselves also struggling with rapid changes in technology practice and what they mean for science and technology education.<br /><br />So the purpose of this post is to offer some suggestions for updated criteria upon which to base merit bonuses, along with some rationale behind each area of assessment.<br /><br />What I will offer here is a starting proposal with the fundamental goal of aligning teacher compensation with the WISE mission of extending and enriching science education. In effect, I am proposing that you pay teachers extra compensation for doing extra work outside of their traditional classroom lecture obligations. More work is rewarded with more pay. Pay extra for stuff they are not already doing. They seem like a simple concepts, but we find them out of reach in many schools.<br /><br /><br />Assessment Criteria:<br /><ol><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">How effectively does the teacher invest students with interest and joy in scientific discovery?</span><br /><br />This is probably one of the single biggest opportunities for improvement. Subject matter skills and test taking facility pale into insignificance when the students are driven out of science programs and away from life-long science literacy. The goal is to financially motivate faculty to make their classroom and lab activities engaging and compelling. (Note that many teachers will respond that they can do this if they sacrifice efforts to improve test performance, but I would counter that the first requirement doesn't go away and they are already being paid for that one. If they can also accomplish this goal, they can get extra pay.)<br /><br />Measures:<br /><ul><li>Student survey answers to the question "did this science class make you more or less inclined to take another science class?"</li><li>How many of that teacher's students actually signed up for a subsequent science class?</li><li>Bonus percentages should be granted both for high scores, and year-over-year improvement.</li></ul><br /><br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">How many hours did the faculty invest in supporting extra-curricular science activities, and how many students did the teacher recruit into said activities?<br /></span><br />Science fairs and Olympiads, robotics contests, regular and long-lasting work in WISE labs, internships, or anything that involves the students in science outside the classroom are fundamental to taking textbook lessons and realizing how they are applied to and relevant in the outside world at large.<br /><br />Measures:<br /><ul><li>Count the number of hours invested</li><li>Count the number of mentored student entries in contests and fairs</li><li>Bonuses should be offered for both high scores and for year-on-year improvement</li></ul><br /><br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">How many hours of professional development in improving the teacher's scientific, technical, and research skills were undertaken over the school year?<br /></span><br />The goal here is to improve teachers' scientific literacy and get them to accrue experience in participating in scientific research and technical development such that they can bring these skills and activities back to their home schools. Note that this goal is NOT intended to offer compensation for educational programs or in-services on how to TEACH something. The idea is to breed teachers who are also scientists and role models and mentors in that capacity.<br /><br />Measure:<br /><ul><li>Count the number and extent of research or development sabbaticals</li><li>Offer bonuses for both strong performance and year-over-year improvement.</li></ul><br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">How effectively and regularly has the teacher collaborated and communicated with other teachers in planning and coordinating classroom and lab activities.<br /></span><br />This goal is probably one of the most important and foundational goals. One of the single biggest barriers to broad improvement is isolated teachers in isolated classrooms. Anything that can get them collaborating and brainstorming to promote honest and non-threatening peer assessment and support is a good thing.<br /><br />Measure:<br /><ul><li>This one requires that both peers and supervisors regularly evaluate the effectiveness of each teacher's team contribution.</li></ul><br /><br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">How effectively have your lesson plans and lab activities been updated to include:<br /></span></li></ol><ul><li>the latest computerized data sampling, analysis, and publishing practices, and</li><li>open-ended activities which offer consistent opportunities for creativity and innovation</li><li>opportunities for student collaboration and teamwork<br /><br />Measures:<br /><ul><li>This one is probably the most difficult to evaluate, and requires that a mentor-class teacher or administrator regularly observe and review class and lab practices. In a way, in order for this assessment to be practical and fair, the communications and collaboration goal needs to be fulfilled first.</li></ul></li></ul><br />=========================<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How to weight the different criteria:</span><br /><br />While all of the above criteria are important, and often new, goals for many teachers, some are more important than others. Some in particular, are foundational for others. The relative weights should also be adjusted to account for particular needs, deficiencies, and strengths of each unique science department at each unique school.<br /><br />But for programs that are starting this sort of program for the first time, I can recommend a relative weighting:<br /><br />Let me start by saying that if any one teacher accomplishes all these goals with panache, it should be worth a 20% bonus in salary, because it would take at LEAST 20% more time to pull it off, and in all likelihood, a lot more time than that. Moreover, the impact and benefits to the students would far exceed any expense. I'm also very much a member of the "Aim for the stars, hit the fence-post, aim for the fence-post, hit the mud" school. ASPIRE to do it all, but make it rewarding to do well in even a few of these areas.<br /><br />If you start with a home-run award of 20%, I would divide the 20% max bonus across each of the above areas weighted something like:<br /><br /><ol><li>Students interest, joy, ongoing science participation: 4%<br /> <br /> </li><li>Student extra-curricular science participation: 4%<br /> <br /> </li><li>Teacher's scientific professional development: 3%<br /> <br /> </li><li>Teacher collaboration, teamwork, communication: 6%<br /> <br /> </li><li>Technical lesson plans and lab updates: 3%<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /> </span></li></ol><br />I would also recommend flexibility in giving extra awards for truly exceptional and noteworthy efforts in any one area, even if other areas come up short.<br /><br />One other important point is that this proposal is not intended to be a straight-jacket, but rather a template and a starting point for what should be a living document that evolves with the trusting contribution and support of both faculty and staff. It should evolve as a school's needs evolve, and amended where and as necessary to reflect what works and what doesn't.<br /><br />Finally, I realize that this scheme will raise all sorts of very reasonable questions and concerns from both faculty and administrations. Questions like, "where are we supposed to find the cash to pay science teachers 20% bonuses?" (note that an average bonus is likely to much less than 20%) Or, "how am I supposed to know where to find summer research opportunities for myself or my students," or "How can I best update my lab equipment and practices?"