Digital Teachers & Learners

Haiti Earthquake Headlines in the Classroom

This January, my students visited the Hall of Planet Earth at the American Museum of Natural History to learn from the exhibits on geologic time, the rock cycle, volcanoes, earthquakes, continental drift and convection currents.  Coincidentally, Haiti experienced a catastrophic earthquake that same week.  The museum experience connects nicely to the NYC seventh grade science geology unit curriculum, but this visit was unlike any other year. Seismology was suddenly a hot topic.

Students stood quietly in front of the earthquake monitoring station and watched real time seismic data on the screen.  Red dots indicate earthquakes happening that day, and yellow rings showed the earthquake's magnitude- a huge yellow ring surrounded Haiti.  Students were quick to share about what we learned in class about the tectonic plate boundaries and the convection currents in the mantle causing movement in the crust above.

A part of me was smiling inside because my students understood the science behind the earthquake.  But the rest of me felt the magnitude of loss- millions dead, buidling destroyed, people desparate for medicine and food, orphaned children- and I knew it was important to talk to my students about how they felt about the Haiti earthquake and how we can help the survivors.

• Multimedia teaching materials on plate tectonics and seismology can be found at http://www.iris.edu/. 
• Tectonics of the Haitian Earthquake
• The AMNH Hall of Planet Earth field guide

Don't Kill the Creativity

The biggest smirk came across my face when Steve Spangler described what will NOT lead to success in the classroom. A slideshow of faces streamed through my mind as he described hardworking teachers with worksheets, rubrics, detailed procedures, lists of standards, goals, data, and laminated lesson plans filled with definitions taken directly from an outdated textbook.

Spangler thinks he has the answer to success in the classroom, but the education community on large does not. As recently reported in a NY Times magazine article, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is investing millions to improve teaching quality, but what does that mean? “Unfortunately, it seems the field doesn’t have a clear view of what characterizes good teaching,” Gates said. “I’m personally very curious.”

Spangler proved his point by leading the audience through an investigation of Bernoulli’s principle. He posed the question, “How many breathes will it take to fill the plastic bag?” We all made our best guesses. I could feel the robotic steps of the scientific method start their march from question to hypothesis to observation and so on. He then instructed the volunteer to put her hand on the end of the bag, her mouth on the bag and blow. Clear step-by-step procedures were given, and the volunteer performed the duties like a good student would. We observed how full the bag became after three breathes then were asked to estimate how many more breathes would be needed to fill the entire bag.

This activity sounds like a pretty typical middle school science demonstration. Science teachers know that they need to give students opportunities to apply the scientific method, but also fear losing control of a room full of crazy thirteen year olds. The marriage of these two objectives results in TOO MUCH HAND HOLDING. These sorts of experiences are not teaching students to think like scientists. They prepare them for jobs at fast food restaurants or assembly lines.

“As soon as I said, put your hand right hear and put your mouth on the bag, I killed the creativity.” Spangler suggested a better approach. Instead, introduce the task by saying “I don’t know how you are going to fill the bag, but you have 3 minutes to figure it out.”

The latter describes real inquiry! This gives students an opportunity to try different methods, learn from trial and error, and possibly discover the secret is to blow air in front of the bag so that a fast stream of air comes behind and fills the bag with the air around us. Bernoulli’s principle taught without the definition. The teacher still needs to address how this works, but this is done after students are already hooked and have a reason too want to know the answer. Brilliant.

Joy + Learning = One

The equation to being a great teacher, not just a good one is joy + learning = one. This message was threaded through every session I attended today at The PBS Celebration of Teaching and Learning 

Teachers can use the same things good rappers do to engage students in the classroom.

Columbia University Professor Chris Emdin had a packed house for his morning session "Rethinking Student Participation: A Model from Hip-Hop and Urban Science Education".  He has a new book out entitled "Science Education in the Hip-hop Generation” that I look forward to reading.  The premise is that hip hop is not just a music genre, but a culture and a part of student lives than we can connect to in the classroom.

