Students aim for Mars: Miko Teaching a New generation of Space Buffs

Read more here:
http://www.tbrnews.com/articles/2010/02/25/manhattan_beach_news/news05.txt

Christopher Miko is doing a great job creating student interest in science, especially space science.

He made some comments on standardized tests, too:
Miko said he is currently rewriting his curriculum to focus less on acing standardized tests. Here's what the above-referenced article stated:

“I don’t feel the way I’m required to teach in the classroom is the best way to be teaching. It’s so standardized test-oriented,” he said.

While the Manhattan Beach Unified School District is the fifth-highest performing district in the state, it doesn’t mean students understand the information, he said.

“They may have memorized those facts for those tests but they don’t really get it … the depth of information.” http://www.tbrnews.com/articles/2010/02/25/manhattan_beach_news/news05.txt, Accessed 2-24-2010.

It is true that higher order thinking skills (HOT skills) are needed to, "know," any subject, but, standardized tests do get a bad rap quite often. These standardized tests cover just the starting material. Students should not be afraid of them. We should not contribute to fear of test-taking.

That being said, the 4-H concept of, "Learn by doing," is a wonderful concept to apply to science. I believe that is what Miko's teaching and comments show.

As for his students, carry on. Keep up the good work. Think deeply. Try using HOT skills.


More discussion on Literacy and Tests

• http://www.swdtimes.com/article_1857.shtml; Accessed 2-28-2010

• (Please feel free to post in the comments below any related items you have found . Click on the words, "Post a comment." Add your thoughts and ideas on the topics, too.)
  

Visiting Mr Romard's Class...

Science
We will play a mystery circuit game to determine how wires are setup behind a hidden display. We will learn how to read simple electrical diagrams and how to make a bulb super bright. Students will be asked to bring a used bulb from home so we can break it inside a bag to identify the parts and discuss how it works.

Read more here:
http://teachers.saschina.org/mromard/2010/02/25/electrifying-science/

Evaluating Sources as a Part of Science Literacy

Today information is readily available. But, how does a student evaluate the literature available? "Hype" and sales pitches are easy to read, but, do they provide accurate information? Some do. Some do not. How do you know?

There is much controversy over human chorionic gonadotropin, better known to the general public as HCG. How can we use science literacy skills to evaluate this compound? If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know we typically start with general information and progress through Reach Reading TM to the refereed journal articles, which are peer reviewed.

Obesity is a problem. HCG is a product touted to contribute to lasting weight loss(Here's one website, but, there are many: http://www.yourhcg.com). Is that a factual concept? We know money is made from people trying various products or surgery to lose weight. How can one use science literacy to determine which information to believe? I am not saying use this example, HCG, for students. Pick something of interest to them. For example, if they have a pet cat, they might be interested in pet food advertisements and research that has been done on pet nutrition.

Do a search engine search for HCG (or a student- or teacher- selected topic). Pick a few articles. Evaluate them. How difficult is the vocabulary? Are the claims backed up with fact? Take some notes on points that interest you and remember to note the information to site the sources (left hand column of the blog has some style manual links if you need assistance with that).

Now, using some words or phrases that you find in the general literature to help you find information in the technical literature...the laboratory reports. Remember. the laboratory reports follow a format that is international in nature and are peer-reviewed (evaluated by other scientists in the same field):

• Introduction (background information, and hypothesis to be tested),
• Materials and Methods (procedures)
• Results (data)
• Discussion and Conclusions (discussion of the data, suggested public policy, suggested future experiments and requests for funding...)
• Literature Cited (gives complete source information)

These "laboratory reports" will be easy to recognize if you follow the same format for your own classroom laboratory experiments (granted, simplified as per student ability).