<br /><br />Just know that WISE exists specifically to answer these questions and support these policies both in practice and financially. Ask away! Challenge us! Let's debate the best processes we can develop!<br /><br />As always, comments, suggestions, challenges etc... all welcome and encouraged!<br /><br />How many of you science, math and technology faculty would sign up to undertake some of these challenges with the prospect of a healthy 20% bonus?Phillip Alveldahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07385209784282272315noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975468012994061329.post-76361648202722573112008-02-06T07:05:00.000-08:002008-02-06T07:39:48.723-08:00Upcoming WISE Conference RecommendationsHi all,<br /><br />There are a couple of great science, technology, and math education conferences coming up this month and next that I want to be sure you are all aware of, the February 27-30 NCSSSMST conference in Dallas and the March 27-30 NSTA conference in Boston .<br /><br />I and a few WISE folks will be attending both shows, and we could likely schedule some fun extra-curricular activities around MIT in Boston that could be good for both faculty and students (the latter get free admittance to the Boston show.) This could also be a fun chance to hook up, broaden the WISE network and get schools actually collaborating. What a concept! Who's in?<br /><br />Conference details follow:<br />------------------------<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> NCSSSMST 2008 Professional Conference</span></span><br />February 27-30, Dallas, TX<br /><br />A case study for a great organization that badly needs a better name, the acronym-challenged association for Math Science and Technology specialty schools is a largely under-appreciated convocation of the best practices in those areas of education. With their group's focus on science and technology, you will find the best and most progressive teachers and school administrators talking about what is working for them and what is not. The content quality is very high overall. If you are either looking to hire, or looking for a job at a top-notch secondary educational institution, these are on the cutting edge of future school practices. I would even put in a strong plug for those of you from more mainstream schools to attend, as many of these best practices are universally applicable regardless of overall school focus.<br /><br />Check out the NCSSSMST 2008 Professional <a href="http://www.icsrc.org/ncsssmst08/08Schedule.pdf">Conference schedule</a> and the <a href="http://www.ncsssmst.org/CMFiles/Docs/08Sessions%20to%20Post.pdf">final session program</a>.<a href="http://www.ncsssmst.org/CMFiles/Docs/08Sessions%20to%20Post.pdf" target="_blank"> </a><br />LOTS of good stuff here. If you like what you see you can <a href="http://www.cpe.vt.edu/reg/ncsssmst/">register online here</a>. <a href="http://www.cpe.vt.edu/reg/ncsssmst/" target="_blank"></a><br /><br />More info on the organization<br /><a href="http://www.ncsssmst.org/">http://www.ncsssmst.org/</a><br />------------------------------<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> National Science Teacher's Association Conference </span></span><br />February 28-30, Boston, MA<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nsta.org/conferences/2008bos/">http://www.nsta.org/conferences/2008bos/</a><br /><br /><br />The best thing about this show is actually the exhibition, where all the science education vendors hawk their wares (over 500 vendors total). Everything from text books and workbooks to lab equipment, software, and materials, kits, etc... are abundantly displayed. The only challenge is sifting through the self-interested promoters of glossy-but-otherwise-useless stuff and the true gems that can transform your science education experiences. So we're planning some WISE group walk-throughs in order to jointly brainstorm about what we might promote and use.<br /><br />The second big opportunity is that through our MIT connections, we have been pointed towards a bunch of MIT programs that will be going on in support of the NSTA conference. These MIT research groups are hosting visitors from the NSTA show on the MIT campus for hands-on science and technology education workshops.<br /><br />Incidentally, these are the groups that have the most active ongoing K-12 outreach programs, and would be the best candidates for summer sabbaticals for any interested WISE faculty. (several of the groups were ones that Chris, Bill, and I met with on our last Boston trip) I can personally recommend the <a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-1" rel="description-1" target="_blank">Creating with crickets at the Media Lab</a>, and <a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-16" rel="description-16" target="_blank">Open-ended Mechanical Engineering Activities</a>, as being absolute gems applicable from middle school on up.<br /><br /><br /> <table> <tbody> <tr> <th><br /> </th> <th>BLOCK 1 (1:30-2:45 PM)</th> <th><br /> </th> </tr> <tr> <th>Avail<br />Space</th> <th>Workshop Tag and Description</th> <th>Choice</th> </tr> <tr> <td>13 of 18</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-1" rel="description-1" target="_blank">Creating with crickets at the Media Lab</a></td> <td><span> <input name="J:A:F-block1-register" value="1" type="radio"><label></label> </span></td> </tr> <tr> <td>30 of 30</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-2" rel="description-2" target="_blank">"Highlights for HS" MIT OpenCourseWare ~ Super resource for AP courses</a></td> <td><span> <input name="J:A:F-block1-register" value="2" type="radio"><label></label> </span></td> </tr> <tr> <td>26 of 30</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-3" rel="description-3" target="_blank">Tour of the Broad Institute biomedical research labs</a></td> <td><span> <input name="J:A:F-block1-register" value="3" type="radio"><label></label> </span></td> </tr> <tr> <td>47 of 50</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-4" rel="description-4" target="_blank">Scientific breakthroughs ~ Hot topic biology lecture</a></td> <td><span> <input name="J:A:F-block1-register" value="4" type="radio"><label></label> </span></td> </tr> <tr> <td>23 of 25</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-5" rel="description-5" target="_blank">Investigate the 3-D structure of proteins</a></td> <td><span> <input name="J:A:F-block1-register" value="5" type="radio"><label></label> </span></td> </tr> <tr> <td>99 of 100</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-6" rel="description-6" target="_blank">MIT Museum: MIT Lemelson InvenTeams and the Cell</a></td> <td><span> <input name="J:A:F-block1-register" value="6" type="radio"><label></label> </span></td> </tr> <tr> <td>21 of 24</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-7" rel="description-7" target="_blank">Connecting genes to organisms and populations</a></td> <td><span> <input name="J:A:F-block1-register" value="7" type="radio"><label></label> </span></td> </tr> <tr> <td>30 of 30</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-8" rel="description-8" target="_blank">MIT OpenLabWare for HS ~ Learn in the Lab</a></td> <td><span> <input name="J:A:F-block1-register" value="8" type="radio"><label></label> </span></td> </tr> <tr> <td>22 of 25</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-9" rel="description-9" target="_blank">Space weather, radio astronomy & cell phones</a></td> <td><span> <input