stem pride grant building bridges between the lab and the classroom july 24 th, 2015
TRANSCRIPT
STEM Pride GrantBuilding Bridges between the Lab
and the ClassroomJuly 24th, 2015
Day 3, Part I
Revisiting the Bigger Picture … and Modeling and Mathematics &
Computational Thinking
The Grant ObjectivesObjective 1: Develop pre-service and in-service middle and high school teachers’ understanding and application of STEM practices.
Objective 2: Develop pre-service and in-service middle and high school teachers’ integration of STEM practices into the development of learning experiences.
Objective 3: Develop and implement an undergraduate course for pre-service teachers that will help them understand the needs of the 21st-century STEM workforce and count toward their degree program.
Objective 4: Increase middle and high school students’ understanding and application of STEM practices.
Objective 5: Increase students’ awareness, understanding and interest in STEM careers.
A Broader Intersection
Communication
• Asking questions / defining problems
• Engaging in argument from evidence
• Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
When Do Use Models in an Instructional
Sequence?A.At the beginning of a sequence when
first having students explore a phenomenon
B.After introducing a phenomenon to help solidify students’ understanding
C. At the end as a way to assess students’ ideas
D.Throughout the sequence as a way to follow changes in students’ thinking
A Modeling Experience
1. Handle the Love Meter with care
2. Initially hold the HB by its neck
3. Place the palm of one hand on the bottom of the HB
4. Place a bag of ice on the top bulb of the HB
5. Construct a written explanation for the effects you have observedDevelop a diagrammatic model of how a
LM works
The Group Models
A Heuristic for Developing Models
Entities What things (both seen and unseen) are present inside and outside of the system and what are their properties?
Processes What can those things do, including what changes can they go through?
Interactions As those things do what they do, how do they interact with other things in the system and with energy?
Variables If we change some aspect of the system, what will happen to EPI?
From the NSTA Webinar on This Practice
“Scientific computing focuses on simulations and modeling to provide both qualitative and quantitative insights into complex systems and phenomena that would be too expensive, dangerous, or even impossible to study by direct experimentation or theoretical methods.” –Mayes quoting the Society of Industrial & Applied Mathematics in the NSTA Webinar on Mathematical & Computational Modeling
Another Quote from the Webinar
It is “both the microscope and telescope
of modern science. It enables scientists
to model molecules in exquisite detail to
learn the secrets of chemical reactions,
to look into the future to forecast the
weather, and to look back to a distant
time at a young universe.” --Lloyd Fosdick
et. al, An introduction to High-performance
scientific computing, 1996.
Some Simulation Sites for Modeling
Day 3, Part IIPromising Practices
A Personal Experience I
The Merck Cherokee Plant in Riverside, PA
The PlanYou will be split into four teams [by volunteering] around the four focal practices: Asking Questions, Developing Models, Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking, and Engaging in Argument
Each team is tasked with identifying 3 ways to support student engagement in the practices … preferably generated by your research experiences
The teams will summarize these in a Google doc and then describe them to the rest of the group
We will all contribute to developing the suggestions into Promising Practices
Asking Question Examples
Nancy Webb: Overarching question How do I prove that this treatment (etc.) will have the same effect in humans that I have shown in mice? (Translation)
Stephen Testa [as the teachers working with him were examining their stalactite set-ups]: “You see the stalactite, now what is the question you work back to?”
Nancy Webb: “Animal models are really good only to the extent that they recapitulate phenomenon in humans.”
Moe group In info sheet: "We have focused on the model bacterium for this type of work …” And, later, “There was a question, and they were looking for something that could help them explore that question …”
Developing Model Examples
Nancy Webb: “Is that [experimental result] proof that SAA is bringing in macrophages? … That’s [image of artery after a specific treatment has occurred] the smoking gun.” [What is sufficient and appropriate evidence]
Arguing as competing vs. arguing as consensus-building
Whiteboarding as final form science vs. whiteboarding to make it through the cloud (Carmen Agouridis: “I like students to understand that data collection can be messy.”)
Engaging in Argument Examples
Day 3, Part IIICreative Curricula
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE RESEARCH
EXPERIENCE“Our main line of research in the group is related to the total synthesis of tetrahydrocannabinol.” –Dr. Harold Pinnick, Bucknell University
An Example – Model Organisms
https://www.dnalc.org/view/1361-Model-Organisms-Lesson-.html
http://www.exploratorium.edu/imaging-station/activities/classroom/model_organisms/ca_model_organisms.php
http://outreach.mcb.harvard.edu/lessonplans_s07.htm
http://www.yourgenome.org/activities
http://study.com/academy/topic/model-organisms-and-developmental-genetics.html
Another Example: The Carbon Cycle & Bottle
Ecosystems
A Third Example: Rain Gardens
Day 3, Part IVHelping Our Students
Discover ‘The Hidden STEM Economy’
What Our Students May Not
KnowHalf of all STEM jobs are available to workers without a four-year college degree, and these jobs pay $53,000 on average—a wage 10 percent higher than jobs with similar educational requirements.
STEM jobs that require at least a bachelor’s degree are highly clustered in certain metropolitan areas, while sub-bachelor’s STEM jobs are prevalent in every large metropolitan area.
Clearing Pathways
Day 3, Part V
Planning for the Future
The Grant Activity Flow Chart
The Adjacent Possible – What Can We Accomplish?
Two to three meetings during year to further develop capacity to bring research and practices into our classrooms
Visits from project staff to support implementation
Visits from scientists and to research facilities
Integrate practices and create curriculum
Sharing with colleagues