ROSE REMOTELY OPERATED SCIENCE EXPERIMENT

Paul Kim

Aaron Sharp

Kevin Bing-Yung Wong

Arafeh Karimi

Kamakshi Duvvuru

WHAT IS ROSE?

A plant in a terrarium

that lives at Stanford

Live video is streamed

24 hrs/day, 7 days/week

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH ROSE?

You can turn on/off

the “sun” (a lamp),

the “rain” (a mist maker),

& the “wind” (a fan).

You can monitor online

the temperature,

the humidity,

& the light

GOAL OF PROJECT

To bring authentic, meaningful science experimentation

to students in remote areas of developing countries.

WHY LABS?

Laboratory experiences “make science come alive"

Clough (2002)

Hands-on experience is at the heart of science learning

Nersessian (1991)

WHY NOT JUST USE COMPUTERS?

Real data provide students with the “unexpected

clashes” between theory and practice that are essential

for an understanding of the role of experiments in

science.

Magin & Kanapathipillai (2000)

Students are more motivated when they know they

are working with real equipment.

Cooper (2005)

ROSE Study in India FEBRUARY 2011

Paul Kim

Arafeh Karimi

Kamakshi Duvvuru

This study was conducted in Sri Netaji Pilot school

In Nellore, India in Feb 2011

With 16 kids aged 10-12 in a 4th grade primary school class.

We introduced ourselves and asked the kids if they

knew where America, Iran or Malaysia were…

They said that they

hadn’t heard of any of

those countries,

so we explained

where we were from.

“We heard that

you are the

smartest kids in

the world, so

scientists in the

U.S. sent us here

to get your help.”

“We have a big problem over there,

and we need you to help us solve it.”

They were very welcoming and told us,

“Don't worry! We will solve your problem.”

PROBLEM SCENARIO

Facilitator: Can you name some planets for us?

Participants named 9 planets.

Facilitator: Have you heard of “Planet ROSE”?

Participants: No!

“There is a planet out there called Planet ROSE

and it is very similar to Earth.

It’s a beautiful planet with happy people.”

Then we presented the story of Planet ROSE to them:

“This is Rahul’s and Priya’s world.

They played outside every day and were very happy…

But then something bad happened…”

“It became a desert!

There was no rain and no food.

There wasn’t enough to eat and

everyone was sad and starving.

Because of this, everyone

on Planet ROSE has died in

the past few years!”

“There is only one plant still alive on Planet ROSE.

The plant’s name is ROSE.

Rahul and Priya sent the ROSE to Earth to preserve it.

Scientist are keeping ROSE in a Stanford lab.

And we have to find out what the best climate is in

order to keep ROSE alive!”

“We’ve heard that you are the smartest kids in the world!

You are the only ones who can save the ROSE!”

“We came all the

way here to see

you and get your

help to solve the

problem.

The scientists in the U.S. don’t

know what to do to keep

ROSE alive.”

Then we introduced the concept of Desertification

and showed the students two animations explaining it.

We asked them some questions about the causes of

desertification and about its potential relationship with

climate change

“What temperature,

humidity and light levels

are best for ROSE and

how are these elements

related?”

Next we presented ROSE to them.

They asked us some question to make sure

the plant was real.

When we later told them that they could

even control the climate around ROSE, the

level of excitement was indescribable!

They were so excited to

see the real plant on

screen in real time!

They weren't expecting

the real plant.

We grouped the participants into groups of 3 and asked

them to discuss the questions we shared with them, and

later to present their findings and arguments.

PRE-QUESTIONS:

1. When it rains, what happens to the temperature and why?

2. When it rains, what happens to the humidity and why?

3. When wind starts to blow, what happens to the temperature and

why?

4. Between 6AM in the morning and 3PM in the afternoon, what

happens to the temperature and why?

5. What happens to temperature when humidity and wind speed

change and why?

6. What happens to temperature when humidity and light levels

change and why?

7. What happens to humidity when light level and wind speed change

and why?

8. What happens to humidity when temperature and wind speed

change and why?

Students were immersed in

discussion and were seriously

arguing about the answers

Each group presented their findings in front of the class.

All the other groups listened to the presentations, actively

commented, and argued over the correct answer.

After all groups presented their ideas and everyone

participated in discussion, it was the testing time.

Participants were excited to find out what the correct

answer was and were eager to play with ROSE!

We set up the projector and two browser windows to

represent ROSE system.

One window showed streaming video of ROSE and the

other showed the temperature, humidity and light levels.

Participants could interact with the environment by

manipulating the sun, rain and wind.

Remote

Controllers

Sensors

Streaming video

We briefly presented how the

controls and system worked.

But we didn’t have much more to do…

Students took charge of the experiment.

Participants taught each other how to work with

ROSE and pointed out the changes in the environment.

Students were so

excited about the

experiment that they

couldn’t remain seated

in their chairs.

All of them stood up

near the screen to

better monitor the

changes and participate.

First, we gave them some time to figure out the effects

that each element had on ROSE’s conditions:

Questions such as, “If there is more rain, what happens to

humidity?” or “If you turn on the fan, what will happen to

the temperature?”

Students realized that

whenever they changed

the sun, the rain, or the

wind, they had to wait a

few seconds before

seeing the changes

from the sensors.

So, they started to

count down from 10 every

time they changed an element.

THE MAIN PROCESS WAS:

1. Ask a question

2. Discuss the possible solutions

3. Ask students how many agree vs. disagree

4. Provide time for argument and ask each group to

come to a consensus on one solution

5. Ask one group to use ROSE in order to prove their

findings to the rest of the class

6. Announce the correct answer and congratulate the

winners

1. Ask a question

2. Discuss the possible solutions

Observing…

Thinking…

Scientific argument

3. Ask students how many agree vs. disagree

4. Provide time for argument and ask each group to

come to a consensus on one solution

Everyone sharing

their thoughts

Collaboration

Thinking, arguing,

thinking,….

5. Ask one group to use ROSE in order to prove

their findings to the rest of the class

6. Announce the correct answer and congratulate

the winners

Ready?

And the

answer is…

Yes!

High five!

We concluded the session by collecting the surveys,

giving a post test, and a discussing with our happy

participants what they learned.

ROSE YOUTUBE VIDEOS

Click here to see an

interview with one

of the students who

participated

Click here to see an

interview with an

entire class that

participated

REFERENCES

Clough, M. P. (2002). Using the laboratory to enhance student learning.

In Learning Science and the Science of Learning, R. W. Bybee, Ed.

National Science Teachers Association, Washington, DC, 85–97.

Cooper, Martyn (2005). Remote laboratories in teaching and learning –

issues impinging on widespread adoption in science and engineering

education. International Journal of Online Engineering (iJOE), 1(1), 1-7.

Nersessian, N. J. (1991). Conceptual change in science and in science

education. In History, Philosophy, and Science Teaching, M. R. Matthews,

Ed. OISE Press, Toronto, Canada, 133–148.

Magin, D. J. & Kanapathipillai, S. (2000). Engineering students’

understanding of the role of experimentation. European J. Eng.

Education 25 (4), 351–358.