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Inspiring STEM M

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Inspiring STEM MindsBiographies and Activities for Elementary Classrooms

Aaron D. Isabelle and Nataly Z. Valle

S e n s e P u b l i s h e r s

Inspiring STEM MindsBiographies and Activities for Elementary ClassroomsAaron D. IsabelleState University of New York at New Paltz, USA

and

Nataly Z. ValleState University of New York at New Paltz, USA

The purpose of this book is to serve as a supplemental reference text for 21st century elementary classrooms. The primary objective is to help teachers inspire and engage their students in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects. The push for incorporating STEM education in elementary school has become increasingly important, yet most educators and publishers have offered problem-based activities, without considering one of the most important pedagogical entry points to lesson planning – the hook or the opening.

Inspiring STEM Minds aims at providing teachers an effective, easy to use text that they can use to discuss specific mathematicians, engineers, inventors, and scientists (although the individuals chosen for each section of the book are in no way an exhaustive or selective group that may characterize each discipline). This reference text is organized into four key sections, depicting the four disciplines that make up STEM education. Each section briefly gives historical background, as well as provides a problem or short activity designed to use everyday materials so that teachers can implement the activity in their classrooms. The classroom activities are directly related to each biography and have, we believe, great potential to engage students in the classroom. Each activity is also correlated to the National Standards, and we also supplement the activities with suggestions for interdisciplinary connections. We hope this book serves as a valuable resource for classroom teachers.

ISBN 978-94-6300-350-6

DIVS

Inspiring STEM Minds

Inspiring STEM MindsBiographies and Activities for Elementary Classrooms

Aaron D. Isabelle and Nataly Z. ValleState University of New York at New Paltz, USA

A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN: 978-94-6300-350-6 (paperback)ISBN: 978-94-6300-351-3 (hardback)ISBN: 978-94-6300-352-0 (e-book)

Published by: Sense Publishers, P.O. Box 21858,3001 AW Rotterdam,The Netherlandshttps://www.sensepublishers.com/

Every effort has been made to contact the copyright holders of the figures which have been reproduced from other sources. Anyone with a copyright claim who has not been properly credited is requested to contact the publishers, so that due acknowledgements may be made in subsequent editions.

Printed on acid-free paper

All Rights Reserved © 2016 Sense Publishers

No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.

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TAblE of CoNTENTS

Preface vii

Acknowledgements ix

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

STEM Policy 1The History of STEM in Elementary Classrooms 2Purpose of the Book 4Organization of the Book 6

Chapter 2: Science 9

S.1. Jane Goodall 9S.2. Neil Degrasse Tyson 13S.3. Galileo Galilei 17S.4. Mary Anning 21S.5. Daniel Bernoulli 25S.6. Sir Isaac Newton 29S.7. Alfred Nobel 34S.8. Alfred Wegener 38

Chapter 3: Mathematics 43

M.1. William Playfair 43M.2. Roger Penrose 47M.3. Emmy Noether 52M.4. Leonardo Pisano Bigollo (a.k.a. Fibonacci) 57M.5. John von Neumann 66M.6. Georg Cantor 72M.7. Marin Mersenne 78M.8. Sofia Kovalevskaya 82

Chapter 4: Technology 87

T.1. Ada Lovelace 87T.2. Steve Jobs 92T.3. Alan Turing 95T.4. Marissa Mayer 100

Table of ConTenTs

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Chapter 5: Engineering 103

E.1. James Dyson 103E.2. Nikola Tesla 108E.3. Alexander Graham Bell 113E.4. Joseph Lister 118

Chapter 6: Concluding Remarks 123

About the Authors 125

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PrEfACE

Let us start by telling a story – a personal story about mathematics. Once upon a time there was a little girl who didn’t believe she was good at mathematics. In fact, although she was a good student, her lack of confidence and quiet demeanor often made her feel invisible in the classroom. One day in pre-algebra class, she was introduced to inequalities and systems of equations. She learned several ways to manipulate them in order to, as her teacher put it, “solve for x.” Although it would take decades for her to understand what the unknown actually was referring to in an equation, she was entranced with the mathematical process itself, seeing it as a game that had many strategies and only a few key rules. Unfortunately, the game became more difficult for her as the rules and the process became more rigid as the lessons progressed. Then, one day the teacher told her a story about Albert Einstein. When he was working on a problem, Einstein would often take long walks outside and he especially liked to play his violin during the times when the solution proved most difficult. In fact, it was during one of these intense music/walking sessions that Einstein discovered the General Theory of Relativity. Coincidentally, the girl also played the violin, and who doesn’t like taking a walk to clear one’s head? Mathematics became a game again, and the girl soon found out that not only did she enjoy this game, but that she was getting pretty good at it, too.