Here are some examples of peer-reviewed ("refereed") journal articles on HCG:

1. Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) in the Treatment of Obesity: A Critical Assessment of the Simeons Method by Frank L. Greenway, MD and George A. Bray, MD. West J Med. 1977 December. Vol. 127. No. 6. Pp. 461-463. PMCID:PMC1237915 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pmc/articles/PMC1237915/

2. Effect of human chorionic gonadotrophin on weight loss, hunger, and feeling of well-being by W. L. Asher M.D.¹ and Harold W. Harper M.D.¹ From the American Society of Bariatric Physicians Research Council, 333 West Hampden Avenue, Englewood, Colorado 80110. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Vol 26. Pp211-218. (c) 1973 by the American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc. http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/2/211

These two articles have opposing conclusions, so, to formulate my own opinion on this topic, I would have to find more research. Knowing myself, I'd probably do an exhaustive search. The idea is not for students to take my opinion, nor for them to take their teacher's opinion, but, rather for them to learn to form their own opinions and be able to back those opinions up with information from refereed journals.

Check who paid for the research. Does the article support or attack or remain neutral on the points of interest to you? Were the research methods sound? (This type of analysis must be done at the students level...but even pre-school children get the concept of control versus experimental, even if they may not know all the vocabulary.) Is the vocabulary tougher? If we want to know something, we learn the vocabulary. (I have seen students in elementary and high school science classes use the refereed journal articles and stay much more engaged in science class as a result. But, even if the articles are too hard to read, the students get the idea that research exists and if they have a need to know, they will find and learn to read the articles. Students have come back years later to thank me for introducing them to the journal articles. Two more notes: 1- Journal articles exist in all fields...in case you are an artist, or a history buff... 2- People that win the national science fairs typically read a few refereed journal articles.)

Sometimes you might come across related articles that are a bit off topic, yet peek interest in further study, such as research ...

on HCG and breast cancer risk (or lack of risk).
http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/4/5/437.full.pdf; Accessed 10-26-09.

Find some refereed research articles on your selected topic(s).

Plan to write a persuasive essay based on your findings.

Most of all, have fun. I think of this as, "mental recreation."

Edit, Nov. 4, 2009:
Not convinced that refereed journal article reading is an important part of science literacy?
Want one parent's viewpoint on reading journal articles, which concurrently explains basic biology and genetic engineering? Try reading The Unhealthy Truth: How our Food is making us Sick and What We can do about It, by Robyn O'Brien [and] Rachel Kranz (Broadway Books (Random House), New York. 2009). Read more.


(c)2009 J S Shipman All rights reserved. Portions (c)1985-2009 J S Shipman. Used with permission of the author.

History of the Periodic Table: BrentjChristy's You-tube and Ways to Learn Science

What do you think about these video's? Did you learn from them?

Do you think you would learn more if you created your own video on this topic?

Compare this video clip to the videos you've just seen:


or, this one...


Which video was easiest for you to remember the content? Why? Have you thought about how you learn and store information? Does a story about the information make it easier to remember?

Come up with ways to help you remember information that you are learning. Invent a song or create a video (or both) to help you remember information. Think about experimentation...Does doing experiments help you learn science? Why or why not?

(c) 2008 J S Shipman

Australian Ideas for Science Education

Here is a link to Australia K-6 ideas:
http://science.uniserve.edu.au/school/curric/k_6/ouroz.html

For example, you can take a virtual field trip to Australia.


You might like to compare and contrast Australian environmental weed control methods with Control of invasive species in your own country.

How do you get to Primary Sources from Secondary Sources?

Here is a secondary source article on ants (Click the words).

How would you find primary source articles on the same ants?

Here is an example of
a primary source article
that came up when searching in PNAS for
ants. It is not on Martialis heureka,
and, not by Christian Rabeling:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2447876.
Still, it might provide some clues.

The secondary source cited PNAS...Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, so let's look there:
http://www.pnas.org/content/105/14/5287.full?ck=nck. But, we have to go find a library that has this or purchase it to find out if it talks about the new species. It is like detective work.

