Partnering for Elementary Science

ReSET Volunteer David McInnis: Lessons From The Atmosphere

2012-02-13T13:24:00.000-08:00

This week’s lesson was about condensation, the atmosphere, and PV=nRT (without the equation).

I started listing the 3 states of matter (yeah, yeah, there’s really 4, let it go) on the board. I got as far as solid before students started calling out, “liquid”, “gas”. I was impressed. So I asked them for examples, and quizzed them on different materials. Pudding is a stumper.

Next each table grabbed a cup of water and put ice in it, then we talked about condensation a bit. To keep things simple and clear I kept condensation limited to water in the atmosphere. After talking we looked at the cups, where water had condensed on the outside of the cup.
No one was impressed!

However, I asked them where the condensation came from. This puzzled most of them. Others answered, “from the water” or “from the ice”. “So the water went through the cup?”, I asked and then explained what had really happened.

We talked about the atmosphere, starting with how thick or high it might be. I asked if you could breathe in outer space: “Noooo!”, said everyone. So then, there had to be some height at which we transitioned from atmosphere to no atmosphere. We talked about Mt. Everestand how even the most fit climbers had trouble breathing at 5 miles above sea level. So what guesses did they have about the atmosphere’s thickness.

There’s a bit of a problem I glossed over here. Namely that somewhere around 6 miles up no one would have enough oxygen to survive, but where space starts is a soft number. For space flight, 60 miles is considered to be the point where you would become an astronaut. For most orbital analyses 100 miles is considered a minimal orbit. For easy math I went with 100 miles, I should have gone with 10.

Physicist routinely use simple approximations to examine possibilities and provide quick insight to how things work. Usually this is called order of magnitude approximations or back of the envelope calculations. It’s an extremely valuable thing to learn, especially for checking to see if your answers or ideas are in the ball park.

We talked about the size of Earth, which required a small detour into circumference anddiameter. I claimed that it’s 24,000 miles to go all the way around Earth and its diameter is 8000 miles… close enough. Then I tried, with questionable success, to explain idea of not being too accurate, of making a quick approximation. I grabbed a 14″ globe and claimed it was 8″ in diameter. Holding up a 12″ ruler I asked if this was accurate or a rough approximation… they stumbled for a sec, but then got it. Annnndd I introduced the concept of ratios (they did know about fractions).

Phew! At this point I had knew I was really pushing how much material we could cover, but surprisingly there weren’t any squirmers or any acting out. They seemed both intrigued and straining to grasp what all was going on.

With ratios in their heads I said we wanted to figured out, roughly how thick the atmosphere would be on the globe. Guesses generally ranged between 2 to 4 inches.
So Earth is 8000 miles in diameter and the globe was 8″ in diameter. Our guess at the atmosphere’s thickness was 100 miles. So how thick was it on the globe?

I started with the ratios and Ms. Haynes jumped in. It turned out that this coincided with their current math lessons perfectly. They came up with 1/10 inch. I found a piece of cereal box and draped it on the globe. The atmosphere is a lot thinner than most people imagine.

Mostly as a quick fun point we then did a demo showing that air pressure works in all directions. Over a bucket, students took a mostly full cup of water and placed a piece of paper over the top. They quickly inverted the cup while holding the paper in place and then ‘released’ the paper once upside down. The paper stays in place and the water (mostly) doesn’t spill.
If you try this note that it’s a huge hit on the fun-meter. Every student will have to try it. Warning: you will need some large sponges to clean up spilled water. Also, they will try to use completely soaked paper, so tell them 1 paper per try. We used small disposable plastic or waxed cups.

After cleaning up I took an empty 2 liter soda bottle and put an empty balloon on it. The classroom had a sink, so I ran hot water over the bottle, explaining that this would heat the air inside. The balloon inflates (modestly).
Shocking to me, the students were thrilled by this.
So I asked, what would happen if I then ran cold water over the bottle?
“It’ll shrink” and “the balloon will get sucked into the bottle” were common answers. ‘Nice!”, I thought.

For the last experiment… and I can’t believe we got through all of this in an hour! … we made clouds. An empty 2 liter bottle with a little (~1 cup) of hot-ish water gets pumped by a bicycle pump with a ball needle poked through a wine cork on it. When the pressure builds up a bit the cork pops out, with a bang, and the rapid decompression causes water vapor to form in the bottle, like a cloud. We had 2 sets of equipment. Three students at a time are needed; 1 to hold the bottle, 1 to pump, and 1 to hold the hose near the pump nozzle.

Beware! The pop is quite loud and will startle everyone watching, including you, no matter how many times you see it (it’s a timing thing). I explained and exclaimed repeatedly that there would be a loud boom but it wouldn’t hurt anyone. The students absolutely love this and everyone wants a turn pumping. They also forget to look in the bottle for the cloud, or to clear the cloud out before trying again. Considering how many ideas they were exposed to during this lesson, a little play time was clearly earned.

Lots of excitement, lots of ideas in this one.

ReSET Volunteer David McInnis on Floating and Sinking with 3rd Graders -

2012-01-26T11:30:00.000-08:00

This week I was on my own; two classes, about 1 hour each. That’s about 35 3rd grade Tasmanian devils swirling around with unlimited energy in a small classroom vessel. The lesson is what I assisted with last week in the 4th grade classes, sinking and floating, aka density.

I dressed up nicely (stopping short of a tie which should only be used for weddings and funerals) , used real anti-antiperspirant, and had a cup of chamomile instead of coffee. I gave Ms. Haynes a quick warning that this was my first time teaching elementary students and that I was a bit nervous. She patted my shoulder and with a huge smile declared, “Don’t you worry. I’ve got your back.” I felt grateful and relieved.

