The New Face of American Space Exploration
The Neuroscience of Dr. Judy Willis
Joyful Education
S.T.E.M. in our Daily Lives Weightlessness Does Not Exist Don’t fall for the myth
Elvis Meets S.T.E.M.
May 2014
Improve their reality
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Teaching Kids to Shift
No matter what you teach, you influence the futures and career choices of thousands. Your continued “learning” is critical to theirs. That’s why this issue is for you & your students.
Use it in class.
Forward this to your students and their parents. Make this a new connection for curiosity and interaction. Submit an article: wayne@stemmagazine.com
I don’t want to learn anymore The Neuroscience of Joyful Education S.T.E.M. in our daily lives
Publisher Comments Dr. Judy Willis Karl Hess
SpaceX: The new face of Staff Writer
American Space exploration
The Orbital Mechanic
Teaching Kids to Shift Weightlessness DOES NOT exist
One of my favorite S.T.E.M Careers
Kenneth Hardman Mark Tucker Wayne Carley Publisher
Elvis meet S.T.E.M. Dr. Brad McLain
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Features
“ I don’t have the time or interest to learn anything new, especially outside of the subject I teach.” Believe it or not, those words were spoken by a middle school teacher I was teaching for. Their explanation was that they taught basically the same material every year that met the standards, and there was no time to even think about teaching something new. It was a challenge to just keep up. What if our students had the same attitude…..maybe they already do, doing just enough to get by, just what’s expected, just what’s necessary. Is that the kind of student we want to create? The truth is, we do have a plate full and seldom enough time to satisfy the many expectations, but I know from experience that I can find 5 minutes a class to plant those seeds of curiosity, interest, wonder and inspiration that the other 50 minutes may not. We have few choices in what we teach, but we do have a choice about how we manage our time. Five minutes. Five minutes that will increase testing scores, classroom discipline, genuine interest and higher graduation rates.
*What’s the number one reason for student drop outs?
Boredom
As a teacher, learn one new thing a week that you don’t have to. Make it something that has nothing to do with what you teach. Become more curious, more interested, more rounded, more enthusiastic, and a better role model of learning the
“unnecessary”.
Do it for your morale, your mental health, your longevity …….. your students. STEM Magazine will help.
S.T.E.M. Magazine Inc. is a non-profit monthly education publication for teachers, students, their parents and administrators. CEO Wayne Carley is the publisher and senior editor for all content in S.T.E.M. Magazine. S.T.E.M. Magazine believes that the key to success in seeing higher graduation rates, improved testing results, student inspiration and a strong work-force rests in the hands of the teacher. The example and inspiration of individual educators carries tremendous weight on a daily basis, greatly impacting the quality and effectiveness of the classroom environment. The atmosphere and tone of the class directly influences the learning and retention process of students. Student curiosity, interest and career considerations are a direct result of educator influence. S.T.E.M. Magazine will focus on issues and resources to support educators and their students. Inspiring and fueling the creative process of curriculum presentation while also addressing the personal needs associated with the relentless pressures of instruction, testing preparation, classroom discipline and school district demands will be a high priority in every issue.
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The Neuroscience of Dr. Judy Willis
Joyful Education
“Brain research tells us that when the fun stops, learning often stops too.” Most children can’t wait to start kindergarten and approach the beginning of school with awe and anticipation. Kindergartners and 1st graders often talk passionately about what they learn and do in school. Unfortunately, the current emphasis on standardized testing and rote learning encroaches upon many students’ joy. In their zeal to raise test scores, too many policymakers wrongly assume that students who are laughing, interacting in groups, or being creative with art, music, or dance are not doing real academic work. The result is that some teachers feel pressure to preside over more sedate classrooms with students on the same page in the same book, sitting in straight rows, facing straight ahead.
Supporting Good Teaching Practices with Neuroscience The truth is that when we scrub joy and comfort from the classroom, we distance our students from effective information processing and long-term memory storage. Instead of taking pleasure from learning, students become bored, anxious, and anything but engaged. They ultimately learn to feel bad about school and lose the joy they once felt. My own experience as a neurologist and classroom teacher has shown me the benefits of joy in the classroom. Neuroimaging studies and measurement of brain chemical transmitters reveal that students’ comfort level can influence information transmission
and storage in the brain (Thanos et al., 1999). When students are engaged and motivated and feel minimal stress, information flows freely through the affective filter in the amygdala and they achieve higher levels of cognition, make connections, and experience “aha” moments. Such learning comes not from quiet classrooms and directed lectures, but from classrooms with an atmosphere of exuberant discovery (Kohn, 2004).
