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Surrounded by Science Chapter 9 Reflection

Reflection, Uncategorized

Chapter 9 in Surrounded by Science states that science learning as well as informal science learning is a process that continues and builds as life continues. The importance of informal science learning activities are not only found while the activity is going on, but also the impact it has on events that happen before and after the activity as well. There are several ways that science can be support, both in school and in informal science settings.

The chapter states that while understanding the impact of informal science settings is important, it is just as important to see how science learning in general is seen across formal and informal settings and how educators and teachers can maximize the benefits from both environments. They are learning to deepen learning experiences for students by connecting learning experiences. There are actually several institutions that make various scientific objects, books, activity kits and videos available to visitors in order to make their learning experiences more worthwhile. Museums and institutions are also taking advantage of other media like the internet and cell phones in order to facilitate better learning. For example, the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, New Jersey, allows visitors to dial a phone number in order to receive extra information on an exhibit.

It is important to connect what is learned in informal science settings with what is learned in formal settings in order to enhance a student’s knowledge of science. Linking the two places can help children understand that school is not the only place to learn science, rather there are multitudes of places and opportunities in which they can engage in in order to increase their science knowledge. Connecting experiences may be a challenge, however, as the things learned in school may not necessarily match up with what is taught or learned at an institution like a planetarium or museum. Also while schools focus on imparting knowledge, informal settings tend to focus more on exciting interest, engaging their audience and offering experiences to people who have freely chosen to participate.

There was an example of how an informal activity could work hand in hand with what was learned in school. The Multicultural Education for Resource Issues Threatening Oceans Program in California is aims to give underrepresented students hands on field experiences and in class activities about nature and to encourage them to protect the habitat. Here the students learned about their environment and in turn embraced being protectors of that environment. They also learned about important science concepts and the opportunities that were possible when one has a strong science background.

It can be seen that informal science settings can indeed be beneficial and may improve the quality of what is being learning in formal settings. Informal science environments may provide a complementary role to formal settings in helping students understand key ideas and concepts in science. This shows that the connection between the two may indeed be very important and ultimately cross in the desire for life long learning that allows everyone to explore the natural world and grow and expand their knowledge of that environment.

Week 9 Team Boomer-Aang

Team Boomer-aang, Uncategorized

For this week we presented our topic to the class and in the Macaulay building. For the class presentation, we were not able to present the digital media version of our presentation. Instead, we video taped the presentation in the Macaulay building. Overall the presentation in the building was a success. We were expecting much more people, but the discussion portion went very well and we were successful in sparking interest in Nuclear Power from some of the participants. As of now, we are working on the video and we hope to present it in the Macaulay building.

Weekly Update 11/17 – 11/23

Uncategorized

This week, I’m mainly focusing on studying my data and reading up more on invertebrates. I’m also created an outline for my documentary.

It will begin with an introduction to what invertebrates are, and then continue to describe the Citizen Science project, “New York is Wild!” on iNaturalist. It will then proceed to describe some of the observations me and my group made over the course of the semester and what these observations might mean. I’ll try to include some fun facts in the beginning that will grab attention, and explain why invertebrates are significant to citizens in New York City. Making the information seem relevant to viewers will be important in maintaining their interest.

Weekly Update 10/27 – 11/2

Final Projects, Golden Niche, Uncategorized

As I researched invertebrates, I found that the scientific definition of the term is any animal that doesn’t possess or develop a vertebral column. Surprisingly, however, “invertebrate” isn’t a category in phylogenetic trees, which are taxonomic classifications of all Earth’s organisms. The categories are:

Domain –> Kingdom –> Phylum –> Class –> Order –> Family –> Genus –> Species

To get to the invertebrate classification, you would look in the  domain, “Eukarya.” Within that domain, there exists a kingdom called, “Animalia.” This kingdom has many phylums, none of which are named “invertebrates,” but many of them contain invertebrates. Therefore, invertebrates are any organism within the animalia kingdom without a spine. These can include not only insects, but crabs, worms, jellyfish, mollusks, starfish, spiders, and countless other organisms.

Because we don’t have scuba equipment, the majority of our studies encompass land invertebrates.

As we walked through Central Park, we found it very easy to locate invertebrates, especially insects. The ground was very damp that day, and insects were abundant. Plenty of ants crawled across the ground. Ants were the easiest invertebrate to spot. Other invertebrates scurried away quickly as we exposed them and were difficult to capture. They naturally learned to have an aversion to humans.

I usually don’t remember encountering this many insects as I walk through parks. I wonder if this is because I take them for granted and don’t pay attention to them, or maybe this has something to do with the wet environment. According to the wisdom of Google, ants and termites are easy to spot because they like to come out after rain in order to dig down in soft soil to plant their eggs. Especially termites, which like to lay eggs in underground nests and wall interiors. Many air-breathing organisms, including earthworms, come up to surface during the rain when their natural habitat gets flooded.

My next trip will be to Prospect Park, and I’m curious whether it will lead to as successful of a find as this trip did.

Sample Advocacy Letter

Final Projects, The Therapeutic Trio, Uncategorized

A big component of our digital deliverable is educating the audience as to how they can get involved in advocacy for state recognition. We will encourage them to contact their local legislators, who can make a direct change in passing legislation to put measures in place that will guarantee music therapy a slot as an allied health profession. To facilitate this process we have tried to obtain sample letters that would serve as a template for their future engagement.  The one attached below will be handed out at the end of the presentation to encourage further engagement and catalyze their future advocacy roles.