After being introduced and unpacking the supplies, I started the “Floating and Sinking lesson” lesson, a ReSET standard. This lesson involved using several containers of water and definitely required a stack of cleanup sponges.

The point of the lesson was to act as a demonstration of the scientific method and as an introduction to what density is. In last weeks 4th grade lesson we actually weighed a baseball and a golfball. The 3rd graders haven’t quite learned to read scales so I used a simple balance made of a clothes hanger with sandwich baggies attached at opposing ends. As a class, we guessed and then measured how many golfballs equals one baseball (3). I then gave them 150g as the weight of the baseball and asked them to find the weight of one golfball. As it happens this lined up perfectly with their current math lessons and Ms. Haynes jumped in, taking over and giving me a much needed break. I was sweating up a storm, my thoughts were jumbled, and I had no idea where we were going next. Luckily I had written down a simple check list of the activities and located where we were.

Next we formed a hypothesis about what floats and what sinks in water. They had some wild ideas but generally agreed that heavy things will sink and light things will float. No one in either class voiced dissent, but I felt a little guilty corralling their ideas toward this conclusion. We then placed both balls in a large container of water and made an observation… the heavy item floated and the lighter sunk.

There were 4 tables, with 4 to 5 students at each. They shared the equipment. After a few steps chaos was starting to erupt over who was doing what. It was critical to set up an order of turns; I simply numbered around each table.

Here I tried to explain density and stumbled, wallowed, and was left facing a room full of puzzled faces. At this point the teacher rescued me and held up two clear plastic containers holding markers. One was nearly full, the other only had a couple of markers in it. She explained that density was like having more stuff packed into a space. So which of the containers had a ‘high’ density?

Next we tried floating a lacrosse ball in a cup of water and observed that it sinks. Then, after removing the ball, we added about 1/4 cup of salt to the water.

Several of the kids in both classes had a taste of the material before being told what it was. Sigh. So, yes, third grade still requires purely non-toxic materials.

After adding the salt, we placed the lacrosse ball back in the water, where it floated! Sounds simple, right? The students went crazy over this. After things calmed down a bit, we talked about how we had changed the density of the water.

For the final experiment we took some of the salt water and dyed it red… well, I dyed them red. When then took a clear cup of water and used an eyedropper to gently place some salt water along the inside of the cup. It sinks to the bottom and forms a red layer that the students can easily see. This experiment turned out to be underwhelming, but they seemed to get the point nonetheless.

In the end I learned that you cannot lecture to third graders and that finding great simple examples to explain you idea is critical.

ReSET Volunteer Pete Mehravari Helps Students Change Orbit

2012-01-10T11:59:00.001-08:00

It is most insightful to see how children at that age think and process out solutions to a problem. Sometimes they come at a problem from a completely different angle than a person with a more learned mindset.

Pete Mehravari, who serves as a coordinator for teams of ReSET volunteers through the US Patent and Trade Office, is excited about his work at Whittier Educational Campus, where he teaches 3^rd- and 4^th-grade students engineering, physics, and material science. Mehravari, now in his second year with ReSET, has been using programmable robots to teach basic computer programming and problem solving skills.

Last year, Mehravari’s students were tasked with programming their robot to autonomously traverse a course by figuring out distances and angles between checkpoints and adapting those measurements into basic programming code. After completing the basic course, students made up their own advanced course and were successful in making their robot traverse the course on their first try.

Mehravari, who has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech and a JD from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, feels that his early experiences with science as a child helped lay the foundation for future success: “My father was an electrical engineer who brought science and engineering into the household at a very early age. This helped me gain confidence and excitement in these fields, which in turn opened up many opportunities, not only in higher education, but also in my employment goals.”

From ReSET Volunteer David McInnis' blog

2012-01-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

David has blogged a number of times on his ReSET experience. Here's the first one:

So Tuesday I emailed someone at ReSET asking to talk with them about what they do and if they’d need someone like myself. The director responded asking if I’d like to meet at a school on Wednesday at noon. I was nervous and really wanted to push it off for a bit, but nothing was going to change that way so I accepted.
We met at the school. He had a clothes basket full of equipment and some 5 gallon buckets. We talked for a bit, things seem to go well. He explained that they are invited in to a class to teach one hour a week for 6 weeks. The school’s teacher is always present and is responsible for class management. The volunteer should organize the lessons with the teacher, but can still choose the topic.
So after we talked he asked if I wanted to assist for a class. I agreed, while feeling nervous.
I just played the part of the assistant, helping out trouble spots, handing out materials, etc. All went well.
The topic was an introduction to density by examining whether objects float or sink in water.
The kids really liked it. They have so much energy and were so curious and playful.
So we did a second session as well. I felt more comfortable and really enjoyed it.

Afterwards we talked about options; should I go and assist teachers that lack science background with their science lessons, or teach a group on my own, or shadow a couple more volunteers. Later in the day John Meagher emailed saying that he just lost a volunteer that was covering a 3rd grade class and maybe I should consider that.

That got me thinking about lessons and what topics to try… with lots of worry about them being truly worthwhile. I think it’s important to introduce the kids to something that they can relate to in their everyday life, not just a neat exercise they saw at school that has no direct real world use.
It’s a lot to ask for.
And maybe, given my lack of experience, it’d be better if I mostly took plans that were already in place so I could concentrate on the actual interaction with the students. I can build better lessons later.

Www.resetonline.com

A Brighter Future?

2011-10-31T08:23:00.000-07:00

Do you think your elementary school students are starting to think of their long-term financial and lifestyle prospects? The information below may be of use to supplement ReSET volunteers' discussions of what sparked their interest in science and math, their educational background and what they do on the job. Maybe the students could make a bar chart of salary levels with a bar representing minimum wage salaries as well?

