I’ve posted several items about educational technology from AAPT on my other blog, TheActiveClass.  You can see those here:

• Do students learn better with peer instruction?  Does it last?
• Common challenges in using clickers
• Effective use of technology in physics education

Students are notoriously un-smart about their study habits.  We know that anecdotally, but we’ve also got some solid data to show how bad they are.  A lot of the problem is that we can fool ourselves into thinking we’ve learned something.  From one of the ACPEEP’s summary documents:

Many experiments have shown that repeated study opportunities can fool students into thinking they know material better than they do (as assessed by a production test, such as short answer or essay). Although the material may be familiar (and students may be able to pick out the correct answer on a multiple-choice test), they still may not be able to recall the material for tests that require production. Because rereading material and other common strategies (e.g., highlighting or underlining and then rereading the underlined material) increase fluency, students may be tricked into thinking they know the material better than they really do (Jacoby, Jones, & Dolan, 1998). The illusion of knowing that comes from rereading is particularly disturbing given student reports that rereading is their most frequent study strategy when preparing for a test – and oftentimes they only re-read the material they underlined during their initial reading (e.g., see Kornell & Bjork, 2007).

Here are a few examples:

-       Underlining words in a text increases your sense that you could retrieve this information, but it actually has no effect.  (Yet, of course, many students study by highlighting their textbooks!)

-       When self-testing, when we can remember something quickly we assume that we know it.  But in truth, the harder something is to recall, the more that thing becomes cemented in our mind.

-       When people see a bunch of things presented together (for example, show the paintings of one artist all in a row, and then another artist all in a row), they have the sense that they’ll do better on a test to identify the artist that created any individual painting.  But in truth, they did better when the paintings of different artists were scattered throughout the presentation (interleaving rather than massed).  Of course, when we study, we tend to study one topic or idea all at once, rather than interleaving it.  So, students are least satisfied with the most effective forms of instruction!

-       Students tend to be overconfident in their learning, leading them to stop studying earlier. So, feedback showing them just what they do and don’t know (like clickers or quizzes) is good in pointing out to them what they don’t know, so they can study more.

-       Students tend to study the things that they don’t know very well yet, but it will take them a lot of time to reach mastery on those items.  To get the most bang for their buck, they should probably study the things that they know well but haven’t quite mastered.  Those items, in the “zone of proximal learning” will only take a small amount of time to reach mastery, so it’s more efficient to study those items first.

If you’re interested more in the research on how students decide to study, see this important article: The Promise and Perils of Self-Regulated study by Kornell and Bjork (PDF here), and a great article directed to students, explaining the important findings of cognitive psychology:  How to Succeed in College, Learn How to Learn (PDF here).

Photo:  Patrick Hannigan on Wikimedia

I went into physics in large part because of my (now long-retired) physics teacher Mr. Perry.  Gruff and tough, he made physics seem this fun thing that you could do if you worked hard at it.   He was funny, and had good explanations, and we loved him.  But in retrospect, I also think he didn’t serve me well, because even though he sparked my interest in physics, he made it about solving cookbook problems.  I happened to be good at that, and loved writing my answer and boxing it at the bottom of the page, and then getting that nice fat red checkmark.  I was a good student, but I was a good passive student.  When I got to college, and to graduate school, I struggled.  I wasn’t used to thinking things out for myself.  I wasn’t used to things being difficult.  I had no idea how to do an experiment.  I didn’t really know, I realize now, what physics was.

A lot of us have stories like this, and now you can share them.  In the month of May, Under the Microscope is sponsoring a project to get folks (like you!) to write report cards for their math and science teachers. It’s your turn to rate them — what did they do right?  What did they do wrong?  How did their influence guide your career, education, and life?  If you haven’t heard of it, Under the Microscope is a nice little blog run by the Feminist Press about girls and science education (but this report card is open to all genders, I’m quite sure).

Submit your report card for your teacher here.

A few posts ago I noted that, apparently, I rock, as my picture was featured as part of the Exploratorium’s website for their Rockin’ Science Series.

And now, I have confirmation, as I was just interviewed for the findingEducation’s Educators That Rock! series.  They did a very nice interview with me, about my love for science and science education, and how I came to be where I am:

Dr. Stephanie Chasteen, who blogs at sciencegeekgirl, is a physicist, a writer, an education consultant and an audiophile who climbs mountains in her spare time.

While earning her doctorate in physics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, Chasteen got restless. She realized that though she loved science, research wasn’t her bag; she wanted to communicate science to the public. She began taking journalism classes and freelancing while continuing her physics courses and research. After being selected for a prestigious science communication fellowship through the AAAS, she was placed at NPR’s science desk in Washington, D.C., as an intern. ….