name="J:A:F-block1-register" value="9" type="radio"><label></label> </span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div> <div><span></span> <span></span><span></span> <table> <tbody> <tr> <th><br /> </th> <th>BLOCK 2 (3:00-4:15 PM)</th> <th><br /> </th> </tr> <tr> <th>Avail<br />Space</th> <th>Workshop Tag and Description</th> <th>Choice</th> </tr> <tr> <td>17 of 18</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-10" rel="description-10" target="_blank">Creating with crickets at the Media Lab</a></td> <td><span> <input name="J:A:F-block2-register" value="10" type="radio"><label></label> </span></td> </tr> <tr> <td>28 of 30</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-11" rel="description-11" target="_blank">"Highlights for HS" MIT OpenCourseWare ~ Super resource for AP courses</a></td> <td><span> <input name="J:A:F-block2-register" value="11" type="radio"><label></label> </span></td> </tr> <tr> <td>25 of 30</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-12" rel="description-12" target="_blank"> Tour of the Broad Institute biomedical research labs</a></td> <td><span> <input name="J:A:F-block2-register" value="12" type="radio"><label></label> </span></td> </tr> <tr> <td>47 of 50</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-13" rel="description-13" target="_blank">Scientific breakthroughs ~ Hot topic biology lecture</a></td> <td><span> <input name="J:A:F-block2-register" value="13" type="radio"><label></label> </span></td> </tr> <tr> <td>24 of 25</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-14" rel="description-14" target="_blank">Investigate the 3-D structure of proteins</a></td> <td><span> <input name="J:A:F-block2-register" value="14" type="radio"><label></label> </span></td> </tr> <tr> <td>94 of 100</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-15" rel="description-15" target="_blank">MIT Museum: MIT Lemelson InvenTeams and the Cell</a></td> <td><span> <input name="J:A:F-block2-register" value="15" type="radio"><label></label> </span></td> </tr> <tr> <td>21 of 24</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-16" rel="description-16" target="_blank">Open-ended Mechanical Engineering Activities</a></td> <td><span> <input name="J:A:F-block2-register" value="16" type="radio"><label></label> </span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </div> <div> <center><span style="font-size:+2;"><b>OR</b></span></center> </div> <span></span><span></span> <span></span> <table style="width: 680px; height: 232px;" align="center"> <tbody><tr> <th><br /> </th> <th>Long BLOCKS (1:30-4:15 PM)</th> </tr> <tr> <th>Avail<br />Space</th> <th>Workshop Tag and Description</th> </tr> <tr> <td>13 of 16</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-17" rel="description-17" target="_blank">Basic neutron experiments at the reactor</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td>15 of 16</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-19" rel="description-19" target="_blank">Magnetism, thin-film nanomagnets</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td>7 of 10</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-20" rel="description-20" target="_blank">Build magnetic induction or "shake" flashlights</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td>23 of 24</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-21" rel="description-21" target="_blank">Ocean exploration in the classroom</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td>21 of 24</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-22" rel="description-22" target="_blank">Mystery @MIT: learning through augmented reality</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td>25 of 25</td> <td><a href="http://nsta.mit.edu/#description-23" rel="description-23" target="_blank">High Energy Astrophysics!</a><br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody> </table> Do let me know via email, blog comment or IM (see the links to the right) if you are planning to attend either show so we can be sure to meet up and plan some joint meals and events!<br /><br />cheers,<br />-PhillipPhillip Alveldahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07385209784282272315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975468012994061329.post-33527385537664018032008-01-23T07:05:00.000-08:002008-01-23T07:22:30.745-08:00Flagging Economy Needs Science InvestmentsA very topical Op-Ed piece from Sunday's <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/20/EDFDUHP1I.DTL">San Francisco Chronicle</a> by Intel Chairman Craig Barrett. I liked it so much I include it in its entirety here.<br /><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="headlines"><h1>Flagging Economy Needs Science Investments</h1> </div> <p class="byline">Craig Barrett</p> <p class="date">Sunday, January 20, 2008</p><span id="bodytext" class="georgia md"><p>"Two years ago, the National Academies published the seminal study on U.S. competitiveness entitled "Rising Above the Gathering Storm." The study identified major shortcomings in U.S. investments in basic scientific research as well as in math and science education for our youngsters. The suggestions contained in this study were immediately picked up by the Democratic House Leadership as their competitiveness strategy and later by President Bush in his State of the Union message under his American Competitiveness Initiative. Legislation in the form of the America Competes Act was passed in the House and Senate in 2007, and it appeared the United States was finally going to move forward after years of neglect to increase investment in math, science and basic research. All parties agreed that our competitiveness in the 21st century was at stake and we needed to act.</p> <p>So much for political will. </p> <p>The recent budget deal between Republicans and Democrats effectively flat-funds or cuts funding for key science agencies. Excluding "earmarks," the Department of Energy funding for fiscal year 2008 is up only 2.6 percent, thus losing ground to inflation. The National Science Foundation is up 2.5 percent, with the same result. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is up 11 percent, however the labs where research happens only get 2.3 percent, again losing ground to inflation. Key national laboratories, such as the Fermilab, which focuses on high-energy particle physics research, face the likelihood of hundreds of jobs being lost and the closing of some facilities, helping to shortchange defense research. Predicting the impact of such funding cuts in basic research on future job creation is difficult. Who could have predicted a $300 billion semiconductor industry from the invention of a transistor? But our kids who are heading to college are very smart. They will make their career decisions based on where they see the priorities of our government and economy.</p> <p>The funding decisions on the America Competes Act took place a few days after Congress passed a $250 billion farm bill. In the eyes of our political leaders, apparently, corn subsidies to Iowa farmers are more important for our competitiveness in the next century than investing a few billion in our major research universities. The president expressed his happiness with the budget and Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, said, "The president didn't get his priorities, we got ours."</p> <p>At a time when the rest of the world is increasing its emphasis on math and science education (the most recent international tests - NAEP and PISA - show U.S. kids to be below average) and increasing their budgets for basic engineering and physical science research, Congress is telling the world these areas are not important to our future. At a time when we are failing our next generation of students, politically charged topics such as steroids in Major League Baseball and the destruction of CIA interrogation tapes command instantaneous congressional hearings while the seed corn (no pun intended) of our future is ignored and placed lower in priority than billions of dollars of earmarks.