While it is clear who the little girl is, it may not be clear to the reader yet why this story is important for this book. Stories compel us in many ways, evoking powerful emotions, stirring us to action, and causing us to make connections in our lives we may not otherwise do. Stories are important educational tools, as well, but often are not pedagogically theorized or explicitly drawn out in lesson plans as they ought to be.

This book began as an assignment given to our students for the purpose of getting them to understand how to immerse elementary age children into the wondrous and exciting world of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Although we did not have our students write a story (i.e., narrative) about a person in the STEM disciplines, we did have them craft biographies of various individuals who they were interested in and who they thought elementary children would also find intriguing. In other words, we had our students focus on key excerpts in the “stories of the lives” of individuals who either previously or currently work in one of the STEM fields. Our ultimate goal was to help our students realize the human side of STEM.

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ACkNowlEDgEMENTS

We would like to extend a sincere thank you to the following individuals who contributed to this book:

Brianna AldrichMelissa AllenMarianne BadalamentiJamie CrofootStephanie FlynnLeticia FronekNoelle GrandeShayna GreenspanMelissa HoffstatterHelen HuangMaKayla JahnCaitlyn LeeJennifer LutzSarah ManganellaBermary MariaAmanda MastrantoneLauren McLachlanCaribel MejiaBrooke MistrettaElizabeth MorganAlanna O’Connor Shena RodriguezRebecca RothmanAlexandria RumfolaPatricia Staats-Velez Pam SunderlandCorrine VertescherAnna Weinstein

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CHAPTER 1

INTroDuCTIoN

STEM POLICY

STEM education can be described as a group of wide scale education reform policies that aim to target the teaching and learning of four main disciplines: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The education of mathematics, science, engineering, and technology is arguably the United States’ most discussed educational topic of the 21st century (Sanders, 2010). Generally, the STEM initiatives have two main interconnecting objectives. At the national level, the STEM initiatives strive to increase the pool of qualified workers that the nation supposedly needs in order to stay economically competitive in the global marketplace. At the individual citizen level, the STEM initiatives aim to produce citizens who are able to procure financially secure employment in an ever-increasing technological world (Bybee, 2010; Brown, Brown, Reardon & Merrill, 2011). The initiatives span federal, state, local, and private levels targeting various diverse groups using specific strategies to achieve STEM related goals.

At the United States federal level, initiatives and policies such as “Educate to Innovate,” and “America Competes Act” focus on accomplishing STEM objectives by: (1) Creating stronger partnerships between the business world and education; (2) Inspiring students to like and continue learning STEM content knowledge; (3) Giving more federal money to specific state-led STEM programs; (4) Training better teachers to teach STEM at K-12 levels; and (5) Increasing access to high quality STEM education to underprivileged minority groups above from. These objectives illustrate the key recommendations outlined in the highly influential policy document titled, “Rising above the Gathering Storm,” which warned American education policy makers and stakeholders that if the United States did not increase its education of the critical 21st century knowledge, particularly in technology, engineering, and innovation, it would lose its position as a global leader. Indeed, the United States is not alone in its concern for maintaining global influence. Many countries have increased their educational efforts to promote STEM education, as well as research on the teaching and learning of STEM (see for instance The International Journal of STEM Education).

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Commonly in education, the four disciplines that make up STEM are viewed as separate domains of knowledge, tied together mainly for the role they play in the job market of the 21st century global world. However, how best to facilitate learning in these content areas remains disputed and fragmented depending on what age group is being discussed. Initially, STEM reforms targeted higher education and career readiness programs in an effort to get talented individuals to enter STEM fields. As STEM education became better known, policy makers realized that in order to obtain more STEM qualified workers, they needed to concentrate on K-12 education. Most recently, attention is being paid to elementary education (K-6) since that is where the initial interest in STEM fields is thought to occur, not to mention the time in which students learn important knowledge that can help aid understanding of these abstract subject areas as children progress through the grade spans.

Private and public organizations such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the Partnership of 21st Century Skills (21st Century Community Learning Centers, 2003) advocate for the importance of earlier exposure to STEM fields, particularly to promote creative and problem-solving abilities in young people, believed to be so integral to future employment and democratic citizenship. At the elementary level, researchers advocate that STEM education ought to involve interactive problem solving, inquiry-based activities that inspire young learners (Dejarnette, 2010). This recommendation for meaningful hands-on problem solving and inquiry-based learning often also includes fostering creative capacity.

The main objective for STEM education during elementary grades is twofold; foremost, policy makers advocate for garnering interest in STEM subjects and careers, explaining that early years of education are pivotal for enticing students to get excited about mathematics, science, technology, and engineering. Certainly, another aspect is to ensure students gain a strong proficiency in mathematics and science, and problem solving, which will serve them well as they advance in their studies.