In an interview with findingEducation, Chasteen likened her career path to that of heat-seeking bacteria: “I looked for what seemed interesting and intellectually ‘warm’ and moved in that direction and then reassessed.”

Check out the whole article here, as well as their other resources for teachers on their blog.

Sorry I neglected to write a post with real content last week, but I have one in the works!  Stay tuned.  For now, though, here’s a note about an science festival event in DC that they’re trying to create some advance buzz on.  I’m a big fan of science festivals — bring science to the streets, and have people run across it who wouldn’t usually go out of their way to go to a science museum or science talk.   We have art festivals, music festivals, why not science festivals?  There’s a big tradition of this in Europe, apparently, and we’re trying to learn their style.  I know there were a lot of sessions on science festivals at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meetings several years back.  Apparently this festival (which is the first nationwide festival!) are inspired by those international efforts.  Interestingly enough, it’s led by an entrepreneur and venture capitalist (Larry Bock), with a science bent, rather than a scientist.  Kudos.  Sounds like someone who knows how to get things done!

Here’s the info on the event in DC:

USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo Dates: October 23 & 24, 2010; 10:00am-5:30pm; This event is free of charge – no tickets required
What is the universe made of? Why did dinosaurs go extinct? What do magic tricks and hip-hop have to with math? What can amphibians and reptiles tell us about the environment? What do engineers have to do with baseball? Find out at the first ever USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo on the National Mall! Explore science & engineering with hundreds of free, hands-on activities and over 40 science shows on three different stages. The two-day Expo is perfect for teens, children and their families, and anyone with a curious mind who is looking for a weekend of fun and discovery. Build an underwater robot, chat with a Nobel Laureate, explore the science behind the magic of Hogwarts Academy and see a car that drives itself. From bugs to birds, kitchen chemistry to computer games, environmental monitoring to electronic music – the Expo has something for everyone and is completely free of charge. The Expo is the pinnacle event of the inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival to be held in the greater Washington D.C. area October 10-24, 2010. The USA Science & Engineering Festival is a collaboration of over 500 of the nation’s leading science and engineering organizations. For more information on all Festival events and how you can get involved, visit www.usasciencefestival.org

Get involved now: join the over 400 organizations that have already signed up to host an Expo exhibit, become an official Festival Partner, organize a Satellite Event in your community, host a Festival Event, check out our cool school programs like Nifty Fifty and Lunch with a Laureate, volunteer, donate, become a sponsor, participate in one of several contests, buy a Festival T-shirt, follow our blog, and stay on top of it all by signing up for our bi-weekly e-newsletter. Will you be there when science takes over the National Mall?

Our PhET interactive simulation project was just featured on Voice of America. It’s a nice short piece that gives information about PhET and why it’s helpful for student learning. Kudos to my boss Kathy Perkins who was succinct and clear — not always an easy task.

Below is the text from the VOA site

And here is the audio MP3

Website features interactive science experiments

You won’t need a one-gig internet connection to check out our Website of the Week.

This time it’s an educational site where principles of physics are illustrated with interactive animated experiments that you can perform on your own computer.

PERKINS: “The PhET website is a collection of 85 simulations for teaching and learning science. So our main goal is to help students better understand the science of the world around them, but instead of telling students how something works, our simulations let them discover important science concepts for themselves and really learn and engage through scientist-like exploration.”

Kathy Perkins is co-director of the Physics Education Technology, or PhET Interactive Simulations website, at phet.colorado.edu.

Despite the name, the site also includes animated simulations in biology, chemistry, and other disciplines, as well as physics. You can build your own solar system, model the hydrogen atom, or explore the properties of a gas as you change its temperature and other variables.

Another simulation allows you to design and modify a simple electrical circuit.

PERKINS: “So when you open up, you can drag out wires and batteries and bulbs. And as you connect them, as soon as you complete a circuit, you’ll see the light bulb light up and the electrons shown in the wires circulate around the circuit.”

The simulations look like entertainment, but Perkins says the design of each has been tested for its educational value and can be used in the classroom, or you can just run the sims yourself and learn by doing online at phet.colorado.edu, or get the link from our site, VOAnews.com.

MUSIC: Michel Petrucciani – “Laws Of Physics”

You’re listening to Our World, the weekly science and technology magazine from VOA News. I’m Art Chimes in Washington.