A ha! Information on, "the 'ant from Mars' single specimen discovered in the Brazilian rainforest represents a sister lineage to all other ants... ARTICLE #08-06187: 'Newly discovered sister lineage sheds light on early ant evolution,' by Christian Rabeling (rabeling@mail.utexas.edu (Source:http://chinese.eurekalert.org/en/pub_releases/2008-09/potn-sif091808.php, 9-19-08)), Jeremy M. Brown, and Manfred Verhaagh." Let's try to find that! Here we go...Here's the link to the abstract: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2008/09/13/0806187105.abstract. Remember, when looking at a primary source article like this one, to use "reach reading" (trademark, jsshipman). You may have to look up a lot of new vocabulary. But, remember after reading 4 or 5 articles on the same topic, you'll likely learn all that vocabulary and be well on your way to becoming an expert. At the elementary school level, just getting the gist of an article and knowing that such primary sources do exist is the idea. (You might do an activity like circling or listing all the words you don't know...Remember not to write in books or journals unless you personally own them, however.) Don't get frustrated. Remember, just finding such articles and knowing they exist is great at this level. People who win the science fairs on the national level usually use these types of articles even in grades 1-6. On the high school level and junior college level, do try to paraphrase the gist of the article. (Knowing how to do this may come in handy during your life time, in case someone gets sick and you want to look up current research to discuss with your doctor, for example.) Upper class members and graduate students can remember that this is college level reading...and, it takes time to become familiar with such reading, even at these higher education levels. But, you should slug through articles in your research area, until you comprehend them. You might have to stay on the same paragraph for three days, or more, to do that. (Again, don't get frustrated nor discouraged.)

Could you also find primary source articles on the plants used as food, or habitat, or in the environment of these ants? Oh, another detective task! Let's see... First go back to the article and see if any plants are mentioned.
Try your hand at this and I will get back later on and update the post.

I don't know if you checked or not, but, you've had some time to look. When I looked, I didn't find anything there except, "plants of the Amazon rain forest," so I went to the primary source abstract. No plants were listed there, either, but, I found the words, "hypogaeic foragers." Those "Reach Reading™" words might help us. For example, knowing the meaning of common prefixes, roots, and suffixes will boost your chances of understanding new words. That is, we can guess from word parts:
Hypo...low, below
Gaeic... Earth, earth

We can also look in on-line or print dictionaries: hypogaeic foragers.

Now that we've checked those meanings, we can use these terms together with Amazon rain forest, to see if we can find anything: http://deposit.ddb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?idn=967765773&dok_var=d1&dok_ext=pdf&filename=967765773.pdf appears to be a thesis or dissertation from Germany, however, it is written in English and holds a clue: "[Ants known]...to feed on palm oil had broad food spectra (Rettenmeyer[,] 1963; Savage, 1849; Roonwal, 1972; Moffett, 1986)." Looking at the cited articles, we see these complete references:

Moffett, 1986. M. W. Marauders on the Jungle Floor. National Geographic 170:273-286.

Rettenmeyer, C. W. 1963. Behavioral studies in army ants. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 44:281-465.

Roonwal, M.L. 1972. Plant-pest status of root-eating ant, Dorylus orientalis, with notes on distribution and habits (Insecta:Hymenoptera). J. Bombay. Nat. Hist. Soc. 72:305-313.

Savage, T. S. 1849. The driver ants of Western Africa. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia. 4:195-200.

The National Geographic article is likely a secondary source. The others look outwardly like they might be primary source, refereed journal articles. We can obtain these articles on-line, or, through interlibrary loan, or, by going to a library that has the journals. I suggest looking at the Roonwal article first, because he talks of roots and plant-pests. But, this article is in the Bombay journal... so, it likely doesn't mention plants of the Amazon that are fed on by ants.

If we have a difficult time finding such articles... on ants eating what plants in the Amazon, it may suggest a research area where we can provide new information. Of course, our literature search has just begun, but, it is an idea worth noting down. (These days you may wish to keep your notes in a spread sheet type file or a database. Personally, I find Microsoft Excel (trademark Microsoft) to be the easiest to rapidly manipulate and to be easy to add new columns and change the data types being stored, if desired. I have also used a number of other systems and file cards and notebooks, or combinations of the above...You have to find your own best system. For young students, this finding-your-own-best-system means learning specific ones your teachers give you, so you can try them out, to later discover what works best for you for note-taking.)