</p> <p>Perhaps this would all be a moot discussion if we could continue to import the best and brightest minds from around the world to start and staff our next generation of high tech startups. But Washington can't even get that strategy straight, as legal immigration - the process by which bright, highly educated workers immigrate to the United States - is being choked by our inability to control illegal immigration. While the EU has proposed a simplified and expanded program for importing highly educated talent from the rest of the world, we continue to make if more difficult for the same talent to work in the United States, even when some of these knowledge workers have received their education in the United States at partial taxpayer expense.</p> <p>Where are the voices in Washington to bring reasoned debate and action to these topics? Where are the voices among the presidential candidates to propose solutions to these challenges? What do we elect our political leaders for if not to protect our long-term future?</p> <p>The United States stands at a pivotal point in our history. Competition is heating up around the world with millions of industrious, highly educated workers who are willing to compete at salaries far below those paid here. The only way we can hope to compete is with brains and ideas that set us above the competition - and that only comes from investments in education and R&D. Practically everyone who has traveled outside the United States in the last decade has seen this dynamic at work. The only place where it is apparently still a deep, dark secret is in Washington, D.C. </p> <p>What are they thinking? When will they wake up? It may already be too late; but I genuinely think the citizenry of this country wants the United States to compete. If only our elected leaders weren't holding us back.</p> <p><i>Craig Barrett is the chairman of Intel."</i> </p></span></div></blockquote>Phillip Alveldahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07385209784282272315noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975468012994061329.post-88894796611913262482008-01-22T08:47:00.001-08:002008-01-22T09:11:40.006-08:00Build your own ROVOK, it's too late to apply for this February, but it appears an ongoing annual (?) workshop for <a href="http://graysreef.noaa.gov/pdfs/ROV_wkshp_08.pdf">teachers building underwater ROV's</a> (Remotely Operated Vehicles) at the <a href="http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/">Georgia Aquarium</a> has lots of cool WISE potential.<br /><br />The robotics connection is obvious, potentially offering our <a href="http://westminsterrobotics.blogspot.com/">robotics teams</a> some off-season practice in a cool new venue. Also, there are some <a href="http://www.marinetech.org/rov_competition/index.php">ROV competitions</a> offered by the <a href="http://www.marinetech.org/">Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center</a>.<br /><br />The best part of this is the potential of a project like this to provide open-ended opportunities for student exploration and research. With mounted cameras and probes, you need not restrict yourself to ocean exploration. What about venturing into the Chattahoochee River or any of the lakes around us. ROVs are also useful to explore areas where human beings cannot or should not venture for reasons of safety, size, access, etc. It would be cool to explore scalability issues with ROVs. What other engineering possibilities are there?<br /><br />So, it looks like the GA Aquarium is offering this for teachers, but I see absolutely no reason why high school students couldn't be involved with something like this immediately.<br /><br />I'll post more information when I hear back from the GA Aquarium about their ROV training session schedule. For those in other areas, a quick Google search shows current or past ROV teacher training in Santa Barbara, CA, Norfolk, VA, and other areas.<br /><a href="http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/"></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com77tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975468012994061329.post-15081873133509792302008-01-18T16:23:00.000-08:002008-01-18T17:19:12.928-08:00Purposely Teaching Innovation and CreativityAs the US economy shifts from an industrial production base to one based on information technology and intellectual property, the importance of innovation in science, math and technology increases apace. Now, more than ever before, the economic wellbeing of the United States depends on how well our nation can invent creative new technologies and novel and original solutions to world-shaking challenges while observing ever more difficult constraints on energy and resource utilization.<br /><br />The old imperatives to invent efficient manufacturing infrastructure and train people to man them is no longer the focus of our future economy. And yet almost all of our nation's technical educational systems from Kindergarten through graduate schools are still built around the "traditional" model designed to support the industrialization of America. In that sense, our current school system was designed to train a population to efficiently perform regular and repetitive tasks that required well-known skills. It's not much of a stretch to realize that such a system designed to replicate specific skills and inculcate known approaches to well-understood problems is not well-suited to foster creativity.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the world's technology landscape has changed so rapidly over the last decades that today's largest prospective economic engines surrounding computing, telecommunications, network technologies, stem cells, synthetic biology, and a host of others literally did not even exist when I was in school. And so I, and hundreds of thousands of other students who matriculated from US schools during the interval learned a huge amount of subject matter that was outdated long before we were truly material to the US economy. We survived in the profession by learning how to solve new problems as they came up. We had to be creative and innovative despite the fact that nobody had ever specifically taught us how to be so.<br /><br />Recent surveys of executives running the most technology-oriented of the Fortune 500 companies, universities and research laboratories were almost unanimous when asked what skills they were looking for in this century's future work force. Almost none of them asked for the traditional subject matter that is the focus of most today's standardized tests. Instead, they almost unanimously were looking for creativity, the ability to innovate and come up with novel solutions to new problems that had never been seen before.<br /><br />"Critical thinking" and "thinking outside the box" are often mentioned as goals of educational approaches, and yet even those programs that tout hands-on and inquiry-based pedagogy are almost universally very structured with pre-determined "correct" outcomes. Where is the room for creativity? Where can a student actually discover something new, or create something that never existed before?<br /><br />In contrast, at WISE, we help schools build environments that are specifically designed to purposely foster creativity, and offer places and times for students to regularly practice fundamental technical skills while creating their own unique solutions to progressively more complicated and extensive challenges, and better yet, discovering and pursuing original lines of inquiry of their own.