THE HISTORY OF STEM IN ELEMENTARY CLASSROOMS

Science and mathematics in elementary classrooms are typically characterized by asking students to learn something in a matter of days that could have taken hundreds or thousands of years to understand. Too often teachers compress, as well as simplify, the time and energy that was spent by various individuals

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in investigating how or why something works. Unfortunately, due to the time constraints and/or the demands of high-stakes testing, teachers frequently disregard the human effort that it took to really understand something. From this perspective, it should make sense that science and mathematics are often seen as difficult, complex, and confusing subjects. Teachers who are truly dedicated to incorporating all of the STEM disciplines into their classrooms must remember that one of the most exciting aspects of teaching these subjects is conveying how a theory, law, or principle was developed and then engaging children in the process of discovery for themselves. The history of science and mathematics is one of the best resources for this. More precisely, given the charge of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Mathematics, we should refer to this exemplary resource in its entirety as “The History of STEM.”

STEM education is most effective when a child is taught to think and act as a scientist, mathematician, inventor, or engineer. Use of STEM biographies not only reveals appropriate science, mathematics, and engineering behaviors and practices, but also “provides a background and alternative perspective of previous work” (Zimmer, 2015). History and biographies in the STEM disciplines can enable teachers to examine “the story” behind a scientific or mathematical principle. Teachers, along with the children, can collaboratively explore how a particular scientist, mathematician, inventor, or engineer arrived at his/her discovery. “Many students have not had the opportunity to have history and biography integrated into science/math education; they suffer because their understanding of these topics has been limited” (Zimmer, 2015). Hopefully, with the emergence of new learning standards, schools will begin to fully understand the importance of including the historical context of STEM principles in the elementary curriculum.

Biographies in STEM have immense potential in the elementary classroom because they show that research and exploration are continually on-going; that is, one question arises from another question (Hagen, 2000). At the same time, in attempting to convey a discovery using the history of STEM, it is very easy to get lost in historical details that may not be particularly meaningful to children. When using biographies as a learning tool in the elementary classroom, it is extremely important to focus on key details that are both interesting and relevant to children’s lives. In addition, it is critical to utilize a “global approach” when researching and implementing STEM biographies (rather than simply a Western account of the history of STEM) to more accurately reflect the diverse backgrounds of children in modern elementary classrooms.

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In A Framework for K-12 Science Education (2012) (a document that represents the foundation and vision for the NGSS), the National Research Council (NRC) advocates for a historical approach to teaching STEM:

Discussions involving the history of scientific (mathematical) and engineering ideas, of individual practitioners’ contributions, and of the applications of these endeavors are important components of a science and engineering curriculum. For many students, these aspects are the pathways that capture their interest in these fields and build their identities as engaged and capable learners of science and engineering. Teaching science and engineering without reference to their rich variety of human stories, to the puzzles of the past and how they were solved, and to the issues of today that science and engineering must help address would be a major omission. It would isolate science and engineering from their human roots, undervalue their intellectual and creative contributions, and diminish many students’ interest. (NRC, p. 249)

Michael Matthews echoes this sentiment and adds that “the history and philosophy of science (HPS) has a contribution to make to the overall task of improving science (and mathematics) teaching and learning: HPS can humanize the sciences and connect them to personal, ethical, cultural, and political concerns” (Matthews, 1994, p. 7). There is also evidence that this makes science (and mathematics) and engineering programs “more attractive to many students, and particularly girls, who currently reject them; HPS can contribute to the fuller understanding of scientific subject matter – it can help to overcome the ‘sea of meaninglessness’ where formulae and equations are recited without knowledge of what they mean or what they refer to; and HPS can assist teachers to appreciate the learning difficulties of students, because it alerts them to the historic difficulties of scientific development and conceptual change” (Matthews, p. 7). And so, this knowledge can assist teachers with the organization of the curriculum and the teaching of lessons in the STEM disciplines.

PURPOSE OF THE BOOK

The purpose of this book is to serve as a supplemental reference text for 21st century elementary classrooms. The primary objective is to help teachers inspire and engage their students in the STEM subjects. The push for incorporating STEM education in elementary school has become

INTRODUCTION

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increasingly important, yet most educators and publishers have offered problem-based activities, without considering one of the most important pedagogical entry points to lesson planning – the hook or the opening. This book aims at providing teachers with an effective, easy to use text that they can use to discuss specific mathematicians/engineers/inventors/scientists with their students. Each section briefly gives historical background, as well as provides a problem or short activity which is aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the International Society for Technology in Education Standards (ISTE), and/or the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Each activity is designed to use everyday materials so that teachers can implement the problem or activity in their classrooms.

