Archive for the ‘Big Picture’ Category

A political topic

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Generally, I avoid politics.  I like debates and intense discussions, I like supporting my claims with evidence, but around elections facts seem to get skewed and evidence doesn’t always support claims.  And, it seems like no matter what claims I make or evidence I use, it won’t do anything to change someone’s mind anyway.  Therefore, I tend to avoid politics.

But, sometimes statements come along that cannot be ignored.

After the third and final debate (which was supposed to be on foreign policy…), Ann Coulter tweeted the following…

Do I really need to go into detail about how I feel about this?  No.  Do you all know me well enough?  Yes.  Good.

This statement is so unbelievably inappropriate I could not even form words after I saw it.  (True story – I had to wait to post this blog until I had calmed down.  It might also need to be said that I would have the same reaction if the R-word was directed towards Romney as well.  Politics has no role in this debate.  This is about people.)

John Franklin Stephens, a Special Olympics athlete, knows that this is about people and not politics.  In an eloquently worded open letter to Ann Coulter, he writes,

“After I saw your tweet, I realized you just wanted to belittle the President by linking him to people like me. You assumed that people would understand and accept that being linked to someone like me is an insult and you assumed you could get away with it and still appear on TV. I have to wonder if you considered other hateful words but recoiled from the backlash. Well, Ms. Coulter, you, and society, need to learn that being compared to people like me should be considered a badge of honor. No one overcomes more than we do and still loves life so much” (An Open Letter to Ann Coulter).

Take home message – calling someone the R-word reflects worse on you than it does on the person you are name-calling.

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Standardized testing makes me sad

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Standardized testing makes me sad for a variety of reasons.

  1.  Testing schedules mean that I don’t see all of my kids every day.  Not only is this a significant loss of instruction time, but it’s weird to not see all of my students during the day.  These students brighten up my day (they’re half the reason I love my job, after all; the other half is a love of science), so I feel this void in my day when I don’t have class with all of them.
  2. The students that I do see after testing are mentally drained.  I don’t remember much about testing in elementary school, but I do remember that the first time I took the SAT, I came home and immediately crashed for 3 hours.  It’s exhausting and stressful.

I’ve tried to combat this in a few ways.  First, between each test I’m doing energizers with the kids so that they’re not half-asleep when they’re testing and when they go on to their next class (thanks, Yen!)  Second, my lessons this week involve a lot of movement and class discussion.  Talking is important when you’ve been sitting in silence for 3 hours!  Truthfully, I haven’t planned much differently this week than I have any other week, except to accommodate the “no homework” rule this week.

I’m not the only one with particularly strong feelings about standardized tests.  Parents in NYC are keeping their children home from school during ‘field tests’ in which new standardized test questions are piloted for data collection.  As described in this article from the New York Times, this is the second time this year that math and English ‘field tests’ will be given to elementary and middle school students in NYC schools.  That is truly excessive and bravo to parents that have decided to take a stand.

I think the most powerful statement in this article is from parent Lori Chajet: “I want my school to use tests to help instruction, to help find out if kids don’t know fractions…I don’t want my child to feel like her score will decide if her teacher has a job or not.”  Ah, assessment for learning and assessment of learning.  Preach.

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Posted in Big Picture, First year teacher, Reflection | No Comments »

#ntchat

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Just participated in my first #ntchat on Twitter!  For those of you who are not familiar, #ntchat stands for New Teacher Chat.  It’s on Wednesdays at 8pm EST on Twitter.  All you need to do to participate is follow the hashtag and tweet your responses to the questions!  This week’s chat was on technology and I found some great resources and tricks.

For example, one teacher uses Google Voice to record short presentations, then uploads them to Dropbox, copies the public link to goo.gl to create a QR code.  Seriously?!  SO COOL.

I think my technology goal this summer will be to tackle Evernote.  It was mentioned in the chat this week by multiple individuals that I downloaded it onto my iPad immediately.  I will definitely be playing around with it as productive procrastination on my portfolio writing.

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Panini Press Status*

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Today I had an interview for a fellowship.  It’s the first time that I’ve ever really been grilled about my grades in my content in my undergraduate work.  College was hard for me, which is a struggle that I can use to relate to kids that may feel challeneged in my classes, but I’ve never felt uncertain with my content knowledge.  I know a lot of weird facts about random biology things, and I’m sure that story-telling repertoire will continue to grow as I continue to teach.

In undergrad, one of my big interests focused around Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in honeybees.  We first started talking about CCD in my Ecology & Evolutionary Biology lab, and then again in Animal Behavior.  This was about the time when CCD was in the news and getting a lot of publicity.  On my own farm back home, we had lost 3 out of our 5 colonies to CCD.  The agricultural industry was taking a huge hit after losing a vast majority of its pollinators.  For quite some time, scientists, farmers, and beekeepers alike were stumped.