It can be pretty frustrating for anyone who is hitting the pavement in search of work these days. But it can be particularly daunting for new grads who are inexperienced, burdened with debt, and confronting less than stellar starting salaries in their first jobs.

Take heart.

Not all college graduates face these grim prospects. PayScale’s College Salary Report indicates that engineering degree holders are the top salary earners, offering the quickest return on their educational investment. This spring, a Georgetown University study also gave highest honors to engineering degrees after ranking median salaries by major. In addition, the study revealed that many students in the top-earning majors went on to work within their fields, suggesting that not only will graduates with science and engineering degrees find a job, they will find one that interests them and pays well.

Below are the 10 college degrees found by PayScale to lead to the highest starting and mid-career salaries:

• Petroleum Engineering

(Median starting salary: $97,000)

• Chemical Engineering

(Median starting salary: $64,500)

• Electrical Engineering

(Median starting salary: $61,300)

• Materials Science and Engineering

(Median starting salary: $60,400)

• Aerospace Engineering

(Median starting salary: $60,700)

• Computer Engineering

(Median starting salary: $61,000)

• Physics

(Median starting salary: $49,800)

• Applied Mathematics

(Median starting salary: $52,600)

• Computer Science

(Median starting salary: $56,600)

• Nuclear Engineering

(Median starting salary: $65,100)

Learn more about these high-paying fields

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2011/08/22/10-highest-paying-degrees/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk2%7C88464

ReSET in action! Chemical Engineer Clarence Wade makes polymer chemistry come alive for 4^th-graders. [www.resetonline.org]

Amazing Pendulum

2011-09-27T08:33:00.001-07:00

ReSET Volunteer George Pick sent the following message. It could be hard to persuade our students it's not magic...

Hello everyone; Somebody sent this fascinating video. It is worth watching: www.wimp.com/pendulumwaves/

http://wimp.com/pendulumwaves/

Science on YouTube

2011-09-27T08:18:00.000-07:00

ReSET Volunteer George Pick sent the following message. It could be hard to persuade our students it's not magic...

Hello everyone;

Somebody sent this fascinating U-tube video. It is worth watching.

George Pick

http://wimp.com/pendulumwaves/

http://wimp.com/pendulumwaves/
Hello everyone;
Somebody sent this fascinating U-tube video. It is worth wathing.
George Pick

http://wimp.com/pendulumwaves/

ReSET Volunteer Ed Rock's Take on Pre-K

2011-07-11T12:29:00.000-07:00

“You almost always leave the pre-school with students telling you they LOVE you. This is pretty life affirming, especially if you’re having a bad day!”

Edward Rock may not have volunteered with ReSET for very long, but he’s already feeling the love. The last six months, Rock, who has a background in science education publishing, has been teaching General Science to NSF preschoolers at the National Science Foundation’s Bright Horizons Child Care Center.

His first sessions with the children, who are between 2 and 4 years of age, have focused on magnets and the concepts of attract and repel. “We built ‘magnetic visualizers’ ” shared Rock, “so that the children could actually visualize some of the magnetic force lines in three dimensions. We used re-purposed clear 12 oz. soda bottles with iron fillings and mineral oil and cow magnets to allow the students to ‘see’ the magnetic fields generated by permanent magnets. Lots of oohs and ahs.”

Rock is one of the first volunteers to join ReSET’s new Pre-K program that is being delivered through a partnership with D.C.-area Bright Horizons Day Care Centers. This innovative scientist-in-the-classroom program for “Two to to Four” learners supports ReSET’s mission of engaging children at an early age in science and math through positive and creative hands-on experiences.

Interested in learning more about ReSET’s Pre-K program? Send a message to Harold Sharlin: harold.sharlin@verizon.net

ReSET Volunteer Feedback Sought

2011-06-22T13:23:00.000-07:00

Mike Mouly of Charlottesville, Virginia is exploring a program in which students would generate ideas for innovations in science and engineering, and professional scientists and engineers would provide them feedback. The objective is to encourage students to undertake studies in math and science that will enable them to pursue their ideas. Mike contacted me and said he thought that the feedback from ReSET volunteers could be very helpful to him. If you would like to provide reactions to his proposal (see below), please post a reply on the ReSET blog or e-mail Mike at mouly@aim.com

FOSTERING STUDENT CREATIVITY

Virtually every teacher desires to improve student motivation. Research has consistently shown that if students develop a personal interest in a subject they will be much more likely to assimilate content and desire mastery in the domain. Because each student is unique, they will have different interests.

One form of intelligence that leads to personal interest is creativity. As students come up with novel ideas they feel a sense of being special since (as far as they know) they were the first to come up with the idea. If they get feedback from experts that the idea has great promise and will meet some societal need, their personal interest in the idea is further intensified.

Abraham Maslow felt that fostering creativity is perhaps the best way of meeting self-actualization needs and is therefore a great motivator. Interestingly, he agrees with other researchers that virtually everyone has creative potential. If students are allowed to use their creative intelligence as they learn in school, they will be able to supplement their analytic reasoning ability (the typical focus of most schools) and do well on SOL tests. Creativity acts as a kind of catalyst that both speeds up the learning and in some cases allows learning that otherwise would not occur.

How can professionals in the STEM disciplines help? By given feedback to students as they come up with ideas. The feedback is two-fold. First, it comments on the originality of the ideas while keeping in mind the age of the student. Ideas that are original to the student even though they are known to the discipline should be considered original. Second, the students need to receive feedback as the usefulness their idea to others. Ideas that are original but which do not benefit or would not be accepted by the culture are not as valuable as ideas that do.

The feedback can be in person or over a web interface but either way the student ideas become a driving force for their learning. Part of the feedback includes subject areas that the student should master if they are to pursue their idea. For instance, for the STEM disciplines, the feedback may be to "take all the math you can".