Course Description and Goals

In a six-credit undergraduate methods course titled, “Connecting Math, Science and Technology in the Elementary School,” pre-service elementary teachers (i.e., teacher candidates) learn about principles and methods regarding the teaching of mathematics, science, and technology in elementary school. Special emphasis is given to the New York State Learning Standards for Mathematics, Science, and Technology and the connectedness of these disciplines, as well as National learning standards in these disciplines. Candidates explore methods and materials for teaching mathematics, science and technology content in the elementary classroom. It is specifically designed to develop proficiency in best practices and developmentally appropriate methods by understanding the relationships and common themes that connect mathematics, science and technology and applying the themes to these and other areas of learning. As part of this course, candidates examine their own beliefs and prior experiences in learning and using mathematics and science along with methods and materials used in their instruction and assessment. Opportunity is provided in the course to practice skills both in and out of the classroom, as well as to reflect upon one’s own learning and the learning of others. As a result of this course, candidates will be able to promote achievement in STEM for their students.

Course Assignment

The following assignment description is one of the course assignments that we require our students to complete throughout the semester…

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Math/Science/Technology (MST) Mathematician/Scientist/Inventor Bio Posting & Reflection

Write a short paper on a mathematician, scientist, or inventor of your choosing and explain how this person can motivate children to learn about math, science, and/or technology.

The essay should contain the following:

1. Tell us a bit about the individual and why he/she became famous in his/her field (at least 2 paragraphs);

2. Explain why you found this person interesting and why your students would too (at least 1 paragraph);

3. Describe a brief math/science/technology activity or problem of the day that was influenced by this person.

ORGANIZATION OF THE BOOK

The book is organized into four key sections, depicting the four disciplines that make up STEM education. We will begin with science, then mathematics, followed by technology, and last engineering. The first two sections, being the foundation of STEM education at the elementary level, are twice as large as the last two. We made this decision based on what we feel is most important for teachers to have as their classroom resource – more mathematics and science is taught in K-6 standards, and technology and engineering are cursory subjects. While still paramount to problem solving and general critical thinking, technology and engineering are not allocated the same amount of content in the CCSS in Mathematics, while there has recently been a shift in the NGSS to help students think/act as both scientists and engineers.

Each chapter of the book is notated by the letters “S” (Science), “M” (Mathematics), “T” (Technology), and “E” (Engineering) to specify the specific areas of STEM that the biographies are attributed to (e.g., S.1. denotes the first biography of a scientist; M.1. denotes the first biography of a mathematician, etc.). Each section is then subdivided in the following ways. Based on our assignment, we first offer background biographical information about the person. Then we give the information our students gave for why he/she found this person interesting (i.e., “Inspiring Children”). Last, we provide a classroom activity that is related to the person and has, we believe, great potential to engage students in the classroom. Each activity

INTRODUCTION

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is correlated to the National Standards and we also supplement the activity with suggestions for interdisciplinary connections.

We want to be very clear that the individuals chosen for each section of the book are in no way an exhaustive or selective group that may characterize each discipline. Indeed, we did have criteria for including some entries rather than others, since the assignment spanned several semesters, each with approximately 60–90 students. The rationale for including a student’s biographical assignment was based on the following criteria: the biography was about a person that offered a diverse perspective to STEM disciplines, including underrepresented individuals; the biography was well-written and included all of the required elements; and the classroom activity made a direct and appropriate connection to the person’s work. It is also important to note that we significantly modified the students’ work to make accurate connections to the standards and interdisciplinary connections (which we did not ask the students to do), formatting, and editing for overall clarity.

We hope this book serves as a valuable resource to K-6 classroom teachers. Certainly, this book could have been separated by age range rather than disciplinary content area. Although we acknowledge that each entry is geared towards a specific grade level, we feel that teachers can modify our suggestions to fit several age ranges both before and after the one we have targeted. As the name of the book suggests, it is our hope that teachers use this book as inspiration rather than as a scripted guidebook.

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CHAPTER 2

SCIENCE

S.1. JANE GOODALL

Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jane_Goodall_2015.jpg

Biographical Background

Jane Goodall offered us insight into the world of an animal that we share 99% of our DNA with: the Chimpanzee. Jane Goodall was born in London, England in the mid 20th century. After graduating from Cambridge University with a PhD in Ethology in 1965, she started her diligent expedition to help us understand more about Chimpanzees in the wild. While most people denied the intelligence of apes, Jane saw them as “more human” than others thought. She lived amongst chimps in the jungles of the Gombe Game Reserve in Africa for over 30 years. While living amongst them, “she found parallel traits that humans and chimps share in terms of intelligence, group behavior, in anger and grief and in cavorting with other animal colonies”

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(Lepton, 2010, p. 1). Within these years, she realized how wrong society was about chimps. They weren’t just some savage animal that people thought; they were the missing link regarding evolution of man.