I hope at this point you are catching a feel for the detective-like, puzzle-solving excitement of science... Tracking down ideas in the technical literature so that you can build on the shoulders of the scientists preceding you. Gathering information is one of the steps needed in designing experiments. It allows you the tools to create sound experimental design. One must guard against being biased by the previous work, however. Go and explore. You can search for more primary articles on ants and their plants, or, you can select another science topic that interests you. Remember, the goal is to distinguish between primary and secondary sources, while you read about a science topic of interest to you. (By the way, this skill of finding primary and secondary sources is transferable to other areas such as history, music, math, art and all others.) Enjoy the detective work, and, don't get discouraged by difficult words.

Feel free to add comments on articles that you find, or on your own literature search adventures. If you have questions on primary and secondary sources, be sure to ask those, too.
###
Further Notes:
While looking up, "hypogaeic," to link definitions into the post, I came across this post on a "new" (1903) hypogaeic ant from Texas and have included it for your information: http://www.jstor.org/pss/1535770. When searching the technical literature, "old" literature may provide valuable information. This point is important because students are taught to stay current, and that, too, is important. But, some information is only available in older works. For example, one would not disregard the works of Aristotle or Plato, even though they are old. I mention this because I've seen schools teach students to throw out old references just because they are old. Sometimes that's valid, sometimes, it's not. The important thing is to think deeply about the value. For example, if you were reading an article on heredity from the 1930's and used it as your only source for a paper on heredity, then, you'd be in trouble, because so much new information is known on DNA and heredity since that time. The article below might provide a great comparison and contrast with the earlier article, cited in the secondary source that started this post... style of writing, methods used, similarities and differences in the descriptions, and so on.

The reference to the Texan ants is shown below:

• William Morton Wheeler. 1903. Erebomyrma, a new genus of hypogæic ants from Texas. Biological Bulletin, 4:3 (Feb., 1903). 137-148. Published by: Marine Biological Laboratory.

Once the post is updated, I will indicate the update at the bottom of the post: Updated 9-18-2008; Updated 9-20-2008.

How do you think about science?

Often in science we think about specific topics such as osmosis or the Kreb's cycle. Today, let's examine how we think about topics in science.

First of all, pick a science topic that you are now studying and list it:
___________________________________________________

Now, identify what you have done with that topic:
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

Look over what you have just written. What thinking skills did you use?
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

When working on this topic, were you studying, "history of science," or, were you, "doing science," or, both? Give examples.
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

With parental or guardian(al) permission, look for new-to-you information on the internet or at the library on the topic you selected. Read and paraphrase (Put it in your own words), or, summarize (write the information in a short form covering major points) that information. Check what you've written for both spelling and grammar, and for accuracy.
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

Analyze what you have read. Compare and contrast it with what you already know for example. Do you agree with what you found? Why, or, why not? Again review your work for spelling, grammar, and accuracy.
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

Create an experimental design related to your topic. (An experimental design has an introduction (background information and what others have done and said on this topic---which you will cite), materials and methods (What you will do, with what, and how), blank data table, and literature cited (What references did you quote, paraphrase or get ideas from?). Again review your work for spelling, grammar, and accuracy.
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

Share you work with other students or family members. Remember to concentrate a portion of your discussion on how you were thinking about your topic.

As an extra activity, you might try to find a refereed journal article that talks about that topic as a focus, or, as a small part of the article. Have fun doing this. Such articles will likely be difficult to read and will require you to use "reach reading" skills (trademark). Reach reading skills, just like using skills to find new treasure in a video game, help make such scientific library research fun.
(c) 2008 J S Shipman
trademark J S Shipman

Monotropa hypopithys

Monotropa hypopithys L was spotted on a recent field trip up Mount Fuji (See earlier post). So, what is it? Well, it may be a mouthful to say, but doing a search to find out more can be exciting. Do you know how to find out more?

The plants database shows the following: http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MOHY3
Click it and see some details and another photo.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotropa_hypopitys

The Connecticut Botanical Society: http://ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/monotropahypo.html

Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium: http://wisplants.uwsp.edu/scripts/detail.asp?SpCode=MONHYP

There are many sources. How do you evaluate them? What sources are good? Becoming proficient in higher order thinking skills can help you evaluate the value of different sites, or, texts, or journal articles.

Suppose you want to use "Reach Reading^(TM)," to read some journal articles? Where and how would you find them? Think about that.