 

Sample Advocacy Letter

Chapters 5 + 8 Reflection

Assignments, Reflection, Uncategorized

It’s reassuring to know that there exists an area of research dedicated to understanding what sparks interest and motivation for learning. Successful use of this research has been made at exhibits at museums. The Making Colored Lights exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis serves as a prime example, with a colorful light display to establish curiosity, easy to understand text that instills confidence, and fun activities such as challenging the visitor combine and create new colors. This method of sparking and maintaining interest allows visitors to spend a prolonged amount of time with the exhibit, and allows them to learn while simultaneously being entertained. This contrasts sharply from the traditional “read, memorize, and apply” style of learning. Visitors interacting with this exhibit feel a sense of purpose in what they’re doing, and this is the root of the retention of their interest outside the museum. It would be wise for schools to apply the findings of this research as well in order to make learning for students more stimulating.

Until chapter 8, Surrounded by Science has discussed the effective methods of lifedeep learning. Chapter 8 begins to discuss lifelong and lifewide learning. Interesting insights have been made regarding learning across the lifespan. Especially interesting are the insights to where different age groups receive their information from, and why our access to information changes as we age. The chapter talks about how we form the basis for science learning in early childhood, and that we are most open to all the sciences in our childhoods. Our focus narrows to a few particular sciences as we reach adulthood and older age. This is why so many museums cater to young visitors, who can appreciate a broad array of information, as opposed to older adults, who might only be interested in specific topics. It’s important to dissolve the notion that the elderly population has finished its lifetime learning, and that they don’t make up the majority of learners. Instead, Surrounded by Science reveals that an interest and and ability to learn exists across all age groups, but the method for obtaining knowledge might differ. That’s why it’s important to have citizen science projects such as Road Watch in place.

The chapter wisely avoids a pitfall in its generalization about age groups, in realizing how the trend observed for learning among the age groups might only be in place because of cohorts and not because this is how these age groups have always accessed informal science institutions in this way. When today’s young adults become seniors, they might have a different approach to learning than the seniors of today. This realization is important for preventing error when designing future informal science projects.

Update 5

Final Projects, SMAS, Uncategorized

I am posting on the website I See Change every week. I am sorting through pictures that Ayelet has been taking for our project. I am also working on the website; Sudipta and I are trying to format it correctly and organize the information included on it to look like how we want it. We have contacted Professor Rebecca Boger for some help and the possibility of using one of her weather stations. I am working on the digital component of our project, outlining how we want the video to go. Our group has decided to use a news report format, with different segments pertaining to the weather. We plan on incorporating things from the website that we have all been posting on. During class, we discussed what we wanted to incorporate into our co-authored paper and what kind of articles we should be finding and reading. I think my group has decided to put more detailed and technical aspects in the paper if they want to learn more about the weather, while our video focuses on conveying information that the public can be easily understood.

SBS Chaps 5 & 8 Reflection

Uncategorized

Malka Niknamfard

Sparking interest is perhaps the single most important aspect of informal science learning’s ability to engage and teach learners about science in an outside-of-the-classroom setting. Thus, it is no wonder why sparking interest is the first of the six strands of learning. The first strand states that engagement is a primary motivator that serves to ignite interest in a scientific subject in order for a learner to pursue further sources to expand his or her knowledge and learn more about the subject at hand. In this sense, interest inevitably captures ones attention and prompts the pursuit of further knowledge.

Although interest through informal science is commonly thought to manifest itself by means of museums or zoos, its long-term effects have been proven to have lasting effects on not only the pursuit of future knowledge, but through a “desire to build sustained interest that will bring people back to learn more” (87). A model that researchers have developed in order to maintain long-term scientific interest through informal science opportunities consists of a four-phase model that describes how interests emerge as individuals express more and more interest through repeated experiences. The first phase, situational interest, triggers interest through the situation and environmental features that capture attention because they appeal to an individual’s interests and hobbies. The second phase, called maintained situational interest, is when a person is constantly exposed to positive experiences that involve scientific learning. The third phase, emerging individual interest, is when a person begins expressing interest beyond the informal learning experience that he or she was first introduced to and which may not necessarily attribute to the person’s interest in the topic per se. Lastly, in the well-developed individual interest phase, the person’s choice to pursue the original interest and continue his/her involvement in other activities solidifies a true love of the original scientific topic that was sparked by an initial interest.

I truly believe that interest is the most important concept in terms of maintaining a long-term awareness of scientific knowledge. It is known all too well that students who learn and memorize scientific facts strictly for the purpose of passing tests and getting good grades often end up forgetting all that they learned and never end up pursuing the topic. Informal science opportunities engage learners through hands on learning experiences that appeal to their interests and provide students with a pathway with which to pursue their interests further and learn more about the topic at hand. I experienced this first hand when I went to the Prospect Park Zoo in which I asked a young child what his favorite part of the exhibits were, to which he replied, “I was very interested in the ‘Animals in the Dark’ exhibit because I never knew that some animals only come out at night. I want to go home and learn which animals only like to come out at night and why”. This taught me that when something appeals to someone interests (a child in particular), he or she is motivated to pursue the interest and learn more about it.