From Jane’s research, we can see how smart chimps really are, and even more so, how similar they are to us. She bravely entered a world unknown to us in her young age of 26. Jane did not have any idea what she was going to find, but with just a notebook and binoculars, she would find it. At first, it was difficult for her to even get a close look at the animals that she was so curious about. In November 1960, Jane finally got close enough, and discovered something that she believed would change everyone’s view on chimps; she saw them making tools. “Now we must redefine tool, redefine Man, or accept chimpanzees as humans” (Goodall, 1996). Jane thought that if we were going to underestimate the intelligence of apes, we would have to change our whole understanding of the human race first. Today, she still continues to inform people of the importance of understanding the environment and the animals in it. She has developed a program called “Roots and Shoots” to educate people on the significant impact that one person can have on the environment and the animals living in the wild. The program began in 1991, and it remains still today, focused on teaching school children to learn about wild animals and environmental conservation.

Inspiring Children

Sparking an interest in the environment and wild animals at a young age can have a profound impact on the future of our students and even our environment. Jane Goodall’s interest started as young as 18 months. “Once, when Jane was 18 months old, Vanne (Jane’s mother) found her with a bunch of earthworms in her bed. Vanne did not make a fuss about the mess; never mind there were slimy earthworms in her baby’s bed. Jane’s mother simply told her that she had to return the worms to the earth quickly or they would die” (Goodall, 1996). Jane Goodall is a great person to introduce kids to because they can share similar interests and curiosities with her. Children take a liking to a person with whom they share similarities. She is a scientist that has research that is very “kid friendly.”

I personally find Jane Goodall fascinating because she had no preconceived ideas of what to expect from the chimps. I think this is an interesting idea for even a teacher to grasp. Much like Jane was surprised by the chimps, a teacher can be surprised by her students. Moreover, she

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helps people to realize that there is more out there than human life and the importance of everything in this world should not be underestimated. My primary goal as a teacher is to never underrate my students no matter their difficulties. The most important thing to do as a teacher is to understand every child’s interests or at least help them to discover interest in a subject through exploration.

Classroom Activity

The activity that I chose to teach children about Jane Goodall will entail breaking the students up into small cooperative groups of an equal number of children (3–4) at all different learning levels. The students will be provided with various types of materials that will help them to construct their own tools, just like Jane noticed the chimps doing. The teacher will provide students with items such as Popsicle sticks, chopsticks, rubber bands, paper, and any other materials s/he sees fit. The student will try to construct the best tool to pick up as many sunflower seeds as possible in one minute. Students will then compare data and see which tool worked best. This can help teach the students the importance of tools and how incredible it is that we are not the only species to make our own. It will also help them connect with Jane’s research.

Connection to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

Standard: 4-LS1 from Molecules to Organisms: Structures and ProcessesPerformance Expectation: 4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.Science and Engineering Practices: Developing and using modelsDisciplinary Core Idea: LS1.A: Structure and FunctionPlants and animals have both internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction.Cross Cutting Concepts: Systems and System Models

Interdisciplinary Connection(s)

Common Core State Standards Connections:ELA/Literacy – W.4.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information. (4-LS1-1)

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REFERENCES

About Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.janegoodall.org/programs/rootsandshoots/about

Lepton, K. (2015). Jane Goodall. Retrieved from http://www.sciography.com/ jane-goodall.html

Study Corner – Biography. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.janegoodall.org/study-corner-biography

Weiss, A. G. (n.d.). Jane Goodall 1934. Retrieved September 23, 2013, from http://www2.webster.edu/~woolflm/janegoodall.html

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S.2. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON

Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tyson_-_Apollo_40th_anniversary_2009.jpg


Dr. Neil Degrasse Tyson was born on October 15, 1958 in New York City. Now a renowned astrophysicist, Dr. Tyson realized his calling to science as a child. He was nine years old when he first visited the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History. During a speech in 2006, Dr. Tyson stated that “the universe chose me…” to pursue a career in science. He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science, earned his BA in Physics from Harvard, and his Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Columbia. Today, he is the director of the Hayden Planetarium and has broad research interests which include dwarf galaxies, the structure of the Milky Way, exploding stars, and star formation.

Dr. Tyson was twice appointed to research commissions by President George W. Bush. The first, in 2001, was comprised of 12 members who studied the Future of the US Aerospace Industry. Their final report was published in 2002 with recommendations to promote a thriving future of space exploration, transportation, and national security. The second

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commission was formed in 2004. This nine member commission’s focus was on the Implementation of the United States Space Exploration Policy and was called the “Moon, Mars, and Beyond” commission. This group’s charge was to establish a foundation by which a new space vision could successfully become a part of the American agenda. In 2006, Dr. Tyson was appointed to NASA’s Advisory Council, which serves to help NASA pursue its vision with its very limited budget.