Additional feedback might include obstacles that must be overcome if the ideas will come to fruition. As the student ponders how to overcome the obstacle, they will be bouncing ideas in their mind. Brain research shows that this is an excellent way to retain learning and to become a critical thinker even if the student never has a breakthrough.

COMMENTS? Many of you are very creative. Does this ring true in your life? How did you combine creative and analytic intelligence to become successful in your profession? How can you help foster student creativity and learning?

Need Ideas for Classroom Sessions?

2011-06-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

ReSET volunteer John Emler recently attended a science teaching session at the Greenbelt, MD Community Center. Additional sessions are scheduled:
June 22nd & 23rd: Chemistry: Introduce the basic concepts of chemistry and show how chemical reactions can be controlled.

July 27th & 28th: Fluids: Introduce the concepts of viscosity, lift, drag and entrainment.

John reports that the program:

Is sponsored and paid for by the City of Greenbelt
Covers one topic each month, repeated at two different facilities in Greenbelt, , 7:00 to 8:30 pm.
Children 8 to 16 are welcome – free. Parents usually stay – also free.
Teacher is a Physics graduate student at MD U. – He has access to equipment similar to what would be in a high school physics class.
Teacher is paid – amount not determined and does a very good job.
Class room is large and suited for 15 + students. However, only two students came.
They are advertising the program in the City of Greenbelt newsletter of planning.

Good program that needs a lot more students

The link is: http://www.greenbeltmd.gov/ACE_Science_Club/index.html

All Hands on the Poop Deck

2011-06-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

Mike Fritz, who helped me in the classroom this term, shared his experience

with his co-workers at the US Environmental Protection Agency:

As I strode to the front of Ms. Molly Moran's second grade class at 
Annapolis Elementary School one June morning in downtown Annapolis, I 
was confident in my lesson plan, so elegantly simple that I didn't even 
need the 3X5 index card in my shirt pocket on which I had it drawn out. 
My former boss at EPA's Wetlands Division, John Meagher (now retired), 
had invited me to talk about what I do in my work.  He would do his 
lesson first.  I had scoped out his topic and had identified a 
meaningful connection between his talk and mine.  He was going to teach 
a hands-on, desk-top laboratory lesson about buoyancy, including a key 
vocabulary word "gravity."  (Did you know that a lacrosse ball sinks in 
fresh water but floats in salt water?)  "Gravity", I decided, was my 
link.  The audience would be primed.  I had decided on the audience 
participation approach, to put the pen into their little hands.  It was 
my turn. 
 
On the flip chart I drew a hillside, a single black line, with wavy blue 
water at the bottom of the hill, the Bay, just like right outside the 
classroom window.  A stick-figure person.  A lolli-pop green tree.  A 
cloud.  A fish in the water.  A swimmer.  Rain.  "Where does the water 
go when it rains?"  "Down to the Bay" "Why?"  One smart kid:  "Gravity" 
"How many of you have or know people who have dogs?"  All the hands went 
up.  Another volunteer drew a red dog on the hillside.  Then the 
clincher: "What do dogs do when you take them out to walk in the 
morning?"  The entire chorus:  "THEY POOP!"  Ms. Moran interrupted: 
"Oh, Mr. Mike, you just got them to say their favorite word!"  The 
audience, giggling, was rapt.  "Wait!" I said, fumbling around the 
front desk, "There's no brown marker!"  Ms. Moran stopped the lesson 
until she could find one.  There was no shortage of volunteers to draw 
the little brown pile behind the dog.  It was not exactly to scale. 
"Where does that poop go when it rains?"  "To the Bay"  "Why?"  " 
Gravity!"  "How do you think the fish and the swimmer feel about that?" 
"Yech!"  "What do you think you can do about that?"  And they knew that 
answer too.  And the lesson was over.  I haven't had that much fun since 
the last time I caught a steelhead on a fly rod in a snowstorm. 
Seriously, if you like kids half as much as I do and care about the 
future of the world, combine the two by volunteering with John in the 
ReSet program.  John has the lesson plans; you and the kids have the 
fun. 
  ReSET is a D.C.-based non-profit volunteer organization that partners 
working and retired scientists, engineers, and technicians with 
elementary school teachers to improve science motivation and literacy. 
ReSET's goal is to introduce children in the classroom to science, 
engineering and technology as being enjoyable and exciting (i.e., fun!). 
Find them at  www.resetonline.org

ReSet - Ahead of The Game

2011-06-06T09:31:00.000-07:00

Look at those smiles!

ReSET finds creative ways to make science and math fun!

“We’ve got to lift our game up when it comes to technology, and math, and science,” said President Obama in April 2011 at a town hall event held on Facebook’s Palo Alto, Calif. campus.

President Obama’s remarks underscored his intention to make STEM education a national priority. Last year he challenged scientists and business leaders to think of creative ways to engage young people in math and science. All across the country companies and nonprofits have been joining forces to replicate successful science programs.

ReSET is one of those innovative STEM programs that has answered the call—and has been answering the call—for nearly 25 years.

Every year ReSET collects information from students on how they feel about science and math after participating in a ReSET program. Students respond to questions that are used by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in preparing "The Nation's Report Card." The questions measure attitudes toward science and aptly reflect ReSET's mission to show students that science learning is exciting and enjoyable. The results, compiled from ReSET students, are compared with those of the 7,305 fourth-grade students nationwide who have completed the NCES assessment.

362 ReSET students were surveyed in school year 2009-10, and the results clearly demonstrated the positive impact that ReSET volunteers have on students. Nationally, 67% of students agree with the statement "I like science," whereas 92% of ReSET students agree. In the Nation's Report Card, 70% of students disagree with the statement "Science is boring;" 91% of ReSET students disagree with that statement.