The Brain-Based Research Neuroimaging and neurochemical research support an education model in which stress and anxiety are not pervasive (Chugani, 1998; Pawlak, Magarinos, Melchor, McEwan, & Strickland, 2003). This research suggests that superior learning takes place when classroom experiences are enjoyable and relevant to students’ lives, interests, and experiences.
Many education theorists (Dulay & Burt, 1977; Krashen, 1982) have proposed that students retain what they learn when the learning is associated with strong positive emotion. Cognitive psychology studies provide clinical evidence that stress, boredom, confusion, low motivation, and anxiety can individually, and more profoundly in combination, interfere with learning (Christianson, 1992).
Neuroimaging and measurement of brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) show us what happens in the brain during stressful emotional states. By reading glucose or oxygen use and blood flow, positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) indicate activity in identifiable regions of the brain. These scans demonstrate that under stressful conditions information is blocked from entering the brain’s areas of higher cognitive memory consolidation and storage. In other words, when stress activates the brain’s affective filters, information flow to the higher cognitive networks is limited and the learning process grinds to a halt. Neuroimaging and electroencephalography (EEG) brain mapping of subjects
in the process of learning new information reveal that the most active areas of the brain when new sensory information is received are the somatosensory cortex areas. Input from each individual sense (hearing, touch, taste, vision, smell) is delivered to these areas and then matched with previously stored related memories.
“Under stressful conditions information is BLOCKED from entering the brain’s areas of higher cognitive memory.”
For example, the brain appears to link new words about cars with previously stored data in the category of transportation. Simultaneously, the limbic system, comprising parts of the temporal lobe, hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex (front part of the frontal lobe), adds emotional significance to the information (sour flavor is tasty in lemon sherbet but unpleasant in spoiled juice). Such relational memories appear to enhance storage of the new information in long-term memory (Andreasen et al., 1999). Mapping studies of the electrical activity (EEG or brain waves) and neuroimaging show the synchronization of brain activity as information passes from the somatosensory cortex areas to the limbic system (Andreasen et al., 1999). For example, bursts of brain activity from the somatosensory cortex are followed milliseconds later by bursts of electrical activity in the hippocampus, amygdala, and then the other parts of the limbic system (Sowell et al., 2003). This enables us to evaluate which strategies either stimulate or impede communication among the various parts of the brain (Shadmehr & Holcomb, 1997).
RAD Lessons for the Classroom A common theme in brain research is that superior cognitive input to the executive function networks is more likely when stress is low and learning experiences are relevant to students. Lessons that are stimulating and challenging are more likely to pass through the reticular activating system (a filter in the lower brain that focuses attention on novel changes perceived in the environment). Classroom experiences that are free of intimidation may help information pass through the amygdala’s affective filter. In addition, when classroom activities are pleasurable, the brain releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter that stimulates the memory centers and promotes the release of acetylcholinem, which increases focused attention. The acronym RAD can remind educators of three important neuroscience concepts to consider when preparing lessons: u Novelty promotes information transmission through the Reticular activating system. u Stress-free classrooms propel data through the Amygdala’s affective filter. u Pleasurable associations linked with learning are more likely to release more Dopamine.
There are no neuroimaging or brain wave analysis data that demonstrate a negative effect of joy and exuberance in classrooms, yet some schools have unspoken mandates against these valuable components of the classroom experience. Now that hard science proves the negative effects of stress and anxiety, teachers can more confidently promote enthusiasm in their classrooms. Next issue: Planning for the Ideal Emotional Atmosphere
STEM in our Daily Lives By Karl Hess,
Book: Working Knowledge: STEM Essentials for the 21st Century
ENERGY There are many forms of energy that we will explore in coming issues of STEM Magazine and we know that from those forms come many useful applications that we need in our daily lives. We supply energy to our body by eating, because the food contains chemical energy for the needs of our bodies. We use electrical energy when we turn on the light, the telephone, the computer, the kitchen stove, the washing machine, the TV, and a very long list of useful machinery and appliances. Naturally we use the energy of fuel when we drive cars or fly airplanes. Energy is also needed by the farmers who work in their fields when they plow or supply fertilizer and produce the food that we later use. If one wishes to describe what we need most in our life, then it is energy, and energy again in many possible forms. In fact we need and use so much energy that we often hear that we need to look
and see that more energy is being “conserved.” The STEM expert notices, of course, that this is not what we need to do. Energy is always conserved automatically. The law of energy conservation is the most basic natural law that we know. Energy can neither be destroyed nor created out of nothing. The real point is that we need energy in certain useful forms such as gasoline or battery power. Other forms, such as the hot exhaust gases of cars or jet engines, are not very useful, and we need to find ways to produce the least of the useless energy and to obtain the energy that we actually can use. All useful energy originates from the sun and either is derived directly from sunlight, or has been derived in the past from the sun in the form of the so-called fossil fuels or even further back at the beginning of our planetary
