Metric System via Democracy: #edchat

I was working with students on a measuring footprints for an activity involving categorization of foot types. We needed a way to quantify the shape of the arch. The students began playing with different dimension on each footprint and determined the method the class would follow after some discussion. I gave them rulers with both English and Metric and did not tell them how to do it. They started measuring and collecting data. The shared their measurements on the board to compare the results and found that, even though they measured each print the same way, none of them had results they could compare. Some used fractions, others used decimals, most used the English system and others used Metric.  They were totally confused. How could they have come up with so many different answers when they used the same dimensions? I asked, "Do you want to use decimals or fractions?" This stirred the pot. 7 3/16 was one of the answers. They had no units. Another answer was 8.32 inches. "How do we compare these?" One student shouted,"change the fractions to decimals!" This did not sit well with most. Another student yelled back, "Just use fractions!" So I said, "How do you compare 7 3/16 to 5 6/7?"  Somebody shouted,"LEAST COMMON DENOMINATOR!" I said, "Good! Do it!"

Panic ensued.  I said, "Do you want fractions or decimals?" Arguing followed because most knew that meant metric system and they wanted nothing to do with the metric system.  I said,"How do you add with decimals?" Mumbling. "You line up the decimals and just add," somebody added. Yes this was noisy chaos. They were all engaged and actively participating so who cared. "Metric or English," I added.

I knew this process was essential for them to go through in order to them to realize that the metric system was easier to use and; therefore, more accurate. The metric system is typically taught top down. Students resist using it because they never have the chance to decide that it is easier to use. They encounter the metric system every year probably as a stand alone lesson that a teacher is required to teach but that is practically unenforceable because our country lacks the desire to use it. In some small way, I allowed my students to acknowledge that the metric system is better even if they never use it again.

Teach with adventure!

Old Man in a Peanut - #Inquiry #Edchat

As I was flying home the other day, I sat next to a young girl and her mother. I noticed that the girl, who was maybe 4 or 5 years old, was playing a game on her mother's phone. The flight attendant passed out the usual snacks, which gave me an idea. I asked the girl's mother if her daughter had ever heard of the old man in the peanut. Neither of them had. I asked if I could show her daughter and she said I could. I opened a peanut and revealed the small man with a beard hiding inside just like my grandfather did for me when I was her age. They were both so surprised. I asked the girl how she thought he got in there. The phone was now sitting in her lap and she was turning the peanut in her hand. She picked at the small man and he popped out. His beard now missing. I gave her another peanut and she opened it up. I could tell she was curious. She began exploring other peanuts and noticed that there were differences between each little face. Some were longer or narrower or had pointier beards. She looked carefully at the beards and slowly looked at each one until she ate it. She never answered me but the peanuts took the place of the phone. With a couple small questions, I changed perspectives forever. I would not be surprised to see them opening other types of seeds. I would hope that in some small way, they never looked at seeds in the same way again. I wondered if the idea virus I planted would spread to other people. We got off the plane and went our separate ways. After nine months in a classroom, we all change perspectives and give students tools to explore and see the world in different ways. We hope they continue to be curious. For most, we will never know the results of what we shared with them. We just hope that the idea viruses we shared will get passed along. Long live the old man in the peanut.

Cheer Them On #students #edchat

An interesting thing happened to me today. I was waiting under a bridge along a 10k course waiting for a friend to come through so that I could cheer him on. I arrived at this location, which was a little past mile 5, about 5 minutes before the lead runner came through. I applauded of course as he past.

I am not sure he heard me. I then saw the second runner and applauded him too. Soon, runner after runner began flowing by. I kept cheering them on. I am a runner myself and I know what it feels like to be near the end of a race when your energy is flagging. The end of a race is also where you find the fewest spectators. I kept cheering them on. I was not sure if my hands would hold out. My friend is like me. We usually finish in the top two thirds. In a race of 2000 people, we will finish around 1500th place. I kept clapping, smiling, and cheering the runners on. They were slowing down. As I persisted, I started hearing whispered thank yous. I started getting requests for high fives. The crowd began to thicken as the middle of the pack approached. I started to wonder if I could keep it up but I did, even after I found my friend.

When I was student teaching, I had two mentor teachers. One interacted with and laughed with students. The other explained this to me about assessment. "You will get a bell curve for every test and quiz. This is expected. If you get too many A's, your test was not hard enough." I took this to mean that I could expect students to fail every test and that the class as a whole, should have grades that fit the bell curve. In the first semester of my second year of teaching high school, I experienced this. I had a bell curve and thought, this was normal. However,  I noticed was that the students had grown to expect to be in those spots on the bell curve. They knew where they should fit and they seemed comfortable with this. I was shocked. The grades were non-motivational. Of course extra credit would be meaningless because the students knew where they should fit. In the following semester, at a faculty meeting to discuss standardize testing procedures, another teacher jokingly yelled out that grades were arbitrary. I thought, that's right they were. Assessment and grades meant nothing to students. I began to struggle with motivation. I could lecture and test them and the curve would not change. My mentor teacher would have been fine with this. I was not.

I started exploring ways to find motivation for students. By the time they reached high school, the students had expected their place in the bell curve. I felt that excellence was achievable for all students. It was my job to cheer them on. It was their job to struggle through and learn how to persevere. Keep cheering them on because the bell curve is not enough!