Dr. Tyson’s enthusiasm for space exploration is infectious. He appears often on television shows such as The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and Real Time with Bill Maher. His podcast, “Star Talk Radio,” is informative and entertaining, and he hosted five seasons of NOVA ScienceNOW. He has published ten books, multiple articles, and has given interviews in many magazines. One of his recent books, The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet, documents his experience as the scientist who possibly bore most of the blame for Pluto’s recent classification as a dwarf planet. This book contains many letters from young children who were outraged by Pluto no longer being a planet. In a 2012 interview, Dr. Tyson insisted he was not the one who “killed Pluto,” but was merely the person who “drove the getaway car.” Dr. Tyson’s humor, accessible language, and down-to-earth nature make the topics he discusses easily understood, and his passion and awe for all that is still waiting to be explored in science is contagious.

Inspiring Children

Dr. Tyson is a persuasive, lively, and inspiring figure in the scientific community. He often refers to children as “natural scientists,” and supports science education to nurture and develop children’s innate curiosity about how the world and universe work. I take every opportunity to watch his interviews and speeches, and they are available in abundance on websites like www.youtube.com. He has even participated in three “Ask Me Anything” conversations on the website www.reddit.com, with each event drawing thousands of questions and comments. His willingness to participate in discourse with the general public is something to be admired. Dr. Tyson speaks with passion, and never comes across as pretentious.

His arguments in favor of continuing space exploration are especially moving. He manages to put perspective on the small fraction of the nation’s budget that goes to NASA and other scientific research and development, and frames it in terms of the long-term benefit of inspiring the next generation

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of scientists with far reaching aspirations. I completely agree with this, and I plan on drawing on Dr. Tyson’s work to inspire lessons that will foster every “natural scientist” that enters my classroom.

Classroom Activity

I chose a science activity for students in 5th or 6th grade. Students will separate into 4–6 groups, depending on class size. This activity will have the students research Pluto, and engage in a debate on whether it should have been reclassified as a dwarf planet. Half of the groups will be instructed to present the argument that Pluto should have remained a planet, and the other half will argue in favor of Pluto’s new status as a dwarf planet. After the groups debate, there will be a class discussion on Kuiper Belt objects, the continuing discoveries of new bodies in the solar system, and results of the New Horizons mission.

Connection to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

Standard: MS-ESS1 Earth’s Place in the UniversePerformance Expectation: MS-ESS1-3. Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the analysis of data from Earth-based instruments, space-based telescopes, and spacecraft to determine similarities and differences among solar system objects.]Science and Engineering Practices: Analyzing and Interpreting Data, Constructing Explanations and Designing SolutionsDisciplinary Core Idea: ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar System. The solar system consists of the sun and a collection of objects, including planets, their moons, and asteroids that are held in orbit around the sun by its gravitational pull on them.Cross Cutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity


Common Core State Standards Connections:ELA/Literacy –RST.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical textsRST.6-8.7 Integrate quantitative or technical information.

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SL.8.5 Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points.Mathematics –MP.2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

REFERENCES

Houston, T. (2012, March 26). Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson on killing Pluto: All I did was drive the getaway car. Retrieved from http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/26/2903224/dr-neil-degrasse-tyson-killing-pluto-on-the-verge

Neil DeGrasse Tyson: About Neil DeGrasse Tyson. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/profile/about-neil-degrasse-tyson

Neil DeGrasse Tyson: Curriculum Vitae. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/curriculum-vitae

Reilly, L. (2014, August 4). 6 Angry letters kids sent Neil deGrasse Tyson about Pluto. Retrieved from http://mentalfloss.com/article/52042/6-angry-letters-kids-sent-neil-degrasse-tyson-about-pluto

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S.3. GALILEO GALILEI

Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Justus_Sustermans_-_Portrait_of_Galileo_Galilei,_1636.jpg


Galileo Galilei was born on February 15, 1564 in Pisa. During this time, most people put their faith in God rather than science. In 1572, Galileo and his family had moved to Florence and it was there that he had started his studies for priesthood while leaving his medical degree at the University of Pisa unfinished. He also began his studies as a mathematician and studied mathematics closely with Ostilio Ricci, the mathematician of the Tuscan court. Galileo was eventually appointed to the chair of mathematics in Pisa, and then went on to obtain the higher position of mathematician at the University of Padua. During his time in Padua, he began work on his telescope, with which he was able to make multiple discoveries. With the use of his telescope, Galileo first saw the moons of Jupiter and the mountains on the Moon, and was able to view closely at the heavens. Galileo also determined the parabolic path of projectiles and calculated the law of free fall by experimenting; dropping stones from towers and masts caused Galileo to become the first “real” experimental scientist, supporting the relativity of motion, and creating a mathematical physics.