You could just happen upon one, like I did with this one from Japan, for example: http://mobot.mobot.org/cgi-bin/search_pick?FOCNAME=Monotropa+hypopitys+glaberrima
But, how would you go about a systematic search on this topic?
(Site under development)

Higher Order Thinking Workshop a Success

If you are a school teacher or are concerned at all about science education and you were near Vancouver, I hope you attended. Dr. J S. Shipman led a dynamic group of scientists and educators through activities leading to exciting science lessons...Lessons where students learn, under guidance, how to direct there own science learning. Why is that so important? Because during your lifetime, the world changes and keeping up with new developments in science, or even finding them yourself, can lead to your survival.
. . . TM
An updated version of Bloom's Taxonomy applied in a new way, the H.O.T. Skills Wheel is key to building student confidence in their own ability to think deeply about and be creative in sciences like botany and ecology.
. . . TM
Trying Shipman's H.O.T. Skills Wheel will lead to independent learners who can become great global citizens. Read more here. Contact Dr. Shipman through the, "Read more here," link and then clicking Dr. J's name at that link if you would like to find out more. You can send an e-mail.

Via the internet, participants were also able to connect with the ideas of Dr. Suzanne Kapelari. They had opportunities to try out Plants Cafe, too.

Teachers can come to the International Conference!

Teachers are welcome to attend the Botanical Society of America Conferences.

Teachers get a special (affordable) rate for the conference. Perhaps your school will sponsor you. Information on dates of the next two conferences is shown below. however, you can get much more detail at the BSA website: http://www.botany.org/conferences/

BOTANY 2008 - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 26 - 30, 2008, Joint meeting with the Canadian Botanical Association-L'Association Botanique du Canada, American Fern Society and American Society of Plant Taxonomists

Note that the H.O.T. Skills Wheel Workshop will be held on Sunday at the conference. There are still a few openings if you would like to attend.

Botany 2009 - Snowbird, Utah, July 25 - 30, Joint meeting with the Mycological Society of America, ABLS, AFS, and ASPT

Check this out: International Botany News!!!

The website: www.plantscafe.net is now online
(some bits and pieces are still under development, but, most of this great website is up and running now).

How do you use your science knowledge?

Applying knowledge is a higher order thinking skill.

Do you use your science knowledge to better the world?

Do you help eradicate noxious weeds? Invasive species?

Do you mentor youth?

Do you vote wisely?

Do you educate others?

Do you wash you hands frequently?

Do you eat, sleep, rest, play and in other ways live a healthy lifestyle?

Do you shop thinking about the environment?

Do you make choices that contribute to world peace?

What do you do?

Asking Questions and Pursuing Answers

Keys to learning in science,as in all academic disciplines involves asking questions and seeking answers. In science, students can explore scientific phenomena via investigation and experimentation build essential scientific skills such as observing, measuring, replicating experiments, manipulating equipment, collecting data, organizing and reporting it.

When students choose what phenomenon to study or what investigations to conduct, and what experiments to do, with guidance from the teacher, they are more likely to remember the desired content. In addition, they are using critical thinking skills to formulate the questions. In this way, too, needs of students of various levels and backgrounds can best be accommodated.

Science is not so much studying history of science, rather, it is using historical scientific knowledge to build new knowledge. If students do this from their own starting points, the most overall growth can occur. Instead of gifted waiting and waiting for others and those less talented struggling and struggling while the middle group feels content or waits or struggles, each child can be in his or her own optimum learning environment.

(c) 2008 J. S. Shipman

Sauerkraut Science (Post under development)

Sauerkraut Science
What has sauerkraut got to do with science?
Here is a lesson about picking a science fair topic.

(Not doing science fair ? Just want a good read? Read the link at the end of this post.)

Pick something you are interested in or that you can afford to use. Then, look for the science related to that item. Okay, we've selected sauerkraut, just to prove that almost any topic can become a subject of science study.

Brainstorm: What about sauerkraut has to do with science? What does your topic have to do with science?

Do a Literature Search:
Here's a sampling of literature found on sauerkraut. Do a search on your own topic.