ReSET’s simple equation is working . . . get students engaged, and then show them that science need not be intimidating or too difficult. In fact, it can be fun.

Learn more.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/329/5989/270.4.full?ijkey=IZizrntW6145A&keytype=ref&siteid=sci

ReSET in action!

http://www.youtube.com/user/resetonlinevideo

Article on post-grad salaries

2011-05-25T07:49:00.000-07:00

The Washington Post on may 24 ran an article comparing average annual income of graduates with various majors. It included the joke:

The scientist asks, “Why does it work?”

The engineer asks, “How does it work?”

The English major asks, “Would you like fries with that?

Check it out:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/if-money-matters-this-report-is-a-major-deal/2011/05/23/AF7r459G_story.htmlhe scientist asks, “Why does it work?”

The engineer asks, “How does it work?”

The English major asks, “Would you like fries with that?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/if-money-matters-this-report-is-a-major-deal/2011/05/23/AF7r459G_story.html

Feedback from Bailey's Elementary School in Falls Church, VA

2011-05-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

Bailey Elementary's Science Coordinator Lynn Riggs sent the note below on this term's ReSET program

by Volunteer Kojo Opoku:

We had a great experience with Kojo.  He worked very well with me as well as the 
classroom teacher.  He was very dedicated, designing and preparing interesting 
experiments in electricity for the 4th grade students.  It was wonderful to have 
an engineer-in-residence.  He helped me out in the science lab by developing a 
demonstration generator that I've been able to use with all my classes, along 
with trouble shooting some of the equipment and experiments for me.  I know the 
4th grade teacher really appreciated having Kojo work in her classroom. 
 Many thanks to you for setting this up!

Beverly Yett's Adaptive Evolution Experiment

2011-05-02T11:42:00.000-07:00

The two things the students seemed to be most excited  about were the facial reconstruction and what they called the bird beak experiment. This was a bit of a diversion for me but I wanted to demonstrate both biodiversity and adaptive changes to the environment.
The students made "cootie catchers" a simple origami form that you may remember  as a fortune telling thing or a color guessing game or some such (I'll show you how if you don't remember them, in two sizes. I distributed different sized  squares of paper-large and small.
There were two types of "food" ( I used large and small wrapped candies-you can use pebbles, M&Ms etc.)
The idea was that when food was plentiful, the large beaked and the small beaked birds got enough to eat so they could reproduce. (we did timed food gathering several times and averaged the results)
After a drought on one Island, the "small" food disappeared since the plants died. The small birds didn't get enough food to reproduce and pretty much died out in that area. On a neighboring Island, there were floods and the "large" food producing plants drowned. The large beaked birds couldn't reproduce because they did not have  enough food.
Fast forward 200 years and you can see that the populations on the two Islands are different and if they come together, they occupy different ecological niches.
That was very popular with the teacher and the students.

Fall 2010 Student Assessment Results

2011-03-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

In Fall 2010 97% of student responses to ReSET's Student Assessments indicated they enjoyed the classes (The percentage for school year 2009-2010 was 99%). Yet the percentage of students who disagreed with the statement "Science is boring" declined from 91% last year to 81% in fall of 2010. Please post a comment if you have any thoughts or insights about these results.

Press Release - DCPS Students Make Steady Improvement in Science Proficiency

2011-02-04T14:01:00.000-08:00

Better late than never: The final 2009 DC CAS Science Results released last year. The progress was small, but heading in the right direction...

Press Release - The Progress Continues -- DCPS Students Make Steady Improvement in Science Proficiency - DC Public Schools, Washington, DC

Report From ReSET Pre-K

2011-02-02T10:25:00.000-08:00

        I teach science to two, three and four year olds at the NSF Child  
Development Center in Ballston, VA. 
 Last Tuesday when I was working with my two year old day care  
children I learned something about teacher involvement.  I had  
brought some small bar magnets for them to play with and discover  
what magnets can do.  When one boy found that he could not make a  
North pole attract a North pole, I realized that he did not know his  
letters (he was two after all) so I just turned the magnet around and  
he was satisfied. 
 Then I heard laughter and looked at the end of the table where a  
teacher was playing with three two year old girls and some magnets.   
The teacher had never seen a bar magnet and was finding out what they  
could do in attraction and repulsion.  She and the girls were having  
a grand old time  learning the basics about magnets. 
 Isn't that what ReSET is about showing that science is fun? 
 
 Harold

Is there a Ben Carson in your ReSET classroom?

2011-02-01T06:25:00.000-08:00

ReSET Volunteer Bob Williams writes:

I'm sure that this is not new for many, but at out meeting I spoke to a 
couple of people who did not know the Ben Carson story, so here is a 
tickler. 
 
Ben Carson rose from poverty and inner city chaos to become a world-famous 
pediatric neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins.  I found his story to be 
inspirational for teachers, volunteers, parents and children.  Here is an 
excerpt from an interview: 
 
My fifth grade science teacher, Mr. Jake, was really the first teacher to 
express confidence in my academic abilities because I was the only person 
who could identify a rock, which was obsidian, and it was because of the 
reading that I had been doing because after I got through with the animal 
books, I went to plants, and when I finished all the plant books, I went to 
rocks because we lived on the railroad tracks and there were a lot of rocks, 
so I became an expert in geology, and this was while I was still a dummy in 
the class. So, it was like the first time that I had an opportunity to raise 
my hand and demonstrate my knowledge because nobody else knew the answer. 
Everybody was absolutely flabbergasted, but Mr. Jake said to me, "Benjamin, 
that's incredible." He said, "Why don't you come by the laboratory after 
school and we can talk about starting a rock collection for you." And, from 
there I started going to the laboratory every day, getting involved with 
feeding the squirrel, a red squirrel named Maynard. There was a tarantula, 
crayfish, a Jack Dempsey fish and I got involved in all this stuff. There 
was a microscope and I started looking at water specimens and learned all 
about paramecium and volvox and amoebas, and it was just incredible. That 
really was what started me on my way. 
 