Exploring the Fourth Dimension

It seems that I have been tied to education in one form or another for most of my life. My love of learning began early on with science and art classes at the Ft. Worth Museum of Science and History, in Texas. Science provided reasoning skills and art added the details to build a life centered around discovery. I understood that school was where I gained tools to use to derive understanding. I followed my interests into geology and paleontology where I began digging in the fourth dimension and piecing together the past. Science became more about sharing that about holding on to the truth for me. In the National Park Service, I shared the past with visitors. In junior college, I introduced tools to students giving them the ability to explore the past as well. In 2002, I entered the classroom and began working with high school and junior high students. For me, an understanding of science has always been about action. Activities filled the classroom and students drove the curriculum. Discovery lights up faces. I introduced them to the tools they needed and they became explorers. In the Fall of 2011, I became a STEM Instructor with the Science Center where all the activities are student driven. In January of 2015, I became an instructor of educators. Student driven exploration in all areas is possible. To quote Seymour Papert, author of Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas, “I am convinced that the best learning takes place when the learner takes charge.” Join me on this journey into the fourth dimension.

A photo with my daughter Elizabeth at the Very Large Array in New Mexico placing knowledge in her hands.

#STEMIntegration #3DPrinting Is Not Just About Design

STEM Integration: 3D Printing is Not Just About Design

3D printers are showing up in schools at an increasing rate. I recently gave a workshop at a STEM Integration Conference called "We have a 3D Printer, Now What? Integration Across Subjects" with the hope of attracting teachers who had 3D printers but no idea of how to use them. Before I began, I took a simple poll, "How many of you have 3D printers that are still in the box and have no idea what to use them for?" A majority of the teachers raised their hands. My hunch was correct.

I believe that 3D printers belong in every classroom and that someday they will be as common place as laser printers are today. The cost is coming down and the versatility is improving. Through sites like Thingiverse.com, people around the world are sharing what they make for anyone to print. When I contact these Makers and explain how I am using their models to inspire teachers and students, they are overwhelmingly enthusiastic. They share because they want to make a difference. I am often asked about design. The using preexisting models provides the gateway step to design. The number of uploaded designs increases daily. Thingiverse reports that users have uploaded nearly 500,000 designs. Many of these designs have applications as models to be used in the classroom. 

Here is one of my favorite examples. While browsing Thingiverse, I found the model of one of my favorite authors, Cory Doctorow. I printed it and, knowing that he is active on Twitter, tweeted this picture to him:

Here is the conversation:

I know he was kidding, at least I think he is kidding. He knows these models are available. He even has an account on Thingiverse and a model of this bust is on it. He is also a strong advocate of Creative Commons. I made contact. I referenced his work, "For the Win," in another workshop and Tweeted how I made this book a focus of STEM in Literature Integration. He replied that he was honored. 

What if a student, who had difficulty reading printed something about the book or an author and sent it to the author and the author replied back, what would this do to the student?  Although I have never met Cory Doctorow, I now feel connected to him. 3D printing makes the intangible tangible. Connecting our students to the work we are asking them to do, builds ownership and passion. Give it a shot. Try it for yourself. If you have access to a 3D printer, what can you lose? Just go for it.

Falling in Love #STEM #History

I hope that got your attention. I love research and I also see a strong connection between science and history (see my blog post from January 7th). On occasion, I become so involved with a project that I become deeply attached to it. For an upcoming workshop on 3D Printing in Any Curriculum, I encountered the model for an old shoe on Thingiverse (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:552782). Why would somebody scan an old leather shoe? What is the significance? How does it have meaning?  I began digging. In the notes for the Thingiverse model, I found this article, A Shoe and the Historical Record. It begins with the story of how the students of a history class were scanning historical objects for a project. The authors go on to tell the story of the Nolan family who had the shoe made by a slave, "Old Jack", for their daughter Octavia in 1862. Anderson Nolan, the father joined the Confederates in the Civil War later that year. I discovered that many slaves lived and worked in the cities as craftsmen or laborers. "Old Jack" was a shoemaker who was hired out by his owner. I also realize that he was probably a lucky man. He had a trade and on January 1, 1863, he was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation.

This story pulled me in. Because of 3D printing, I could hold this shoe. The story could become tangible for me. Instead of a static image and a story on a website, I can interact directly with it.  I downloaded the model, which was a .thing file. None of the 3D printers I have access to could print .thing files. I needed an .stl file. Now I was learning about the printing process itself. I emailed John Campbell of the North Carolina History Museum, where the shoe is on display. He was able to find the .stl file. I printed two copies of the shoe, one 1/2 scale and one full scale. The full scale model took 16 hours to print and it was so worth it. I can hold the shoe and share the experience. Continue exploring and looking for the connections with learning across the curriculum.
-Al

Comparison of the printed shoe to the actual shoe (photo graph)

3D Printing Everyone?

I bought a 3D printer about a year ago because I was curious to see what I could do with one and I wanted the opportunity to see what my daughter would do with it. I thought it would be great to have a prototyper in the house. What I have discovered is the sharing universe. People around the world are excited to share their designs. Websites such as Thingiverse.com, Youmagine.com, Cubehero.com, and Shapeways.com  are sharing spaces. Try Googling "Thingiverse vs" to see just how many different 3D design sharing spaces there are. Similarly, museums across the country are beginning to share their collections through 3D printing. The Smithsonian, for example, shares their collection through Smithsonian X 3D (http://3d.si.edu/). They have 3D models of artifacts including this amazing "Killer Whale Hat," which belongs to the Tlingit Dakl'aweidi' (Killer Whale) clan of southeast Alaska.

This hat is a significant cultural object. Because of 3D technology, the hat was able to be entered into the collection of the Smithsonian and repatriated to the Alaskan clan back in 2005. We can still learn from it and still show respect for the people it belongs to. 

With 3D technology, how could you share history and science in ways that have never been possible before?