system in the form of nuclear material. Unfortunately, it is not possible to obtain and use the energy that we need in a way that is 100% environmentally friendly. We know that it is not possible to generate useful mechanical energy without generating also random heat
energy. As we will outline below in more detail, we can therefore not use any energy sources without changing something in the environment. Some of you, who have already heard about many methods that supply us with energy may say: “oh, this is not true, there are some ways to obtain energy that do nothing to our environment, for example one can generate
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energy by using the tides.” The tides are the rise and fall of ocean water due to the gravitational influence of the moon and the sun on the oceans of the rotating earth. Thus one could store the rising waters during high tide and then, during low tide, let the waters flow back and drive an electrical generator, so-called turbine. This sounds like a real winner with no influence on the environment. However, we know that energy is conserved and can not come from nothing. Where does the tide energy come from? Energy gained from tides originates mainly from the rotation of the earth. Therefore, that rotation of the earth will be influenced if we take energy out of that system. In fact, such tidal energy consumption happens automatically but slowly. The tidal distortions of a planet or moon (even without water) lead to the so-called tidal lock which means that in the very distant future the earth will only rotate once a year around itself and thus have always the same side facing the sun. The moon is already now in tidal lock with earth, and, therefore, we can only see one side of the moon. If we influence the tides to generate much electrical power, we influence the tidal
process. The forces created by influencing the tides may also shift the outer crust of the earth relative to the inner viscous or even liquid parts. Is this shift dangerous? Here lies the crux of all environmental considerations and concerns. How do we define dangerous? If we require no change over hundreds or even thousands of years, then we have a problem, even with energy from tides. The earth rotation would change considerably in thousands of years if we take a large portion of the energy that we need from tidal power. Even a very small shift of the upper crust of the earth could change the flow of liquid lava in the hot inner earth and therefore rechannel volcanos, say those of Hawaii. The Hawaiians may not like this! It is extremely important to realize that there exists no zero tolerance solution for the environment. We cannot obtain and use energy without perturbing the environment. Even photosynthesis (see below) changes the environment and reduces carbon dioxide while producing oxygen. All we can look for and hope to find is the most inexpensive way to create renewable energy resources that disturb the environment as little as possible. In the following we describe a few possible pathways to such
solutions. The author does not claim that anybody knows which procedure is going to win in the future. We only know that this is a great and important topic for future STEM experts.
The Warmth of Sunlight The most elementary form of energy that humans use is the warmth of sunlight. The sun emits a broad spectrum of electromagnetic waves, ranging from waves in the radio-frequency range to the infrared, to the visible, to the ultraviolet, and even up to radiation. We have discussed all of these forms in Sect.2.5. The rays of the sun are partly absorbed in our atmosphere and finally on the ground and in the oceans. Much of this energy is turned into heat that warms all of our surroundings and keeps us alive. Any heated body also emits electromagneticradiation depending on its temperature. The earth, therefore, emits mostly infrared back into space, particularly during the night and cools down in that way. Heating and cooling during summer and winter and day and night, respectively, leads to average temperatures at the different locations on earth that determine the climate from the
cool arctic regions to the warm temperatures of the equator. The balance of heating and cooling of the earth depends on many factors including the absorption of light on the ground and in the oceans, the angle of incidence of the sunlight (that changes depending on geographic location and season), the composition of the atmosphere and its humidity, the formation of clouds, and the wind patterns and ocean currents. Some of the gases of our atmosphere, particularly carbon dioxide and water vapor, are so-called greenhouse gases. These gases lead to an increased absorption of infrared sunlight and to a decreased radiation of infrared back into space. Thus they have an extra warming effect, comparable to the warming in a greenhouse from which their name derives. Greenhouse gases are, therefore, partially responsible for the comfortable temperatures that we enjoy on earth. The earth’s climate has changed in the distant past from ice ages, during which glaciers have formed (even in Hawaii), to heated periods during which the north pole was green. Greenhouse gases are, at least in part, thought to be responsible for
these climate changes. Recently scientists have become concerned that too much of a warming may occur if we generate large quantities of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, due to the exhaust of our machines and the burning of coal and oil. It has been proven, that the influence of human energy production and use has indeed already led to measurable effects on earth and that “global warming” is on the increase. Pollution can also cool the planet due to the effect of pollution clouds that transmit less sunlight to the surface of the earth. All of these conflicting and complicated effects make it very difficult to precisely predict the effects of human influence and what we should do about it.