His story "Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story" is available in book form 
(adult and children versions) and also a DVD (although the richness of the 
book is not to be missed).

Volunteer Bob Blumberg's Field Trip

2011-01-31T07:11:00.000-08:00

Bob works with third and fourth graders at Orr Elementary in Anacostia. His report on his recent field trip to the Navy Yard in Southeast DC:

The field trip to the Navy Museum was wonderful. The program was  called

the Straw Rocket Program. There was a young woman who took charge of the 
class lecturing, demonstrating and even demanding good behavior. We had 
21 students. There were all kinds of prepared parts and materials so the 
students could put a rocket together with a straw, paper fins, clay nose 
cone, and clear tape to hold it all together. And then she had them do a 
test firing in the main Hall of the Museum, go back to the work shop, 
change the rocket. and go bock to a final firing of each rocket. A boy 
and a girl were given a prize for the longest flight of their rockets. 
Both Ms Trowell and I were really impressed and pleased that it came out 
so well. I am sure that the students had a good time and probably will 
remember it for a long while . They might even have gotten a life lesson 
out of it.

Participant Feedback ReSET’s 1/15/11 Volunteer Meeting

2011-01-24T07:52:00.000-08:00

Things that worked well:

- Overall, I think that was a very good meeting. Having elementary school teachers at the meeting and on the ReSET Board is an excellent idea. Their remarks at the meeting were quite insightful. Keeping the meeting to a 2 hour limit is also a good idea, but you may have to cut off some discussion if you are going to cover all Agenda items.

- The panel with the teachers and volunteers was helpful

- Particularly helpful were the ideas for

o How to keep the attention of the students

o How to manage the progress of the activity

o How to better work with the teacher and help meet his/her needs

- The presentation about the demographics of the student body most of us see was

very helpful. Maybe next time we could get some additional pointers on how to

deal with such a student population.

- I thought the meeting went quite well. It was good having the teachers there for their input

- Great meeting. It is important to meet with others to get a better idea how to proceed in our role in the school. I took away many good ideas.

- I felt great to see my colleagues at this meeting. It was the first time for me to see most of them. I enjoyed the discussion panel and break time which gave us the chance to talk freely and listen to teaching experiences and encounters from one another as ReSET volunteers. Podium speakers further gave me some inspirational ideas by telling their volunteering experiences and thoughts. The meeting location is convenient and the room is very comfortable. Refreshment was great.

- I really enjoyed the meeting and learned from the panel.

- Having DCPS teachers there to tell us what they need. Additionally they had a

chance to hear our side too, and become aware of things they might not have

recognized about volunteering. Since we and the teachers work together, it makes total sense to have open discussions outside the pressure of the classroom. The arrangement is very positive for everyone, and it's another step forward for ReSET. Another thing is that there seemed to be at least as many volunteers present as I've ever seen at a meeting. It's possible that the teachers were a draw that brought in more volunteers.

- The panel and the extended discussion in place of the small groups.

- This is the best ReSET meeting I've attended. The discussions were spirited and informative after each speaker. I suspect there could have been more time allotted for the fruitful discussion. I am strongly supportive of involving teachers at every meeting. We can learn a lot from them to guide our presentations. So, the meeting format and topics

worked very well.

- I believe the agenda was helpful in attracting a larger number of ReSET

volunteers, which made for richer discussions.

- Since most of don’t get to see other volunteers, hearing what worked for others was effective. On the whole, I think it was a productive meeting. I liked some of the sharing because it presented a variety of ideas for follow on.

- Your move to cancel the next agenda item was excellent.

Things that didn’t work so well:

- The brief presentations went well but but some of us had trouble sticking to the subject matter and the questions being discussed.

- More time could have been more time allotted for the discussion as

they were still fruitful.

- I don't know of anything.

- Location might have been more accessible.

- This meeting didn’t summarize what we were looking for as common goals for science volunteering at ReSET.

- It might be better to separate the volunteers and teachers into two different

panels. I think the questions for each might be different

- Introductions are good, but take a lot of time in such a big group. Maybe

there’s a way to streamline this part.

- At this meeting, we couldn't get to your final Agenda item; while I don't know exactly what you had planned there, it sounded like an exercise to plan some sample classroom sessions. If so, that could have been very useful for the newcomers who were probably trying to figure out how you keep a group of kids engaged for an hour.

Recommendations for future meetings:

- It would be great to show a video of one of us in the classroom.

- More open discussions are productive.

- How about including tent name cards so we can get to know peoples' names?

- Always have at least 3 DCPS teachers present. I suggest that this type of

meeting replace the ones we had in the past, where volunteers demonstrated their

experiments. I think it's much more important for us and the teachers to talk to

each other.

- Another panel with a principal, two teachers and a scientist discussing their views of what is age appropriate science at the 3rd and 5th grade level. Of course some follow-up discussion after each presenter is nice. Include two short presentations of ReSET volunteer lessons. Discussion could then focus on if it’s age appropriate and if and

how it could be adapted to other grades where the subject is in the science curriculum.

- Debriefings of recent experiences for different grade levels.

- First, I hope more teachers from schools ReSET is serving would come to the meeting to share their thoughts. Second, it would be great that in the future meeting the list of experimental tools and resources ReSET currently owns can be officially announced. In this way, we can keep good awareness of their availability and make use of them in our classes. Last, but not the least, I want to see if it is possible to include some statistics of students’ academic performance and hands-on related community services in the future meeting. In this way, we can better visualize our volunteering efforts.