<br /><br />This effort turns out to cover a lot of ground from organization to logistics, to training, and even includes financial support. But just building a space and populating it isn't enough, because aside from a few exceptions, students exposed to an open environment for the first time have no idea how to exercise their own initiative and begin learning, exploring, and innovating on their own. There needs to be a concerted effort to design and support introductory activities that teach fundamental creative and innovation-oriented skills and philosophies. Some of the recent growth in robotics and rocketry type competitions has really helped in this direction.<br /><br />The good news is that we now have a pretty good idea of how to build these environments all the way down to the Kindergarten level. If we manage to achieve some of the fundamental goals of our organization, children at WISE schools will be specifically challenged to begin innovating at an early age and get regular practice all the way through high school.<br /><br />The key is that lab and inquiry-based assignments need to consistently have regular open-ended components where there is no specific "answer" but rather there exist unlimited avenues to approach a challenge. These sorts of activities will be a strong focus of this web log on an ongoing basis. Stay tuned to learn more about how we have set up specific labs and activities.Phillip Alveldahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07385209784282272315noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975468012994061329.post-35272672350450043192008-01-13T02:52:00.001-08:002008-01-24T02:37:56.732-08:00Rookie FLL Team Qualifies for State!!!In our first year in the <a href="http://www.firstlegoleague.org/">FIRST Lego League</a> competitions, one of our junior high school teams (Robocats 3) qualified at the <a href="http://cims.clayton.edu/fll/">Clayton State University Tournament</a> (January 12, 2008) for the <a href="http://www.firstlegoleague.org/calendar.aspx?pid=210&action=showevent&eventid=1401">Georgia state tournament</a> to be held at GA Tech February 9, 2008.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-39kAYKz6I9AnUWRlU64VnIqdUuR3URYHW8d5Myj2O7iiWGPpELQKExp34OCW3X7Mesw0mvQ_tErGwsW3MxHaFypeicP8TIK3FfIRJytu80RkiD6SBzvBVGX6p8tt7a6AHpX5dnbc-yq/s1600-h/Picture18.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-39kAYKz6I9AnUWRlU64VnIqdUuR3URYHW8d5Myj2O7iiWGPpELQKExp34OCW3X7Mesw0mvQ_tErGwsW3MxHaFypeicP8TIK3FfIRJytu80RkiD6SBzvBVGX6p8tt7a6AHpX5dnbc-yq/s320/Picture18.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156394815322998050" border="0" /></a><br /><br />They began the year as an all-girls team of four (three 8th graders and one 7th) and added two boys early in the fall semester 2007. Despite scheduling conflicts, declining participation, and other difficulties, two of the girls persevered, discovering that even when everything else fell apart around them, they were strong and determined enough to see it through on their commitments.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzdPC2qncZel_LXQcB1Fxl6wCXa5PQLXeTN1kubI9O-UYLy-QzsspQvh5T1y1F1Xd4lLg4vnCZiGeePuyEiog' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Over their four months of robot design and development, they evolved a technically complicated NXT robot with some quite sophisticated approaches to solving the many missions in the <a href="http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=29550">2007 FLL Power Puzzle</a> Challenge. While they had many operational difficulties with the performance of their robot in Saturday's tournament, the students hit home runs in the Robot Design and Teamwork categories and they won the <a href="http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=29660">Project Award</a>, proving that performance on all fronts is necessary for true team success.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwH8HbKfWySSJ3TiOGkXZGcmYVaJNyF6GpIKPqhzlTET6bbYLHTYaP1vtC77eOTsOtDiwZ-M5RE45Jlmdm8Fy8nvfag18Bc2fMsnnq-ep23ZUUhj12KjrSA3DXdJLKcJD4Mn2DskBMGJkf/s1600-h/Picture19.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwH8HbKfWySSJ3TiOGkXZGcmYVaJNyF6GpIKPqhzlTET6bbYLHTYaP1vtC77eOTsOtDiwZ-M5RE45Jlmdm8Fy8nvfag18Bc2fMsnnq-ep23ZUUhj12KjrSA3DXdJLKcJD4Mn2DskBMGJkf/s320/Picture19.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156393806005683442" border="0" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br />Concerning their only weak spot from the tournament, they know their robot could and should have performed much better. They are re-energized and more determined than ever to refine their NXT robot to fix their shortcomings before the January 9th tournament.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCaYKOuuSm31KIZozMrvB_2e-_9Iybei0UHRyIKYn6RBBeF6qqBFD21PdRF9vEWlZmLwLxt-NFG0jRMYGTElc6r6IA7Onr_ojh6oxn3a4GLB2Ty520bDXtcxaLWDxJCyb9qWUYiJMusVX5/s1600-h/Picture16.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCaYKOuuSm31KIZozMrvB_2e-_9Iybei0UHRyIKYn6RBBeF6qqBFD21PdRF9vEWlZmLwLxt-NFG0jRMYGTElc6r6IA7Onr_ojh6oxn3a4GLB2Ty520bDXtcxaLWDxJCyb9qWUYiJMusVX5/s320/Picture16.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156395077316003122" border="0" /></a><br /></div>This has been one of the most spectacular experiences in my 18-year teaching career. I am more convinced than ever that we <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">must</span> </span>put our students in open-ended situations where they use what they know to find creative, original solutions to problems and they solve them on their own with appropriate <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">minimal</span></span> assistance and guidance from those around them. These two girls found a way to conquer a litany of obstacles stacked against them and they emerged confident, energized and determined. Look out world!<br /><br />(This was also posted to the <a href="http://westminsterrobotics.blogspot.com/">Westminster Robotics Blog</a>)<object id="BLOG_video-UPLOADING" class="BLOG_video_class" contentid="UPLOADING" height="266" width="320"></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975468012994061329.post-5206376220598059602007-11-26T09:35:00.001-08:002007-11-27T06:30:29.899-08:00Join the Biological Engineering RevolutionMany people familiar with the sorts of programs we promote at WISE have asked me (a Physicist) "Hey, all that robotics and physics stuff is pretty cool, but what can you help us biologists with?"<br /><br />Well boy have I got a good one for you. A couple of weeks ago, Chris Harrow and I visited Dr. Tom Knight at MIT's CSAIL laboratory to learn about iGEM, the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition. Tom, incidentally, in addition to being the "Patron Saint of Synthetic Biology," is one of the charter members of the WISE advisory board, and my old grad school adviser! Here are links to a <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2006/11/05/genetic_jamboree_draws_innovators/">Boston Globe article</a> and a <a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17716&ch=biotech">Technology Review Article</a> on the 2007 iGEM meeting.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://parts.mit.edu/igem07/index.php/Main_Page"><img src="http://parts.mit.edu/igem07/images/b/b0/JamAbove07_cropped2.jpg" alt="image" height="196" width="360" /></a><br /><br /></div>iGEM is basically the genetic engineering equivalent to the FIRST robotics competition, wherein student teams compete to take fundamental DNA building blocks and use them to design and build their own artificial organisms that solve interesting problems. See the <a href="http://parts.mit.edu/igem07/index.php/Main_Page">2007 iGEM Wiki here</a>, and <a href="http://www.igem2006.com/story.htm">a short intro to the iGEM program here</a>.