Much research is needed here, and it is imperative that present and future STEM experts explore this area in great detail. The necessities of energy use to sustain our life and, at the same time, to disturb and pollute earth as little as possible present us with two conflicting demands of greatest importance. Science has currently not progressed far enough to present us a “royal road”solution to the problem of global warming. It is clear, however, that we need to be careful and not pollute our planet beyond repair. At the same time, we need to use energy to sustain our life. These conflicting problems were the motivation for my choice of topics in future sections.
The new face of American Space Exploration
Making History SpaceX has gained worldwide attention for a series of historic milestones. It is the only private company ever to return a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit, which it first accomplished in December 2010. The company made history again in May 2012 when its Dragon spacecraft attached to the International Space Station, exchanged cargo payloads, and returned safely to Earth — a technically challenging feat previously accomplished only by governments. Since then, Dragon has delivered cargo to and from the space station multiple times, providing regular cargo resupply missions for NASA. Under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA, SpaceX will fly numerous cargo resupply missions to the ISS, for a total of at least 12 —and in the near future, SpaceX will carry crew as well. Dragon was designed from the outset to carry astronauts and now, under a $440 million agreement with NASA, SpaceX is making modifications to make Dragon crew-ready. SpaceX is the world’s fastest growing provider of launch services. Profitable and cash-flow positive, the company has nearly 50 launches on its
manifest, representing close to $5 billion in contracts. These include commercial satellite launches as well as NASA missions. Currently under development is the Falcon Heavy, which will be the world’s most powerful rocket. All the while, SpaceX continues to work toward one of its key goals—developing reusable rockets, a feat that will transform space exploration by delivering highly reliable vehicles at radically reduced costs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic8100obsJ8
S.T.E.M. careers that truly reach for the stars can be found today in the corporate vision of companies like SPACEX. From secretaries to scientist’s, your fu career path has already been laid. For the first time in American history private co rather than government, are continuing the research, development, innovation an exploration of manned space travel.
What’s needed from you is imagination, creativity, inspiration, innovation and most of all.......availability.
uture ompanies, nd
Software Engineering
Launch & Test
Write code that autonomously pilots our vehicles in space, simulates countless flight scenarios, translates petabytes of data, performs computational fluid dynamics, and more.
We have built some of the most efficient launch facilities and a test facility in Texas that exceeds one engine test per day.
Hardware Engineering Nearly every board and box that controls, communicates, actuates, or powers our avionics is built in-house employing the same iterative approach used in the commercial industries. Structures Engineering Our goal is to have the most massefficient primary and secondary structures possible while exceeding all factors of safety. Propulsion Engineering With Merlin, Draco, and Kestrel as flight-proven examples along with Super Draco and Raptor in development, you will not find a more robust engine development program in the world.
SpaceX has a variety of locations nationwide from Florida, to Texas and on to California. Unlike governmental employment opportunities for space related careers, the corporate access to a vast array of careers is much more familiar to the job hunter with online applications, direct phone access, and current listings of employment openings. As a child, like many, I dreamed of space flight or at least being part of the journey. For those of you reading this today, the reality of those dreams is well within your grasp. It’s very possible that you will be able to launch into space without the past restrictions of being one of the chosen few NASA astronauts who have enjoyed that dream. Because of restrictions and cutbacks on government spending for space explorations and the end of the Space Shuttle program, many young Americans have been under the impression
that space flight for them was science fiction and a doomed career path. The truth is, it is science FACT and a true reality. In the hands of the private sector (the corporate community) space flight, exploration and personal participation is not only our new reality, but will be very affordable and common place, just as the careers that accompany this exciting opportunity.
There are several small start-up corporations pursuing the dreams of space flight and with some success which can only benefit our current students with a variety of choices.......if they are prepared. Preparation starts in about 4th grade and only reinforces the determination of STEM Magazine to push for awareness and light a fire under the educators of our nation to the critical nature of STEM education NOW.
“From secretary to scientist.....let us trigger their interest, encourage their curiosity and join with them in the pursuit of dreams.�
Wayne Carley Publisher
Engineering Stories
The Orbital Mechanic
A Short Story in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
“Dad, what a cool office.” Kayla hopped into the high-back chair behind a handsome desk lined with little spacecraft models and rockets. “I didn’t know you work in a place like this.” “Well,” Dr. Thomas Dixon said to the fourteen year old. “I also spend some of my time in conference rooms and laboratories.” Kayla’s father carefully lifted a small model and glided it through the air in a curved path in front of his office window. The company marquee outside read, “Welcome to Bring your Child to Work Day.”