On January 19th, an article was published in Farm and Dairy stating, “Researchers say honeybee deaths linked to seed insecticide exposure.”  My father, a farmer and a beekeeper, has used my study of bees and CCD in attempts to uncover our own losses of honeybee colonies over the past few years.  Not only has it been a bonding experience for us, but it has also allowed me to use my content knowledge in real-life situations.

Isn’t this what we’re searching for when we teach students?!  Aren’t we constantly looking for ways to make learning relevant to students’ lives?  I suppose this is innovation — taking a new topic in science and bringing it into the classroom.  Bam.

 

*because I was grilled…get it?

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Posted in Big Picture, Look what I found! | 2 Comments »

My robot is better than your robot

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Entertainers are doing a curious thing.

This past Sunday, Will.I.Am. from the Black Eyed Peas teamed up with inventor Dean Kamen from FIRST Robotics for a back to school special titled “i.am.FIRST.”  The message of this special is not only that scientists are rock stars, but that science deserves just as much promotion as sports teams in schools.  Watch the trailer to wet your appetite below…

My “back-to-school” question is this: what is the benefit of having celebrities host a show like this?  Is it counterproductive or does it have a positive effect?  I know that my young cousin simply adores Justin Bieber and so I wouldn’t be surprised if children take his opinion seriously, but is this really a solution?  I am troubled by some of the comments already on Youtube, including this one by Cutiemode – “Ironic that performers are telling us the importance of education.”  Oh Will.I.Am, you have given us so much to think about.

So colleagues, I ask for your input and opinions.  If you had an hour of primetime television to sell science to society, would it look something like i.am.FIRST?  Or what would it look like?

Need more to solidify your thoughts?  You can find the entire program on Youtube – the first part is linked here.

UPDATE:
So, I will admit that I originally posted this without actually watching the entire program first. I caught the tail end of it on Sunday, but just went back and watched the whole thing. Here’s my thoughts:
1.) I adore Will.I.Am. Sometimes I disregard celebrity opinions, especially when reading about all the shenanigans they get themselves into on Perez Hilton. But, Will.I.Am has some great soundbites, especially within the first ten minutes.
2.) As a teacher, the FIRST robotics competition makes me root for kids. I actually got emotional watching the small spotlight on the Noble Nuts. I do hope that one girl fulfills her dream of becoming a lab tech in a hospital.
3.) I like how the program was set up. The trailer almost makes it look like celebrities talking about the importance of science education, but that is not the case at all. The focus really was on the robotics competition, which drives home the point that the focus should be on STEM education.
4.) Lab coats are science fashion. Love it.
5.) Yes, Stephen Tyler, science is about creativity. You are awesome. On the other hand, Jack Black, you sound a little fake. (But I loved you in “Kung Fu Panda.”)

Long story short, if you can spare an hour, definitely watch this program. (You can even skip through the music performances if you prefer to not “Whip Your Hair.”)

Posted in Big Picture, Response | 2 Comments »

Preach, Joanne Manaster!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Today I stumbled upon a blog post in Scientific American called “Can Scientists Reform Science Education?”  I scoffed at this.  Of course not!  Didn’t we have a lengthy conversation in our Integrating Science and Literacy class about how scientists are the problem?  Didn’t we come to the conclusion that we must change the minds of lab primary investigators and convince them that children are, in fact, the future of science?  Well, future science educators, throw out the names of Dr. Stephen Ekker and Alom Shaha, because they are two of many scientists who have taken the initiative towards reform in science education.

Watch this video!  They’re doing what we’re doing!  (I love the principal’s quote at the end.)

So, what I’m interested in is this question: can we do inquiry-based science without a group like the Mayo Clinic?  We just spent time working on a mini-grant for Donor’s Choose for our Integrating Science and Technology class, so we’re getting the message that money is a factor here.  Can we do inquiry science on a budget?   Should schools be partnering with research universities or research companies in order to do more science?  Do such companies have a place in science education in elementary and secondary schools?

P.S. – I want to say I’m sorry for giving us more to think about during our break from classes, but I’m not sorry at all.
P.P.S. – No matter how hard I try, I can’t stop blogging.

 

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As if we don’t social network enough!

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Have you all heard of LinkedIn?  LinkedIn is a professional networking site where you can connect with classmates, colleagues and friends.  Like Facebook, LinkedIn has the feature of joining different groups based on interests.  I wanted to share some groups that may be of interest to science teachers and other educators alike as we continue through our education program and make our way towards the “real world.”  (It seems so far away, but better to be prepared than surprised!)

Science Teacher Network - Specific discussions for science teachers.  There are some great topics on here.
Teacher’s Lounge – Be weary, there are some spam discussion on here.  But one current thread of interest is the role of social media in the classroom.
Rochester NY Residents - Perfect for networking!