<br /><br />The real beauty of the challenge is that a mere few hundred dollars worth of basic bio tools like test tubes, pipettes, a refrigerator and an oven (things that most schools already have lying around) are all you need. Well, that and some creativity and some basic lab skills (i.e. like being able to pipette from one tube to another without poking yourself in the eye) will let you make some truly novel living organisms.<br /><br />Here are a couple of examples from past year's competitions, from ultra-sensitive arsenic detectors that are basically free (okay you need sugar to feed the bacteria) to living computer building blocks. Projects are only limited by your creativity and willingness to pipette and bake.<br /><a href="http://parts.mit.edu/igem07/index.php/UCSF"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">UCSF and Lincoln High School's Synthetic Assembly Scaffolds</span></a>,<br /><br /><a href="http://parts.mit.edu/igem07/index.php/Berkeley_UC"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Berkeley's Bacto-blood</span></a>, <span id="Intro_Text">a cost-effective red blood cell substitute constructed from engineered <i>E. coli</i> bacteria designed to safely transport oxygen in the bloodstream without inducing sepsis, and to be stored for prolonged periods in a freeze-dried state.<br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://parts.mit.edu/igem07/index.php/Alberta">Alberta's Butanol bio-fuel producing bacteria</a>,<br /><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><img class="ArticleImage" src="http://www.technologyreview.com/files/806/052406homepage.jpg" border="0" height="225" width="225" /><br /></div><span id="Intro_Text"><br /></span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://parts.mit.edu/igem07/index.php/Duke/Projects">Duke's Macroscopic Bacterial Systems projects</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">,<br /><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://parts.mit.edu/igem07/index.php/Image:Duked.jpg" class="image" title="Image:duked.jpg"><img style="width: 391px; height: 293px;" src="http://parts.mit.edu/igem07/images/8/8c/Duked.jpg" alt="Image:duked.jpg" longdesc="/igem07/index.php/Image:Duked.jpg" /></a><br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://parts.mit.edu/igem07/index.php/Glasgow/Plan">Glasgow's Environmental Bio-sensor project</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">,</span><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://parts.mit.edu/igem07/index.php/Melbourne">Melbourne's buoyant light-programmed bio-brick</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span><br /><br />There are dozens of other projects, with all of their notes and results published on the wiki, so you can get an idea of what is involved. Despite the fact that most of the teams were from Universities, their were many high school participants, and Dr. Knight was particularly interested in getting more high schools involved.<br /><br /><br />Sign up here at the <a href="http://igem.org/2008/">iGEM 2008 page</a> to receive news or express interest in fielding a team! Or email me and I can hook you up with Tom.Phillip Alveldahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07385209784282272315noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975468012994061329.post-72229054912846115832007-10-15T16:36:00.000-07:002007-11-27T06:36:43.256-08:00Don’t Panic! It's Okay If You Don't Know the Aswer.<h3>A Monograph on WISE Philosophy </h3> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>In fact, I would go even farther to say that life in general is better and more interesting when you don’t already know all the answers, because that means there is some puzzle, or conundrum, or problem at hand which offers an opportunity for creativity and exploration.<span style=""> </span>All of you are certainly aware that even if a teacher KNOWS the answer to a question, it is often better for students if a teacher avoids answering them directly.<span style=""> </span>Here, I offer an extension of that same idea.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Now I will admit that it seems a little odd, telling teachers not to worry about knowing the answers.<span style=""> </span>After all, traditional pedagogy places a teacher at the head of the class giving lectures, demonstrating their knowledge, dispensing wisdom, and assessing whether students know and understand what they have been taught.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>And while it’s true that most of us have gone through our academic career being penalized for not knowing something, or for having forgotten some fact or date, WISE espouses a shift in the traditional pedagogy and overall mind-set in science and technology education.<span style=""> </span>Instead of grading people on whether or not they know something, we emphasize how well students figure something out that they don’t already know. To be sure, this is a very different process than simply checking off memorized facts on a multiple choice test against a Scantron key, but the results are worth the mind-shift and the change is not a difficult one once understood.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">One reason that this shift in emphasis is important arises from the fact that most traditional science classes test for facts and figures, and the ability to solve problems that are but slight variations of problems students have already been given in prior homework and classroom examples.<span style=""> </span>This approach is then testing for science as subject matter, and completely misses the point that while there is certainly a lot of subject matter to learn, the most important aspect of science is as a PROCESS.<span style=""> </span>In that sense, learning science in the traditional lecture and rote lab pedagogy never actually gives students an opportunity to participate in the PROCESS of science, but rather has them memorizing how others have already done so. If students are never given the opportunity to engage in novel research and discovery by personally practicing the scientific process on real rather than contrived pre-solved problems, they will never experience the true wonder and excitement of really discovering something for themselves.<span style=""> </span>That very feeling is the crown jewel of science gratification and the secret to keeping children engaged in the subject.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Worse yet, students passing through such a system have been trained to be adept memorizers and test takers, but have had very little exposure to, or practice in, innovating, discovering, or being creative.<span style=""> </span>The only level of critical thinking such a curriculum fosters is that of deciphering what a teacher wants and responding to respond appropriately on tests and homework in order to maximize grades.<span style=""> </span>With the emergence of web search technologies like Google, however, there is no remaining need or utility for memorization of obscure facts when a 3 second web query will result in an almost instant answer. We are left training people who are “book smart” but have little practical experience in using the smarts to create novel solutions.