“It seems extra bright outside.” Dr. Dixon closed the blinds. “I’m just glad to be out of school for a day.” Kayla said. Now, how am I going to get her to see how exciting science is? Tom thought. He slid a chair right beside Kayla, tapped the space bar on his laptop keyboard, and typed a password. “So dad, I know that you do something with spaceships, but whenever you leave papers around the house, all I see is circles and curves and numbers. Are you some kind of spacecraft artist?” I guess conic sections could be viewed as art. He thought. “Not a traditional artist; I’d say I’m more of an architect, but I don’t design buildings.” Tom moved the mouse around, clicked a couple times, then pointed at the screen. “Look here. Do you recognize this?” “Of course dad, it’s our solar system.” “Right. Well, what do humans know about all these planets, and how did we get that information?”
“That’s easy, we just search for it on the internet. I did a research paper last year on Pluto. Did you know it’s not a planet any more?” “So they say.” Tom tightened his lips. “No one on Pluto told us what Pluto is like, and there’s certainly no internet connection there, yet. What we know came from using telescopes and space probes to take pictures, measure motion, and frequencies of light, then someone could put the information on the world-wide-web.” “Hey, do you think we’ll ever have a solar-system-wide-web?” “Likely!” Tom said with a smile, pleased that such a thought came from his daughter. “And maybe you’ll be the one that invents it.” Kayla picked up one of the models on the desk. “So is that what these are, interplanetary space camera’s?” “Yes, but they do more than take pictures.”
“So your company designs spaceships. What exactly do you do?” “I decide what path or trajectory to take to get there.” “That doesn’t sound too hard. Just launch it on a rocket, and point it at the planet you want to go to.” Kayla turned when she heard her father snicker. Tom clicked again and pointed. “Look here. This is called a interplanetary trajectory map. It’s an overlay, kind of a road map printed on the solar system.” “One, two,” Kayla pointed at the circles on the screen starting from the sun moving outward. “Three. This one is Earth, right?” “Yes. Now as you know all these planets are moving around the sun. Our planet goes around the sun in…” “I know dad, 365 days.”
Orbital Mechanics The Cassini spacecraft has spent six years orbiting Saturn, using the moon Titan’s gravity to propel itself into the complex trajectories required to observe the planet’s many rings, moons and other moving targets.
“That’s my girl. The closer the planet is to the sun, the faster it orbits around the sun. If we want to go from Earth to, say Jupiter, we can’t just aim for Jupiter, because it takes a number of months to get there, and Jupiter won’t be there any more if we just point in that direction from the start.” Kayla pointed at Earth’s ellipse. “Why is the spaceship path from Earth to Jupiter going around the sun?” “Kayla, what you’re looking at is the very mission we are performing right now, in space. In fact, we are at an exciting time in our mission to Jupiter. The spacecraft is called Vector1.” Tom pointed at Earth on the map. “We launched a year ago and in three days from now Vector1 will pass by Earth on it’s way out to Jupiter. It’s been around the sun…” “Wait. Why is Vector1 coming back to Earth if it hasn’t been to Jupiter yet?” “It’s called a gravity assist maneuver or fly-by. To get to great distances and speeds, we swing by planets and take some of their energy.” Tom slowly moved his finger along the curve approaching earth. “We fly in behind
them and let the planets gravity accelerate the spacecraft and give it enough speed or energy to make it farther out into space, farther away from the sun. This way, we don’t have to use as much rocket fuel; fuel is heavy and very expensive to lift into space.” Kayla wiggled in her seat and rubbed her nose. “So, you plan pathways that follow the planets, which speeds up the spacecraft to keep it going deeper into space.” “That’s a simple view of it, but pretty much correct.” “But if you just come in behind the planet, why doesn’t the planets gravity just pull it in and make it crash?” About the author: Ken Hardman graduated from Brigham Young University with a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is an Associate Technical Fellow at a major aerospace company, and a Licensed Professional Engineer. As of this release, he has worked nearly 30 years in the aerospace and industrial automation fields defining, creating, researching, evaluating, managing, testing, and supporting satellites, aircraft, test equipment, and industrial automation. As an Adjunct Faculty, Ken has mentored and coached engineering students for many of those years. He loves to solve design problems, create useful solutions and encourage others to do the same.
Teaching Kids to Shift After years of teaching and providing support to educators, I’ve discovered a common link that exists between educators and youth advocates. It doesn’t matter if they are working with student leaders, mainstream learners, or youth at risk, they all share a similar goal. That goal is to get the kids they are working with to share responsibility in their own success. We can encourage students, negotiate with them, even threaten them, but our work is far more taxing if we don’t have them on-board when it comes to their own growth. It’s this discovery that has compelled me to help advocates teach their kids how to make a shift. Getting kids to shift means empowering them to use their words, reactions and roles in a way that improves their reality. Laws and common sense dictate that youth are less empowered than adults. However, many youth give up the little power they do have by assuming that parents and teachers are taking full responsibility for them. However, by owning more of the responsibility, youth can have a profound effect on their own lives.
