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.

Intersections of Practices

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.

Computer Modeling

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

Using Mathematics & Computational Thinking

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

And Resources to Support Investigations

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