The Exploratorium museum houses many wonderful science and perception exhibits, one of which is the anti-gravity mirror — a simple perception exhibit consisting of a big mirror with a platform hidden on the back side.  The explainers (the high school kids employed by the Exploratorium to do a lot of the demos and help visitors in the museum) just posted a really great video of a lot of the fun tricks you can do at the anti-gravity mirror.  Very fun!

In the midst of winter’s snowfalls, it’s time to consider what you (and your students) might be doing this summer.  Here is a list of all the different summer program  opportunities for science teachers and students I’ve run across recently.
Firstly, NSTA publishes a list of professional development opportunities here. Their list includes:

• The STORM Project (June 20-25; Deadline Feb 26th for priority). Learn about air quality and meterology at the University of Northern Iowa; for middle school and high school science teachers. Expenses paid. Information here.
• Connecting Humans and Nature through Conservation Experiences. Penn State course in environmental science and conservation biology through a practicum in Costa Rica and Panama. Application by Feb 28th. Information here.
• A field course in measuring and monitoring biodiversity at El Eden Ecological preserve. August 7-14; Deadline March 15. Study tropical biodiversity near Cancun. Email Daniel_Bisaccio@Brown.edu
• Sheila Schwartz Family International Leading Science Teachers Seminar. Learn cutting edge science in Israel. July 7-15, Application deadline March 31. Information here.
• Botanical Society of America’s Summer Institute. June 21-29; Deadline April 9. Learn to develop student-centered plant investigations. Information here.
• PlantIT Teacher Institute. HS science teachers exploring investigative cases in biology. July 12-23 at Texas A&M. Deadline April 9. Information here.
• Deep Ecology and Sustainable Living Short Course. July 25-August 7 in Costa Rica, Deadline April 23. Information here.
• Physics of Atomic Nuclei. Free residential summer program at Michigan State. Learn about research at the superconducting cyclotron and conduct experiments. August 1-6 (teachers), Aug 8-13 (students). Information here.

Exploratorium Teacher Institute (June 21-July 16; Deadline April 1)

This is where I cut my eyeteeth in hands-on inquiry learning and I can’t recommend it enough.  These institutes are the best 4 weeks you’ll ever have, and you’ll become part of a vibrant and intelligent set of science and math teachers.  If you want to know more about what you might be getting into, listen to the podcasts that I made about the institute on the bottom of the page.    Information here.

Galileo Learning (Varies)

Galileo Learning is a Bay Area company looking for educators to run its summer camps:  Galileo Summer Quest (for entering 5th through 8th graders);
The Tech Summer Camps (for entering 4th through 8th graders).  More information here.

Yellowstone (Varies)

Write off your vacation by taking a class in the Yellowstone Association summer field seminars.   Information here

Astronomy Camp (Varies; March-October)

A teacher says, ” I did the teacher version of this astronomy camp a number of years ago and it remains the best PD I’ve ever done (Exploratorium notwithstanding, of course) with lots of time on very large telescopes. One of the highlights from my experience was “discovering” Pluto. [But]… the website (which has drastically improved) still doesn’t do a good job on conveying the experience.  And Don (the guy who runs the thing) is fantastic.”  Camps run March through October.  Information here.

Univ of California – COSMOS (July 11-Aug 7th, San Diego; ?? Irvine; Deadline March 1 & 15)

Deadlines for San Diego and Irvine are in March.  Each Fellow works with a team of university faculty to implement the academic portion of COSMOS. Teacher Fellows serve as the pedagogical bridge between high school student learning and university faculty teaching. They directly participate in all classroom and laboratory work as well as field trips, typically a Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. commitment.   Check here

Cornell Institute for Physics Teachers (July 5-17 and 25-30)

Get graduate credit in physics in this intensive summer institute, which was recommended by a teacher.  The CIPT graduate courses contain lectures, lab tours, and innovative, inquiry-based laboratory experiments. Lectures and lab tours are designed to update high school physics teachers on recent advances in diverse topic areas.   Information here.

Modeling Workshops (Varies)

Modeling Workshops are peer-led. Modeling Instruction is one of two K-12 science programs designated by the U.S. Department of Education as EXEMPLARY.  Modeling Workshops in high school physics, chemistry, and/or physical science will be held in summer 2010 in Arizona, Alabama, Miami FL, Iowa, New Orleans LA, Maine, Michigan, Minneapolis MN, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pittsburgh PA, northern Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Dallas TX, and Wisconsin.  Modeling Workshops will be held also in Georgia, Chicago IL, Kansas, South Dakota, and Washington, pending funding.  Modeling Workshops in 11th grade biology will be held in Pittsburgh PA and Tennessee, for teachers in Physics First/Capstone Biology sequences.  Stipends and/or free tuition at most sites, usually for in-state teachers.  Information here.