Here are two simple tips to help them do just that:
Choosing new words Kids can create awesome shifts in their behavior. One of the easiest ways to do that is with words. Yes. Words. Words give young people power and control, yet words are rarely considered for the effects they have on how kid’s lives are unfolding on a daily basis. Words are energy, and based on the simple laws of attraction, energy attracts similar energy. So when people speak out words, they energetically attract similar people, events and circumstances. For example, if a kid says, “I’m terrible at math.” then chances are, they will be. However, if they say, “I am okay at math” then they are one step closer to manifesting that reality. When kids practice using words that reflect where they want to be instead of where they feel stuck, they are standing in their power and taking greater control over their desired outcome.
This is it – the life changing tool teens need now more than ever! Authors Jennifer Powers and Mark Tucker apply the timeless principles of the best-selling book Oh, shift!™ to teens and the difficult issues they face. In a cheeky, fun format they show teens how changing their words, their reactions, and their roles will literally change their lives.
OH, SHIFT! FOR TEENS This life-changing, easy-to-read textbook empowers teens to make better decisions, step out of the victim mentality, build their confidence, and become part of their own solution. This is a step-by-step guide for teens to make serious “shifts” in their lives so they can place the power back into their hands. OH, SHIFT! FOR TEENS WORKBOOK This 72-page companion to the Oh, Shift! for Teens textbook is designed for all educational institutions and organizations that work with teens. Ten interactive lessons facilitate the deeper learning of the life changing principles in Oh shift!™, and ask students to apply the concepts to their personal lives. Amazing! OH, SHIFT! FOR TEENS FACILITATOR’S GUIDE This user-friendly guide includes example answers, suggested times, step-by-step teaching instructions, expansion options, homework activities, and an optional final essay/writing prompt. Each lesson is stylized for students to work individually and in groups with many opportunities for open discussion and sharing.
You may already know this. But are you teaching your kids? The first step is in modeling behavior. As an educator, you want to help your kids choose words that support them in getting what they want. So wouldn’t it make sense to do the same for yourself? Take stock. Examine the words you use to describe the status of your daily life? Or take a good look at the people you are attracting into your circle (or not attracting) and consider how your words may have played a part in that reality. Think of your kids as huge, super-powerful magnets with an ability to attract anything they want. Teach them to choose their words with thought and intention so they can shift into the success they desire…and deserve!
Reactions = Reality
Young people are not in control of everything that affects their lives. Their parents may be strict, people will say and do things that make them upset, friends will come and go, rain may spoil their soccer game. And there’s not much they can do about it. Or is there? One way for youth to retain control is if they learn that things don’t happen to them, for them or against them. Things just happen. They are not here to control what happens. Their job is to control how they react to what happens. The way they react determines how their life unfolds from that point on. Hence, control. In other words, people and circumstances can show up however they may, but we all get to choose how it affects us. We can teach kids to resist their typical knee-JERK reaction when things don’t go their way and then to begin reacting in a way that serves them. Encourage the youth you work with to practice the skill of self-observation. When they begin to observe the con-
nection between their reactions and the results of those actions, they can better determine if they are getting the results they want. When kids are open to resisting their negative, knee-jerk reactions, a world of positive outcomes begin to take shape. The moment they begin to take control of their reactions, they begin to take control of their reality. And that’s what shifting is all about.
T F I T F H SHI S
Mark Tucker, MEd is an author, speaker and award-winning educator with twelve years’ experience teaching high school and leadership to youth. He now writes and leads trainings that help youth advocates communicate and reach young people more effectively. Mark teamed with best-selling author Jennifer Powers to bring her powerful Oh, shift! ™ message to teens. They collaborated again to produce the Oh, shift! ™ for Teens Workbook and Facilitator’s Guide. To learn more visit www.ohshift.com or contact him at: mark@nlivenyou.com
Visit www.ohshift.com or email info@ohshift.com
Weightlessness does not exist!
Weightlessness is an illusion…a sensation; it is not real. Astronauts who are orbiting the Earth often experience sensations of weightlessness. These sensations experienced by orbiting astronauts are the same sensations experienced by anyone who has been temporarily suspended by jumping off a pool high dive, sky diving, bungee jumping or maybe an amusement park ride.