Chris believes that educators can form stronger ties with students by recognizing the differences in the way they think and act. Using rap music in the classroom gives students the room to create and express themselves while learning science content.  This is based on mnemonic. "Once the students know it then push the thinking forward."

On Sesame Street, we use... advertising methods to sell letters and numbers.

Sid the Science Kid is a boy who says things like "scientist in the house". The 'Dinosaur Train' capitalizes on two things every little boy loves.  In both cases, what is "cool" is connected to the message they want to get across about science. And, of course, there is music.  A guitar-picking Craig Bartlett sings a new version of the ABC song with dinosaur names. 

Lisa Henson spoke about developing fun characters that the audience can relate to. In my mind, this is a model for teacher development  When students step into the classroom, they decide right away if the teacher is someone they can learn from or the kids "turn the channel". A great teacher can and should be a fun "character" that the "audience" relates to.

PBS gets it that we need to meet young children where they are, embrace what they already like and let their natural curiosity and creativity lead them to great learning experiences. It seems to me that educators and producers of educational programs need to continue this trend in the middle and high school years. Imagine  MTV or VHI for learning.. Something similar to 'Yo Gabba Gabba', the Nick Jr. children's television show hosted by DJ Lance Rock, but with more thought-provoking lyrics and popular guests with a positive message for older kids and young adults.  Emdin is on to something!

The Real Dominican Republic!

Last weekend, we ventured to Cana Hondo Ecolodge in San de la Mar and National Park Los Haitises. We rented a car and drove northwest about 100 miles which takes over four hours due to the roads and terrain. We left Punta Cana and made a stop in Higuey where we visited St. Mary's Cathedral and had dinner at a local restaurant. The mangu was fantastic! The drive north went through several small villages and into the mountains. These are the places where you experience the real Dominican lifestyle, and were I felt what it is that the native people love about their home.
Our final destination was nothing short of magical. We arrived in a small village on the Samana Bay on the northeast side of the Dominican Republic. Among other things, we took a boat ride through a mangrove forest, visited caves once occupied by the indigenous Taino tribe, hiked through humid forests & fields of sugar cane and cattle, swam under waterfalls in the crystalline water of the Jivales River, and met a young man named Raphael who is part of The Green Brigade Environmental Group from a nearby village.

Punta Cana

I'll be spending the month of July in the Domican Republic at the Puntacana Resort & Club thanks to a fellowship from Columbia University's CERC Teacher Training Institute & the Puntacana Ecological Foundation.

About twenty five educators, including myself, will learn from and collaborate with scientists. The course work includes developing an integrated curriculum and doing field work. Hopefully, I'll be on the beach surveying coral reefs!

Really, Really White People

'They' came in a big, pale herd. Everyone of 'them' with ghost-like skin, light eyes, and a preppy look. They all had a way of speaking (along with really corny jokes) that made me want to smack them in the face for no other reason than that they just didn't get it. I found myself judging and scrutinizing every fiber of their Massachusetts, surburbanite beings. The whole package of them felt insulting.


It was as if their stuffiness reflected their close-mindedness. Enough to make a liberal-minded, urbanite want to gag. They wore these stupid uniforms-- you know, the jeans with a polo shirt and a baseball cap. The inflection in their voices and their body language was offensive. Lack of eye contact, poor posture, and unnecessary use of big words, I immediately recognized as a thin veil hiding fear, a lack of depth, and a self-righteousness that needed taken down a notch.

Or was it that at all?

Stereotypes.

Quick judgements.

Once upon a time, I was a white girl growing up in rural Michigan with very little exposure to cultural diversity-- at least before college. My experience outside of a really, really white community consisted of the black people I saw in the mall three times a year at the nearest city center 60 miles away, and the Korean daughter of the only foreign doctor in our town.

There was one multi-racial student in my high school-- Chris Jones had a black father from Flint. Every young girls parents feared that their daughter would date him. Oh, the shame! He had a great personality, was an awesome football player, and was my locker partner during my junior year. He died from a rare blood disease senior year, and then we were back to a bunch of white hicks and a losing football team.

We all need to take off our uniforms.

We all need to look below the surface.