Galileo began to question Aristotle’s theory on terrestrial matter and motion and argued that all natural motion is circular. In his publication of

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Discourses of the Two New Sciences in 1632, which is a series of books that Galileo states his theories and discoveries on matter and motion, he emphasized the elements of time and acceleration. The material expressed in his book went against everything that the Catholic Church believed in, including teaching and defending the Copernican doctrine, which states that the Sun is at the center of the universe and that the Earth moves around it. Galileo was summoned to Rome and was examined by the Holy Office of the Inquisition. He endured four more hearings and sentencing. Finally, during his last hearing, Galileo was forced to kneel before the Holy Office and recite:

I have been judged vehemently suspect of heresy, that is, of having held and believed that the sun in the centre of the universe and immoveable, and that the earth is not at the center of same, and that it does move. Wishing however, to remove from the minds of your Eminences and all faithful Christians this vehement suspicion reasonably conceived against me, I abjure with a sincere heart and unfeigned faith, I curse and detest the said errors and heresies, and generally all and every error, heresy, and sect contrary to the Holy Catholic Church. (The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Galileo was not sentenced to imprisonment, but instead to house arrest. In 1633, he was allowed to retire to his villa in Arcetri, located in Florence, and was able to complete his last book of Discourses on the Two New Sciences; it was published in 1638, in Holland, and does not mention Copernicanism at all. Galileo died on January 8, 1642.

Inspiring Children

I find Galileo to be extremely interesting for many reasons. The first reason is that he was able to make such astonishing discoveries with the tools that were available to him. Technology and information was not available during this time like it is to us today. It amazes me to learn of the curiosity and thirst for knowledge that people like Galileo had during these times, and the lengths that they went through to obtain answers. I also find him interesting to learn about because he went against established religious doctrine and stood up for what he believed in. This, I believe, sends out a great message to students – to ask questions and be determined to find the answers based on evidence, and that no question

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is too crazy to ask because you never know what you are going to find during your search.

Classroom Activity

After introducing each planet to the students, I would have the students replicate our solar system. By doing this, I would divide the class into groups and assign them a planet that they will have to create using Styrofoam spheres. I will provide them with a stand in which they will be able to display their planet. As the school year continues, they will move their planets in a circular motion around the “Sun” (e.g., a round piece of yellow felt paper taped to the center of the classroom floor). [Note: It will be important to consistently draw upon students’ experiences and observations that the Sun appears to move across the sky, when in reality, the Earth (as well as the other planets) are rotating or spinning; all of the planets in the Solar System are moving/revolving around the Sun throughout the year, while at the same time, rotating/spinning on an axis.] Students can accurately place their planets around the Sun at different times during the year using a simulation of the Solar System in real-time: http://www.solarsystemscope.com/

In addition, I would arrange class time to take them into the Star Lab where they will be sitting inside an “inflatable igloo” and have the stars projected all around them. This will give them the feeling and more of an understanding about space, as well as observing patterns of the Sun, moon and stars.

Connection to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

Standard: 1-ESS1 Earth’s Place in the UniversePerformance Expectation: 1-ESS1-1. Use observations of the Sun, moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted.Science and Engineering Practices: Analyzing and Interpreting Data(Use observations, firsthand or from media, to describe patterns in the natural world in order to answer scientific questions).Disciplinary Core Idea: ESS1.A: The Universe and its Stars. Patterns of the motion of the Sun, moon, and stars in the sky can be observed, described, and predicted.Cross Cutting Concepts: Patterns

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Common Core State Standards Connections:ELA/Literacy –W.1.8 With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.Mathematics –MP.2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively.MP.5 Use appropriate tools strategically.

REFERENCES

Machamer, P. (2013, June 13). Galileo Galilei. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2013/entries/galileo/

van Helden, A. (2014, November 3). Galileo: Italian philosopher, astronomer and mathematician. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/biography/Galileo-Galilei

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S.4. MARY ANNING

Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedTia.org/wiki/File:Mary_Anning_painting.jpg


Mary Anning was one of the most central figures in establishing geology as its own scientific discipline with her many paleontological finds. Mary Anning was born in 1799 in Lyme Regis located on the southern coast of Great Britain. It was not until she grew older that Mary would discover that the cliffs at Lyme Regis were heavily populated with fossils from the seas during the Jurassic period.

Although her parents, Richard and Mary, had ten children, Mary and her brother Joseph were the only two to survive. Richard was a carpenter and cabinet-maker who would often collect fossils. Before his death in 1810, Mary’s father taught her and her brother how to collect and clean fossils. Living in poverty without their father to provide for them, Mary and Joseph began collecting and selling their fossil discoveries to the tourists who would often come flocking to the shores of Lyme Regis. The waves from the sea combined with landslides made Lyme Regis an ideal location for

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fossils, especially since new fossils were constantly being exposed. This was, however, a dangerous undertaking because of constant mudflows, tides, unstable cliffs and the seas themselves.