Not only are the sensations the same (for astronauts and roller coaster riders), but the causes of those sensations of weightlessness are also the same. Unfortunately however, many people have difficulty understanding the causes of the illusion of weightlessness. The cause of weightlessness is quite simple to understand. However, the things we thought we knew or thought were facts often stand in the way of our ability to understand the scientific truth. Consider the following multiple choice question about weightlessness as a test of your preconceived notions on the topic:
Astronauts on the orbiting space station are weightless because... a. There is no gravity in space and they do not weigh anything? b. Space is a vacuum and there is no gravity in a vacuum.? c. Space is a vacuum and there is no air resistance in a vacuum? d. The astronauts are far from Earth’s surface at a location where gravitation has a minimal effect.?
If you picked any of the given choices …….you are incorrect. (sorry) If you really believe in any one of the above statements, then it might take a little convincing to understand the real cause of weightlessness. As is the case on many topics, some unlearning must first be done before doing the correct learning. Put another way: it’s not what you don’t know that makes learning a difficult task; it’s what you think you already know that makes learning a difficult task. So if you do have a strong belief about what weightlessness is, you need to be aware of that you might be wrong from a scientific perspective.
Contact versus Non-Contact Forces Gravity is always pulling us down. As we walk, we are balancing with each step to keep gravity from pulling us over….better known as falling down. The only thing preventing us from falling to the center of the earth is the ground. Our physical contact with the ground prevents gravity from completing its effort to pull us further down. This contact with the ground or Earth,
is called “Contact Force”. Sitting in a chair interferes with gravity pulling us to the ground, so our body in the chair or contact with the chair becomes a Contact Force.
On the other hand, if someone were you pull the chair (Contact Force) out from under you, you would suddenly continue to fall from gravity until
your fall was once again interrupted by another Contact Force; probably the floor. If there is nothing to interfere with your falling, this is called: “Non-Contact Force” That makes sense, right? You’ve just had a lesson, maybe your first, in Physics.
Now to the point. Why do
astronauts float with the illusion and sensation of weightlessness? Simple. They are constantly falling while in space. The interesting part is they are falling around the earth (in orbit) rather than toward the earth. While in orbit, they are traveling about 24,000 miles per hour around the earth which does not allow gravity to grab them and pull them down. The faster they orbit, the less strength gravity has on them. So how do they come back to earth? That’s simple too….they just slow down. The slower they go, the more earth’s gravity can pull on them and once they slow enough, gravity pulls them violently downward to earth. This allows them to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and drop by parachute or land like the space shuttle. If I throw a baseball or a football, it doesn’t drop to the ground, but rather seems to float through the air for a while until it slows down and gravity pulls it to the grass. The harder you throw the ball, the longer it stays in the air.
The faster astronauts travel in orbit, the longer they stay in space. The big difference is that in space there is no air to slow them down. Air molecules create resistance and slow down anything that tries to go fast through it, like a car or plane or you running. In space where there is no air to slow things down so spacecraft like the Shuttle, Space Station and satellites keep going fast for much, much longer and are able to stay in space for long periods of time. The force of gravity can never be felt because our bodies are designed to function in this gravity. Yet those forces that result from contact can be felt, such as falling down or crashing your bike. In the case of sitting in your chair, you can feel the chair force; your body is pushing down against the seat of the chair and it is this feeling or force that provides you with a sensation of weight.
The gravitational force of Earth would make a falling object accelerate at 9.81 m/ second squared (if there is no resistance).
Weightlessness is only a sensation; it is not a reality. People don’t suddenly have no weight. As you are free falling like a sky diver, you have not suddenly lost all your weight. The sensation or illusion of weightlessness has very little to do with weight and mostly to do with the presence or absence of forces. Many people believe that orbiting astronauts are weightless because they do not experience a force of gravity. To think that the absence of gravity is the cause of the weightlessness experienced by orbiting astronauts would be incorrect because there is never an absence
of gravity‌..anywhere.
Everything always weighs something. Everything is always falling.
“One of my favorite
S.T.E.M. Careers�
Bug Exterminator As with many careers, it’s not
until we take a closer look at it that we discover the complexities and S.T.E.M. applications used everyday.
The Bug Exterminator is one of those.
The SCIENCE of extermination: Organophosphate Pesticides - These pesticides affect the nervous system by disrupting the enzyme that regulates acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. Most organophosphates are insecticides. Some are very poisonous (they were used in World War II as nerve agents). However, they usually are not persistent in the environment. Carbamate Pesticides affect the nervous system by disputing an enzyme that regulates acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. The enzyme effects are usually reversible. There are several subgroups within the carbamates. Organochlorine Insecticides were commonly used in the past, but many have been removed from the market due to their health and environmental effects and their persistence (e.g. DDT and chlordane). Pyrethroid Pesticides were developed as a synthetic version of the naturally occurring pesticide pyrethrin, which is found in chrysanthemums. They have been modified to increase their stability in the environment. Some synthetic pyrethroids are toxic to the nervous system.