• Books

1. Chemical Activities (Teacher's Addition) Christie L. Borgford and Lee R. Summerlin. ISBN13:97808412163 ISBN10:0841214166 paper. 244 pages.
2. Traditionally Fermented Foods http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=1939
   

• Newspapers and Magazines
• Journals

1. Food Chemistry: Changes in biogenic amine concentrations during sauerkraut storage. Volume 69, Issue 3, 15 May 2000, Pages 309-314
   doi:10.1016/S0308-8146(99)00273-3 Copyright © 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
2. Leuconostoc sp. strains: aem.asm.org/cgi/content/full/68/6/2877
3. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/fstl.1996.0055
   

• Internet

1. Fermented Foods
2. Lactic Acid Bacteria
3. Microbiology
4. Create Sauerkraut (commercial kit)
5. Create sauerkraut (the old-fashioned way)
6. http://www.genkifoods.com/faq.html (commercial site)
7. DNA Fingerprinting in Sauerkraut?
   

Define a problem: "Do different amounts of salt affect the final product," or, "Do spices change the ability of the cabbage to be fermented?"

Brainstorm again:

Select a question from among your brainstormed ideas:

Write an experimental design:

• Introduction
• Materials and Methods (future tense)
• Blank data table
• Literature Cited

Set up the Experiment

Perform the Experiment

Collect Data

Analyze Data

Think about the Experiment and Future Experiments it suggests

Write a Laboratory Report:

• Introduction
• Materials and Methods (Past Tense)
• Results
• Discussion and Conclusions
• Literature Cited
  

Write a Reflection

• What did you do well?
• What did you learn?
• Do you have something to publish?
• Do you have ideas for another experiment?
• What can you do to improve your science fair experience next time?
  

Here's a wintertime story on sauerkraut that you might enjoy: http://www.thisisby.us/index.php/content/old_mother_hubbard__s_sauerkraut_soup

(c)2007, 2008 J. S. Shipman

Secure and reliable access, control, and management capabilities across network and computing infrastructures

Pragma Systems is one of the American companies providing secure and reliable access, control, and management capabilities across network and computing infrastructures. Located in Austin, Texas and easily accessible by web, Pragma Systems is representative of the kind of secure environment desired on the web: SSH Telnet

What are they a model for? If you have many people accessing your network, you need a "server" that can handle that traffic. The server has to be affordable. You might want to customize the login so that it is specific to your network group.

Recently we talked about gathering data and evaluating it. These are standard tasks in science. You can use these science skills to gather and evaluate network and computer information, too. Try it and see. What can you find out about the state-of-the-art technology related to secure and reliable network access? How about control and management capabilities?

There's technology vocabulary to learn, too. Do you know what a server is? How about a network? What is a network? When a subject area has a special language, that language is called a "jargon." Many areas of science have their own jargons. Look at the following text from a small part of a Pragma Systems advertisement:

"Ability to run, manage, and control any 16bit, 32bit, DOS character or console mode program, including edit.com, command.com, vi, emacs, pmon, net, ftp, lynx, perl and shells imported from Unix"

Do you see any jargon? Are there words that you don't know? Have you looked up the words? Here are some examples of words found in advertising that at the time of publishing were not all in the dictionary.

• perl
• lynx
• pmon
  
• shells:

  "Computer Science A program that works with the operating system as a command processor, used to enter commands and initiate their execution."

How can you learn more? Does advertising play a role in learning about new technologies? What about bias? Do you need to worry about bias in advertising? State-of-the-art technology often means the manufacturers are doing a lot of educating about their products. Still, you need to use higher order thinking skills and evaluate the data that you gather.

Gifted and Talented Connections:

1. Talent Search
   
2. Center for Talented Youth
   
3. Connections Academy
   
4. Graduate Certifications
   
5. No Child Left Behind
6. Verbally Gifted Youth

Things to think about...
All children, including gifted and talented, deserve education at their level. Please encourage legislators to treat all children equally. Gifted children need study skills and other skills, as do children of all abilities.

For example, a gifted fifth grader in math, should not have to wait to do fifth grade (or higher) math until classmates learn to count to 500. (This and similar events happened frequently in this (and many)students case(s).)