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Another powerful motivating factor for the shift in emphasis from fact and memorization to process and discovery is in how it aligns the motivations and goals of both teacher and student. This alignment mitigates one of the most prevalent barriers to the enjoyment and adoption of science as a profession, the fear and anxiety that arises from NOT KNOWING SOMETHING. This fear of NOT KNOWING is hardly a surprising result given that students are largely graded on whether they know or remember.<span style=""> </span>It is a completely natural response to worry about how one will perform, and when tests penalize a failure of memory then of course anxiety will arise in response.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Unfortunately, this completely natural result of traditional pedagogy is exactly contrary to the goal of a strong science education, which is to train students in the practice of science.<span style=""> </span>The conflict arises because the whole goal of science (the profession and the process) is to figure out and discover things that we don’t already know. But if students are trained, however inadvertently, by our misplaced emphasis on science facts and our testing and assessment methodologies to get nervous when they don’t know something, then we are teaching people to be nervous when they should really be excited and interested.<span style=""> </span>We are conditioning students against enjoying science.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">When scientists discover something they don’t understand or realize that they don’t know something, that generally means there is something interesting to discover.<span style=""> </span>There is an “aha!” or a “Eureka!” in the wings.<span style=""> </span>In this sense, lectures and the testing of memorization and repetition of demonstrated problems actually foster math and science anxiety.<span style=""> </span>In my experience it is this very interaction that drives many students to say things like “I’m not good at science,” and it is this very sort of interaction which drives students away from science.<span style=""> </span>The sad truth is that many of these students never had a chance to practice real science or to realize the wonder of discovery contrary to the pain of failed memorization.<span style=""> </span>What they fear is being tested about science history and mistake that for science proper.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Now consider what happens in a realigned pedagogy which places the teacher as a guide to exploration rather than as a font of wisdom, facts, or pre-defined processes.<span style=""> </span>It is then possible for both teacher and student to enjoy moments of not knowing together.<span style=""> </span>It even becomes possible to model by example and mutually share in the enjoyment of NOT KNOWING.<span style=""> </span>Students and teachers are thus encouraged to be comfortable not knowing, and to seize that opportunity to discover, understand, and explain phenomena.<span style=""> </span>Science and math anxiety vanish and interest flourishes as a result. Even students who never considered themselves “good at science” discover new interests and empowerment.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Now stated as a philosophy, the goal of this shift from fact to process is straightforward but the task of practically implementing that philosophy in a classroom setting is somewhat subtle.<span style=""> </span>Please don’t mistake the title’s statement for the idea that it’s okay if a teacher doesn’t know ANYTHING about the topic at hand since both teacher and student can discover together.<span style=""> </span>In order to be an effective mentor and guide to exploration, the WISE science teacher needs to be practiced at the PROCESS of science, and conversant with the tools and techniques pertinent to the topic at hand.<span style=""> </span>And while it’s okay to not know an answer, a well-trained teacher should be familiar with several different METHODS relevant to DISCOVERING an answer.<span style=""> </span>Classes and teaching environments can then shift from teaching facts to teaching methods and techniques, approaches to problem solving, and relating constructive processes in critical thinking that break large problems into a series of smaller more approachable ones.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In some sense, the very notion of a science class can then shift to encompass collaborative learning which gets students to jointly experience the process of discovery.<span style=""> </span>Since facts and memorization become less important, worries about cheating and copying vanish when it is practice in the process that is more important.<span style=""> </span>The goal of the teacher can then become how to prepare class materials so that students have repeated opportunities to learn tools and techniques, to practice the techniques and then use them to discover things.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Note that this proposed shift is more of a change in pedagogy than a change in curriculum.<span style=""> </span>The subject matter, and in fact, much of the teaching materials can remain constant as long as there is a change in how the material is related, and how answers are not given directly, and instead of lecturing and relating facts, the materials are offered as things to be discovered through collaborative processes. So performed properly, the subject matter and facts can be learned as part of, and motivated by, the discovery process. It's not as if we don't expect either the teachers or students to learn or remember the key material, but we do espouse shifting the balance of HOW the materials are learned to a more scientific process.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">If you are unsure as to how to begin applying these principles in your school or classroom, well, that is what WISE is for.<span style=""> </span>We advise and support schools to help them set up laboratories where students can come in on their free time to explore, discover, and work in a mentored environment at their own pace to learn the necessary skills and tools.<span style=""> </span>Each WISE lab is connected to all the others with simple video-conferencing software, and Teachers that become involved in the WISE labs gain an immediate support network where questions can be asked and frequent brainstorming sessions ensue, and where resources that describe best practices are freely available.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Stay tuned for specific examples.<span style=""> </span>In the meantime, think process and discovery instead of fact and memorization.<span style=""> </span>Please do post questions or suggestions to this web log or email them to me at <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:alvelda@westminster.net">alvelda@westminster.net</a>, because we really do want to hear from you!<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Phillip Alveldahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07385209784282272315noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975468012994061329.post-4785797952779386502007-09-26T13:44:00.000-07:002007-10-05T12:16:42.080-07:00How Can WISE Help a Teacher<span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Extra-curricular Curriculum Support</span><br />WISE can most effectively support teachers who keep the institute informed at a high level as to their class schedules and broad curriculum outlines. With even a little bit of advanced notice, WISE can be sure to keep the labs and web logs stocked with complementary experiments, materials, and pointers for research that will extend what teachers discuss in class. We welcome suggestions or brainstorming or requests for anything that might help us better support you.