- 1) What to do if the teacher is not in the room to maintain discipline. I had a substitute teacher leave the room and two kids were unruly so I had the stand at the back of the room. I also ask the kids if they want to hear what I have to say - or should I go home. But our policy is the teacher should (must) be present in the classroom at all times.

2) Do you do your presentation if the teacher has a substitute? I've had good experiences and bad experiences with substitutes (mainly with class discipline).

3) The responsibility of the teacher to notify you if the class will not be held or the class will return to the room late. More than once I have come to the classroom and found it vacant. Either the kids are on a field trip, or there is a program in the auditorium the teacher failed to tell me about. And many times I have had to wait 10 to 20 minutes for the class to appear from another activity. The teacher needs to know that our time is valuable. Also I have a 40 minute drive so it is an additional expense to me if the teacher is not there.

I know these are gripes but, they are common problems we face and can lead

to the loss of volunteers.

- A separate focus would be on the various activities.

- Who has had success with which experiments?

- Which experiments are good (easy) for “not my field but I’m willing to try”

- Maybe start collecting helpful hints/clarifications for the ones we already

have.

- The Q&A session was helpful, with volunteers using their experience to answer

questions of others. I’d recommend this as part of a future session.

- As for recommendations for future meetings, it might be useful (especially for newcomers or potential newcomers) to devote 15-20 minutes to an example of a class session that a volunteer thinks went over well. I wouldn't suggest multiple examples because then there wouldn't be enough time to get into detail----just one example with a fair amount of detail.

How often should we schedule sessions like these?

- Suggest we meet on a quarterly basis to keep up the excellent momentum.

- 2x per year

- Three of these extended meetings a year would seem about right.

- At least every 6 months. Personally, I would like them every 4 months

- Perhaps at the beginning and end of terms, to help prepare and to do "lessons learned".

- I would like to have this type of meeting held twice every school semester. The first one

should happen before the semester starts, and the second one after the semester ends.

- Once a semester, at or before the beginning of the semester. The session helped

get me focused as I think about heading back into the classroom.

- As for the frequency of these meetings, I suggest not more than 2.

Recruiting Idea

2011-01-07T08:25:00.000-08:00

From Rich Repplier:

John, 
 
Today I posted ReSET ads at these places in Centreville: 
 
2 Giants (3 X 5s) 
1 Shoppers (8-1/2 X 11) 
1 Starbucks (8-1/2 X 11) 
The Goddard School (8-1/2 X 11) 
 
You can cover lots of places in a short time - you just pick a  
shopping center and once you're there, you have many possibilities  
close together. I have a lot more prospects waiting for me to get to  
them. 
 
Please send me 5 more 3X5 ads. They are very useful for boards that  
are jammed with ads.

Daughter and Father Thoughts on ReSET

2010-12-23T10:06:00.000-08:00

This week Sarah Kehoe wrote to ReSET: "My father ... recently retired from a phenomenal government career as an aerospace engineer. I am nominating him for this volunteer opportunity as I know he will love it and be excellent at it. He mentored me in math/science and I now have my PhD in Molecular Cell Biology because of his enthusiasm and inspiration. He would make an excellent addition to your team."

Bob Williams agreed with his daughter's recommendation and will begin the ReSET volunteer orientation program in January. He writes: "Practicing/retired engineers and scientists have a unique ability to 'give back' to a new generation. As a nation we are now at the point where 90% of the advanced degrees in the hard sciences and engineering are going to Pacific Rim countries. I am seeing more and more first-class technical papers coming from that region. Most highly successful people have 3 key people in their lives - the parent or friend who helped make the subject 'fun,' the teacher who translated the fun into real technical understanding and sparking self-motivated idea creation, and the college-level mentor who carried that foundation into high level achievement."

Volunteer Wayne Sukow's Minerals Experiment

2010-11-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hi ReSET'ers:  If you're interested in working with students on the experiment Wayne describes (below)let me know (johnmeagher@cox.net).  I have some mineral sets in the ReSET supply stock. John

Hi John, 
 
This is just a brief note to bring you up to date on my 2010 ReSET 
classroom activities. This afternoon I finished the fourth session on 
Geology---Properties and Identification of Minerals. I was pleased how 
well the 5th grade students in all four classes and especial the last 
class mastered the techniques for 1.) making streaks from the minerals 
on a black or white Streak Plate, 2.) determining if the mineral 
scratched their thumbnail, a copper penny, a piece of glass, or a 
ceramic streak plate, and 3.) inventing descriptive words that 
characterized the appearance of the minerals as they saw them e.g. the 
Luster: shiny, metallic, dull, waxy, sparkly, etc. 
 
The four  one-hour sessions included all 110 or so fifth graders at Key 
ES and two teachers. The streak plates, glass, and pennies show their 
use after this years intense use.  They will need some replacements for 
the next go around. I also invested in  some good rock samples such as 
gabbro, oolitic limestone, anorthocite, granite with biotite, etc. at a 
cost of $45. Students felt that they were easier to use than the small 
thumbnail size. When students left the classroom for their next class 
each one received one of my  Lake Superior Agate with a Hardness 7, 
which means it will stay polished if they carry it in their pocket or 
purse with of change, pens, etc. 
 
Next up are experiments on Electricity and Magnetim and/or Light. 
 
I also tried Key ES lunches.....interesting. 
 