A gifted child shouldn't have to perpetually teach other children in his/her class that are behind, rather than being taught...parents' taxes are being paid to have teachers teach. On occasion gifted children can teach others. But, all children can have that experience. Each child has some talent. Why then do these tutorials happen in one direction, so often?

(c)2007 JSS used by read-about-it.blogspot.com with permission of the author.

Welcome to Society of Practical Education in Biology

Please click the link to visit the Society of Practical Education in Biology:
http://www004.upp.so-net.ne.jp/jissen/english.htm

You are What You Eat

Here's a great link (Your taxes paid for it!) to help you understand nutrients found in foods.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=9673

Another link you might find interesting shows how to prevent many birth defects.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/folicacid.html

A Gift You can give

At freerice.com, you can play a game and donate rice to feed hungry people. Enjoy it.

http://freerice.com/index.php

Here you can see the generosity of the world:

http://www.poverty.com/internationalaid.html

All about rice:

---Under development---

International Rice Research Institute
People all over the world cooperate on rice research. This cooperation keeps so many people from dying from starvation. It helps us prevent or lessen the effect of plant disease on crop harvest. There is a similar cooperation among wheat researchers that is also saving lives and preventing or decreasing diseases of wheat crops. Research helps feed people. We can accomplish great things when we work together.
http://www.irri.org/

(c)2007 J. S. Shipman

Convection, Conduction, and, Radiation

Today, a student asked me a question about conduction, convection and radiation: "I am always confused between the difference of conduction, convection and radiation. What is being used in pouring hot water from a thermos?"

Students will often ask things that are assigned as homework. This might have been a homework question, or, it might have been genuine curiosity. I am always glad when students are curious.

I've taken the liberty of discussing the topic here because it is a topic on many state standards.

For these types of questions, try to guide a student in finding an answer. In this way, he or she is likely to remember the content learned. Here is a sample set of guiding questions and activities. I have also included some movies. Your students might be able to make movies that are more exciting and helpful to them. Review the "Botany Beat" or Tomato movies for some ideas. Here is one student's movie:




First, have you defined all the words? (You can use the dictionary links at the bottom of the page. Be sure to note down the date and the source you used.)

Conduction is ________________________________________________________
Here is a simulation on conduction:


And, here is an animation about conduction:



Convection is ________________________________________________________

Here is a movie on convection currents:


What do hot and cold have to do with convection?


Here's another convection movie showing some experiments and relating them to every day life.





Radiation is ________________________________________________________

Here is an animation on radiation and convection:


If you have trouble remembering them, try writing the definitions three or four times , or, try drawing a picture or writing a song about each one.

Also, try discussing these ideas with your friends or where you get snacks after school or with a mentor or adult in your family or community. These things can help you to remember them.



Did you brainstorm about them?



Do you have a thermos? If you don't have one, try to borrow one, otherwise, the question will be hard to answer.



If you put hot water in a thermos, can you feel the heat outside the thermos when you hold it?



What about if you put your hand over the thermos, can you feel heat, even when you are not touching anything?



What if you compare putting a plastic spoon into the hot water with putting a silver spoon into the hot water. What happens?



Think of things you know, for example:

The sun rays radiate.

The convection oven has heat rise and fall in circles.

A copper wire conducts electricity.

Now, think again about the question. When you pour hot water from a thermos, do you feel heat without touching it?



Does some heat stay in some matter, yet move?



Does some heat transfer from the hot water to the bowl or sink you are pouring it into?



Now that you have thought about all these things, and tried some of them, I think you can be confident of the answer that you develop. Be sure to back up the answer with why you picked it. You might speak, write and draw your answer, too. Let me know what you find out. Write back if you are still stuck. Dr. J

Related links:
http://home.howstuffworks.com/thermos1.htm

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/phy99/phy99x81.htm

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentoring/project_ideas/Phys_p032.shtml

http://www.comsol.com/showroom/gallery/1448.php

Update... 2009
rockytop.adams12.org/growlercore/documents/Weather_notes.ppt
http://www.accidentalscientist.com/2009/08/conduction-convection-and-radiation-and.html
(c)2007, 2008, 2009 J. S. Shipman