<br /><br />With strong support from dedicated teachers, WISE is building an environment where students can explore subjects on their own free time to whatever depths their motivations might drive them. Opportunities abound for students to use what they learn in the formal classes and labs, and motivate what future lessons might hold for them.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Student Inspiration and Motivation</span></span><br />The initial student and teacher feedback from our earliest efforts has been uniformly positive. Several students have reported an increase in interest and inspiration where they have begun to realize science is really applicable to interesting things outside of the classroom. Even students who never considered themselves "science types" have enjoyed moments of novel inspiration, creativity and discovery using the tools and techniques learned in the WISE lab. Our goal is to generate as much enthusiasm as possible, and our hope is that as a result, we will all see much more engagement in the classes as well as the complementary extracurricular science activities.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Broader Teaching Support and Networking Opportunities</span></span><br />The initial roster of schools contemplating membership in the WISE network includes some of the leading academic institutions across the United States. Linking these participants into an extended community through WISE web logs, events, sabbaticals and so on, will facilitate the sharing and dissemination of best practices around science and technology education. These materials will become universally accessible resources available to all participating teachers. Students will likewise benefit from more opportunities to visit other schools and universities and to network, collaborate, and compete with other similar students approaching similar challenges at science fairs, robotics competitions, summer camps and technical internships.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Professional Development Opportunities</span></span><br />As WISE develops relationships with research universities and scientifically and technically oriented businesses, one of the Institute's goals is to organize paid summer sabbaticals at leading campuses for participating faculty. There, WISE teachers will participate in ongoing scientific research programs and learn how these might be transferred back to their home schools. These WISE faculty would then serve as mentors, demonstrating by example how science is actually performed, rather than just discussed, in effect teaching through the recruitment and mentorship of students into real science and engineering research projects.<br /><br />In many ways, this approach offers exciting and unprecedented professional development opportunities for teachers to learn the latest techniques, tools, and software while actually participating in the latest scientific discoveries. With this enrichment will come professional relationships and skills to enhance and broaden both teaching and general scientific and engineering contribution.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mentorship Opportunities for Renaissance Teachers and Students</span></span><br />Westminster has a history of pioneering programs that develop student leadership through mentorship opportunities like the Discovery Outdoor Leadership program, the Campus Conservation Corps, and all of the philanthropic outreach programs. WISE intends to foster a similar model where both teachers and students can continually advance in responsibility with training and experience in WISE methods, philosophy, and technical disciplines. Ultimately, the best WISE labs should become student-run over time.<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Financial Support</span></span><br />WISE does realize that many of these plans will require not only commitment and support from dedicated and inspired teachers, but funds to pay for everything from scientific instruments and consumable experimental materials (though we actually do a lot to ensure that core opportunities are quite inexpensive with plenty of boot-strap strategies). WISE even plans to invest in your extra efforts with expanded teacher payments and stipends for additional hours or off-hour event support, and even potentially, the hiring of additional teachers to cover WISE labs, clubs, and events in addition to normal teaching loads. This is where our experience in raising both investments and philanthropic support on both local and national scales will come into play, in helping to organize and in some cases even help finance the growth of the WISE network of schools.<br /><br />It is becoming increasingly clear to this nation's civic and business leaders that our country's economy, and in the long term, the American way of life itself, depend on our ability to train 21st century citizens that can create new industries and truly innovate. Together, we can all build WISE into a most powerful fulcrum that will truly leverage the awesome talents of this great generation of students.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tell Us If We are Missing Anything!</span></span><br />In closing, please consider this a heartfelt request for any suggestions, guidance or feedback that might help WISE support you better. We have thick skin and are primarily motivated by learning to improve our institute along with improving opportunities for both students and teachers!<br /><br />Go Science, Technology and Math!Phillip Alveldahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07385209784282272315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975468012994061329.post-77320254870798053212007-09-26T06:46:00.001-07:002007-10-05T12:17:05.932-07:00The WISE MissionThe Westminster Institute for Science Education [WISE] was founded in order to enrich and extend K-12 science education in schools across the United States. This is a broad mission and involves initiatives aimed at supporting both teachers and students.<br /><br />The central challenge of WISE is to create, and train teachers to support, environments in K-12 schools which allow students to explore science on their own, to perform their own unguided, mentored research, and to actually create what has never existed before. This mission is intended to be an extension of, and complementary to, existing science curricula rather than a replacement. The principal difference is that WISE pedagogy and curricula is intended to foster open exploration without boundaries and offer students opportunities where they must exercise creativity and innovative problem solving skills, rather than complete specific pre-fabricated experimental or word-problem objectives.<br /><br />In addition to running programs for specific classes and events, WISE labs exist as places interested students can go in their free times, study halls, lunch, before and after school. There they will find professional grade tools, instruments, and materials where they may construct and experiment with whatever they might imagine in a supervised environment with experienced mentorship. The WISE labs are the science and technology equivalent of a school library.<br /><br />In support of this mission, WISE also coordinates in-house programs for student and teacher training and professional development as well as summer sabbaticals at leading technical and scientific universities and commercial laboratories.Phillip Alveldahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07385209784282272315noreply@blogger.com2