This is only a glimpse into the professional discussions occurring on LinkedIn.  If you’re not a member yet, join!  It’s well work the extra website to check on a weekly basis.  But, a reminder: the key to being a part of any of these groups is participation.  What good is being in a group if you don’t have something to say about it!

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Ever wonder what books Darwin had in his personal library?

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

I am a big fan of StumbleUpon.  StumbleUpon is a website that allows you to pick your interests and then will direct you to different websites based on those interests.  It can be used both for good and for evil – you can find the coolest websites by stumbling, or you can be dragged down into a pit of endless procrastination.

My StumbleUpon interests range from humor to music, science to writing, and biology to technology. So basically, I like funny, loud, nerdy, shiny things.

Occasionally, something will come along and I will be blown away by the sheer awesomeness of it. That’s what happened today.

I found Charles Darwin’s Library.  Yeah, seriously.

It looks like this…

This website allows you to browse all the books owned by Darwin by title, author, subject, year and language.  And it doesn’t end there.  You can also view full transcriptions of Darwin’s annotations and notes in each book.  Yeah.  Seriously.

There’s a tally of how many books, volumes, and pages currently available in the library.  Oh, and there’s an RSS feed.

Have fun.  Go play.  This is what I’ll be doing for the rest of my day.

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Posted in Big Picture, Look what I found! | 1 Comment »

Why do we spend so much time with “Duh” science?

Thursday, June 16, 2011

 

I recently came across this article from the LA Times from May 28th, 2011 titled “‘Duh science’: why scientists spend so much time proving the obvious.” I wanted to comment on it because I think it is in dialogue with “The science of why we don’t believe science.”

It’s true that sometimes we look at papers that are published and we think to ourselves, “Well, I could’ve done that!”  It’s similar to walking through an art museum and seeing a color block piece and questioning why something so simple belongs in the art museum in the first place.

But here’s what really got me.  A few paragraphs in, Brown states, “But there’s more to duh research than meets the eye.  Experts say they have to prove the obvious – and prove it again and again – to influence perceptions and policy.”

AHA!  This is why we spend the money to do ‘obvious’ science.  Because the policy makers and the general public don’t believe the numbers that are thrown at them the first time.  It’s the science of why we don’t believe science!

And so, herein lies the problem.  We spend tax money to do ‘duh’ science because the public doesn’t believe what we tell them, even though we are telling them science with methods and numbers and graphs and data!

So what do we do about it?  I would argue that this ‘duh’ science is valuable no matter the case, since experiments should be replicated and ground work needs to be laid in order for biggest steps in science to be taken.  How else could we stand on the shoulders of giants?  That being said, perhaps this is a commentary on how we could potentially save some of that money going to ‘duh’ science (assuming that it is a considerable amount, and that saving it would make a difference) if we only changed how we presented the facts that we find.  Like Chris Mooney suggests in “The science of why we don’t believe science,” it is important to frame the facts that we present, and suggests that one should “lead with the values – as to give the facts a fighting chance.”

It is undeniable that these two articles are in dialogue with each other.  How else do you see them as connected?  What is your opinion on ‘duh’ science?  I’d love to hear some comments.

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Posted in Big Picture, Reflection, Response | 2 Comments »

A few notes on note-taking

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

On my drive back home from campus, I contemplated the concept of taking notes that was briefly introduced in class today.  Joe said something along the lines of, “I’m at the point in my program where I can just take notes on what it interesting to me” and Jodi quickly rebutted, “Well, yeah, but it’s not going to be on a test!”

This got me thinking about how I took notes in middle school and high school.

I would describe my note-taking as a mutant form of an outline.  In fact, I would and still get stressed out if a lecture/class does not follow the format of “here’s a big idea” which is then followed by “here’s a bunch of follow-up details.”  I dreaded my sophomore year European history class in which my teacher required that we take notes in Cornell style.  (If you are unfamiliar with Cornell notes, you can find a description from James Madison University here).

In college, I found myself making use of information I learned in my speech class in high school to determine the most important facts in a lecture.  Many of my professors were good at using the “speech triangle,” in which you move from a position when you are starting a new point and stand at your new point when you are explaining that point.  I like to think of movements as paragraph indentations.  Of course, inquiry-based education is not heavy on lectures.  So aside from writing important things on a chalkboard/whiteboard, how do we make sure that students are getting the most important stuff out of a class?

Final thought: I’m really trying to soak up as much of this “Get Real” experience as possible.  It’s one of my biggest fears that I will simply revert back to a lecture-like setting in a classroom since that’s what I’ve grown so used to in undergraduate.  I sincerely hope I will be able to recreate what I’m feeling right now (awe, frustration, stress, amazement) for the campers in a few weeks, and eventually my own students.  And maybe, if they’re lucky, I’ll try to keep them from the stress.

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Posted in Big Picture, Questions | No Comments »