Cheers, 
 
Wayne

Marty Stein 's Waterborne Disease Session

2010-11-09T06:56:00.000-08:00

Washington Latin is doing what they call water world. I plan to discuss the dangers of unclean water, a major problem, and some of the diseases that are transmitted in contaminated water. I ordered a complete distillation kit for Carolina Biological. They have assembled everything I will need and it is very sexy and will turn on the kids. There are too many things I would have to get and probably miss some if I went for individual pieces so I went with the kit. My plan is for the kids to get some lousy water three days before. I have a reagent which they will incubate with the water for 48 hour and then have a color indicator for
the presence of bacteria. I will distill the dirty water in the classroom and split up the effluent and have the kids incubate it for another 48 hours to see if the process cleaned the water. I will bring pictures of the
kids in Haiti and some pictures of the cholera bacteria. I might even drink some in the class...
http://www.carolina.com/product/equipment+and+supplies/glass+and+plasticware/
condensers/distillation-distilling+apparatus.do?sortby=ourPicks

Local DC STEM Advocate Elected to National Board

2010-11-04T07:41:00.000-07:00

ReSET's November 2010 newsletter included a quote from Mary Lord, DC Ward 2 State Board of Education member, a long-time STEM education advocate. This week Ms. Lord was elected to the Board of the National Association of State Boards of Education (see press release below). A step forward for science and math education. Press release below...

D.C. BOARD MEMBER MARY LORD CHOSEN AS A DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

Arlington, Va. - Mary Lord, a member of the District of Columbia State Board of Education, was elected to the board of directors of the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE). Lord will begin her two-year term as a director from NASBE's Northeast region in January 2010.

"Mary Lord is a tireless advocate for students and education, and I know she will bring that same focus and energy to the board of directors," said NASBE Executive Director Brenda Welburn. "She and the rest of our directors give their time and leadership to their fellow policymakers to help them find the solutions needed to provide students the education they need to succeed in the 21st century."

Lord was first elected to the state board of education in 2007 and elected to her first full term in 2008. She is an award-winning freelance journalist who has been writing about education and visiting schools across the country for more than a decade. Her articles have appeared in a variety of local and national publications, including U.S. News & World Report, for which she covered K-12 and higher education. Along with representing Wards 1 and 2 on the DC State Board of Education, she has served on several education-reform task forces, notably NASBE's study group on Career and Technical Education, and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education's working groups on educator quality, career and technical education, and accountability.

NASBE's directors help set organizational direction and policy positions while also representing their region's concerns to state boards nationwide.

***

The National Association of State Boards of Education represents America's state and territorial boards of education. NASBE exists to strengthen State Boards as the preeminent educational policymaking bodies for citizens and students. For more, visit www.nasbe.org.

NY Times Editorial about STEM in the US

2010-10-28T06:32:00.000-07:00

From a 10/26 New York Times Editorial:

"According to a follow-up report published last month, the academies found that the United States ranks 27th out of 29 wealthy countries in the proportion of college students with degrees in science or engineering, while the World Economic Forum ranked this country 48th out of 133 developed and developing nations in quality of math and science instruction."

For the full editorial, link to:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/26/opinion/26tue2.html?_r=1&ref=editorials

Note how ReSET's programs fit in with the National Academies' recommendations.

ReSET at the USA Festival

2010-10-25T12:44:00.000-07:00

ReSET was one of over 500 organizations that participated in the USA Science and Engineering Festival on the National Mall this past weekend (10/23-10/24/10). Hundreds of children visited the ReSET booth to try science experiments, as did many former-children. A number of the scientists and engineers who visited expressed interest in learning more about volunteering. Many thanks to ReSET volunteers Ji Chen, Bob Blumberg, Rich Repplier, Bob Hauptman, Bob Stern, Eva Jacobs, and Felton Rogers who attended and helped out. Bob Blumberg's experiment demonstrating air pressure with an upended cup of water was a big hit. Ji and Eva spent hours helping future scientists and engineers use batteries and electrical wire to light up a flashlight bulb.

ReSET Volunteer Ji Chen's Thoughts

2010-10-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

The hands-on experience can bring great promise to students in early science education. As a robot inspector for FIRST regional competition in Philadelphia, I was astonished by the hands-on skills teenage participants demonstrated during the competition. They knew how to use tools and software properly, and how to solve problems on spot. They were proactive and enjoyed working with each other. The robots they engineered were impressive, with high complexity and functionality. This showed me how well young students can apply what they learn in the field of engineering and science, at the same time, how science can be instructed for the development of their project and interpersonal skills that are highly valued in industries.

Hands-on elementary science not only concretely demonstrates important concepts, but it also nurtures the desire for students to learn more and form good habits of experimentation, teamwork, and inquiry into our natural world. In the long run, applying scientific concepts and forming good study habits in a fun and engaging way at the elementary level will help produce more scientists, engineers and technicians for our society. Being a ReSET volunteer speaks to my values and motivations as an engineer and educator and it is an honor to work with the children, their teachers, and the ReSET team.

My First Day as a Classroom Volunteer

2010-09-15T07:18:00.000-07:00

I explained to my 4th graders that it was my first day in the classroom as a science volunteer and asked them how they thought I felt. After I received the answers "nervous" and "afraid," to which I truthfully responded "a little bit," a young student raised his hand and asked "Are you elated?" I answered "why yes, kind of" as I thought to myself "hmm - at his age, I think I was was still monosyllabic..."

Science Magazine Features ReSET

2010-09-09T06:25:00.001-07:00

Check out the link to the July 2010 article on our home page: www.resetonline.org

ReSET Founder on Huffington Post

2010-09-09T06:23:00.000-07:00

Dr. Harold Sharlin's thoughts on science and math as a new school year begins:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harold-sharlin/back-to-school-time-to-re_b_683486.html

Science and Math Volunteers Work with Teachers and Students in the Classroom

2010-09-09T06:08:00.000-07:00

Find out more:www.resetonline.org