For Students

NASA programs in Mountain View, CA.  Information here.

Caltech Young Engineering and Science Scholars (YESS).  Information here.

JPL (the Caltech/NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory)  SpaceSHIP (Summer High School Internship Program) here.

Girls on Ice 2010 Expedition.  FREE, wilderness science education program for high school girls. Each year a
team of 9 teenage girls and 3 instructors spend 11 days exploring and learning about mountain glaciers and alpine landscapes through scientific field studies with professional glaciologists and mountaineers.  July 26 to August 5, 2010 on Mount Baker, Washington State.
Information here. (applications are due March 1, 201)

Summer Science Program (SSP).  A teacher says, “My younger sister did it and is now in a PhD program in Physics at Berkeley.  She loved it and met many other like-minded students there.”  Information here.

Astronomy Camp. A teacher says, ” I did the teacher version of this astronomy camp a number of years ago and it remains the best PD I’ve ever done (Exploratorium notwithstanding, of course) with lots of time on very large telescopes. One of the highlights from my experience was “discovering” Pluto. [But]… the website (which has drastically improved) still doesn’t do a good job on conveying the experience.  And Don (the guy who runs the thing) is fantastic.”  Camps run March through October.  Information here.

Image by freeparking

Project Tomorrow (which does really good work) is creating a new survey of teachers, to get the lay of the land in teacher prep.  This one is the first one, I believe, in which they’re including aspiring teachers.  Here is the blurb — if you’re seeking your credentials, consider contributing your voice to the survey!  Due February 19th.

Wanted: Aspiring Teachers to join the National Dialogue about Teacher Education!

Project Tomorrow is seeking Aspiring Teachers who are currently pursuing a degree or credential to participate in its nationally recognized Speak Up project.  The Speak Up for Aspiring Teacher survey is the newest in Project Tomorrow’s suite of Speak Up surveys and provides aspiring teachers with the opportunity to contribute to the national dialogue about teacher preparation.  This online survey asks participants questions about how they use technology in and out of the classroom for personal and academic reasons, how they are learning to use technology to facilitate learning or for professional tasks, and their aspirations for your future classrooms.

The national findings will be released during a Congressional Briefing in May 2010 and used to inform national, state, and local policymakers about key issues related to teacher preparation and training.  Your voice matters!  The survey responses are 100% anonymous, so let us know what’s important to you and your future teaching career.

It’s easy to share your ideas – all you have to do is take the survey on our website!

For additional information, please contact June Pai at june@tomorrow.org or 949/609-4660 Ext. 12 or visit Project Tomorrow’s website.

Remember, the survey closes on February 19th, 2010!

Here’s a wonderful tidbit from a book that every physics teacher should have — The Flying Circus of Physics.  My old mentor PD gave it to me with the inscription, “until I write my book of physics stories, this is the best collection of science stories in print.”  As much as I love Paul, I think even he’d have a big task to outdo the wide array of stories and strange facts in this book (though I’d love to see him try!).  Need something to spice up a lecture on sound?  How about an explanation of why we hear our upstairs neighbors more than they hear us?  Or need a story to make the idea of pressure come alive?  How about the girl who got her tongue stuck in a bottle and needed glass cutters to help her get free?

So here’s the story of how electricity helps flowers grow.  We generally think of pollination as being a sort of accidental process — the bee gets himself all covered in yellow snow at one flower, and then loses some of it at the next flower.  No, it turns out that bees get positively charged (they lose some electrons) as they fly through the air.  When the positive bee approaches the neutral flower, that induces a charge in the pollen, which jumps onto the bee.

This is the same phenomenon as when you rub a balloon on your sweater.  The balloon becomes positively charged and when you bring it to the wall, it induces a charge in the wall.  Thus, it sticks to the wall.  There’s a nice simulation of this effect here.

Anyway, the pollen sticks to the hairs on the bee.  If it stuck to the bee itself, it would lose its charge.  The hair acts as an insulator, keeping the pollen grain just far enough away to keep it charged, and thus attracted to the bee.

Now, when the bee goes to the next flower, it induces a negative charge in the stigma of that flower.  The pollen grains are more strongly affected by that concentrated negative charge (the stigma, after all, has more charge than the bee, it’s connected to the ground so has an infinite source of electrons to draw from), and the pollen grain is polarized in the opposite way and jumps to the flower.

Wow.  I wonder if pollination doesn’t work as well in moist climates, then?  Is that why Colorado wildflowers are so stunning in their concentrations?

Bee Picture from TTaylor