It quickly became evident that Mary had a keen eye for fossils and an understanding of anatomy. In 1811, Joseph found what appeared to be a crocodile skull protruding from a cliff. Over a period of months, Mary carefully and skillfully uncovered the almost complete skeleton of the ‘crocodile.’ It was not until it was sold to a museum of “Natural Curiosities,” that it was revealed that Mary had uncovered the first fossil of an Ichthyosaurus, a marine reptile from both the Triassic and Jurassic periods.

Although Mary’s findings were of extreme value, it was not until 1820 that the family was able to overcome their destitution. One of their patrons, Thomas James Birch, organized an auction to sell some of the valuable findings Mary had contributed. The auction was a success in bringing the family out of poverty, as well as bringing attention to Mary’s skills with paleontology. Over the years, Mary was responsible for many important discoveries including several more complete skeletons of Ichthyosaurs, the first Plesiosaurus, and the first Pterosaur.

Mary Anning became a popular name in the field of paleontology and many scientists often visited her to discuss her findings and collaborate; however, because of her status as a woman during that time period, combined with her poorly educated background, Mary faced many difficulties and was often accused of forging her discoveries from others. The reality of the situation was that Mary was self-educated about anatomy and geology and was able to use her correspondences with others to help in her knowledge and understanding of the scientific discipline.

In 1847, Mary died at the age of 47 of cancer. Before her death she had been awarded an annual payment from the “British Association for the Advancement of Science,” a large honor for her. Her death was recorded by the Geological Society, which did not admit women until 1904. Her findings will be remembered as ones that shaped her field and changed the way people looked at the history of the Earth.

Inspiring Children

I chose to do my reflection on Mary Anning because I have always had an interest in the sciences, particularly paleontology. To me, paleontology is just as much art as science and involves knowledge of the anatomies of different

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living things, which I find interesting. Before starting this reflection, I had no idea who Mary Anning was, but I knew that I wanted to write about a female scientist. I feel that there is a lack of female role models in mathematics and science and this is something that needs to be changed. Mary Anning’s story is the perfect example of a woman being able to overcome both poverty and a poor education provided to her to persevere in a field dominated by men. It is also a perfect example of how women, who contributed as much as Mary did, have been forgotten or simply written out of history because of their gender.

Classroom Activity

For my activity, students will create and excavate their own fossils. After a discussion of what fossils are, how they are found, and what the field of paleontology is all about, students will be given the chance to excavate their own fossil. Using chocolate chip cookies buried in a sandbox, students will use small shovels to dig for their “fossilized rocks.” Once they have unearthed their cookies, they will use items such as toothpicks, tweezers, etc. as fossil picks to carefully remove the “fossils” (chocolate chips) from the “rock” (cookie). This activity will lead into a discussion of Mary Anning and her work as a paleontologist and her contributions to science. This activity can also be a great way to introduce multiple lessons on the Jurassic period, how dinosaurs’ environment changed, and why dinosaurs are now extinct. Lastly, borrowing different types of fossils from local museums and/or colleges would also be important to help make the concept of fossils more concrete and authentic for the children. The children could also carefully examine, classify, and measure the fossils.

Connection to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

Standard: 3-LS4 Biological Evolution: Unity and DiversityPerformance Expectation: 3-LS4-1. Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago. [Clarification Statement: Examples of data could include type, size, and distributions of fossil organisms. Examples of fossils and environments could include marine fossils found on dry land, tropical plant fossils found in Arctic areas, and fossils of extinct organisms.]Science and Engineering Practices: Analyzing and Interpreting Data (to make sense of phenomena using logical reasoning).

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Disciplinary Core Idea: LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversityi. Some kinds of plants and animals that once lived on Earth are no longer found anywhere; and ii. Fossils provide evidence about the types of organisms that lived long ago and also about the nature of their environments.Cross Cutting Concepts: Cause and Effect


Common Core State Standards Connections:ELA/Literacy –W.3.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.W.3.8 Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.Mathematics –3.MD.B.4 Generate measurement data (of fossils) by measuring lengths using rulers marked with halves and fourths of an inch. Show the data by making a line plot, where the horizontal scale is marked off in appropriate units—whole numbers, halves, or quarters.

REFERENCES

Fun with Fossils. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ ess05.sci.ess.earthsys.lp_funfossils/fun-with-fossils/

Mary Anning. (2015, July 26). Retrieved from http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:JNOI0EzyFIYJ:www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/science-of-natural-history/biographies/maryanning/index.html+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Waggoner, B. (n.d.). Mary Anning (1799–1847). Retrieved from http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/anning.html

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