Chemicals such as these can be VERY dangerous to children, pets and even adults if not used for the appropriate reasons in the correct doses. The responsibility of the exterminator is to determine which chemical is right for each pest and use the correct one keeping in mind the location it will be affecting. Are there children in the area? Will your dog or cat come in contact with it? How much is enough or too much? This is just a taste of extermination science.
The TECHNOLOGY of extermination: How the chemicals are delivered to the area, either by spray, tablet, tape, aerosol, gel, or some other, the proper technology delivery must be used for chemical effectiveness and safety. You can just throw some poison down and walk away. What is the safest, yet most effective and how long will it last? How it’s applied can be an important part of the answer.
The ENGINEERING of extermination:
determine the best way to spread or deliver the chemicals.
Since the engineering method is a decision making process, here’s how it would work for the exterminator.
5. After application, I will see if it worked, make sure it was safely applied and see how long it lasts.
1. What’s the problem bug?
That is the decision making process
2. What are the possible chemicals that can be used to exterminate them?
called the Engineering Method. We use it every day to make decisions about everything. Try and think about how you have already used it today.
3. Which of the chemical choices is the safest but most effective for the place I need to use them? 4. After making my choice, I will
The MATH of extermination: This part of the S.T.E.M. process is
just as important as the others and in some ways more so. Mixing the raw chemicals in the right amounts and combinations takes exact mathematical calculations. It may be simply measuring them using a measuring cup or specialized cylinder, but no mistakes are allowed. The math of extermination is fairly basic, but you still have to calculate the right mixture of chemicals to cover the need area in square feet in the right strength with the right delivery system. We will always need bug exterminators making it a dependable S.T.E.M. career field everywhere in the nation. As bugs build up defenses against our current chemicals, new ones will be designed and the exterminator will have to adapt and get continuing education about how to use them in the S.T.E.M. formula.
Exterminators may work for a company or be their own boss. The salary for the average American exterminator is about $30,000 per year, but may be as high as $42,000 in some regions with over-time or weekends. The next time your exterminator comes over, check out what they do and remember it’s a challenging and complicated S.T.E.M. career. If you love bugs and want a career being close to them, there are careers available for you.
Wayne Carley Publisher
ELVIS
Meets STEM
Over the past several years, my group at the University of Colorado (XSci.org) has been closely examining the resurgence of experiential learning, specifically as applied to STEM. Our work with both students and educators, in and out of classrooms and within professional learning programs, has resulted in new insights into the nature and application of experiential methods to forge personal relevance to STEM topics as well as to engage new audiences who do not traditionally self-select for STEM. In this article, I introduce a new tool based on this research and intended to serve as a guide for educators, instructional designers, and evaluators alike: ELVIS - the Experiential Learning Variables and Indicators Scale. But first, let’s put ELVIS in context with a quick look at what experiential learning actually is -- as there seems to be some confusion about it (no, it is not an outdoor ropes course‌ although those can be fun!).
Experiential learning is very old, arguably the oldest form of human learning. But it has recently taken on many trendy disguises: hands-on learning, hands-on-minds-on learning, inquiry based learning, project based learning, problem based learning, service learning, and others. However, at their core, experientially based learning strategies have a long history rooted in the early work of John Dewey and later evolved in work by Piaget, Kurt Hahn, Paulo Freire, Vygotsky, Kolb, Jarvis, and many others. Experiential education is best understood as a philosophy of education, in contrast to learning methodologies such as didactic or rote learning that are mostly concerned with knowledge delivery. Experiential education, however, is concerned with learning from direct first-person experience and a holistic perspective that goes beyond content to include the construction of knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and transfer of learning. By definition, experiential learning places the locus of control and focus of the process directly within learners. John Quay at the University of Melbourne describes learning through experience as occurring at the level of
the individual (constructivism), the small group (social constructionism), and culture (cultural discourses). There have been several attempts to describe experiential learning in terms of staged experiential learning cycles. David Kolb’s 4-stage cycle remains the most famous and most cited. Kolb asserts, “learning is the process whereby
knowledge is created through the transformation of experience.” In Kolb’s model, the learning cycle can begin at any point in the circle and is considered a continuous process.
However, there is clearly a transition from concreteness to abstractness, or what is often interpreted as linkage of specific experiences to more general principles prior to any attempts at learning transfer to new situations. This transition occurs through processes of observation and reflection combined with forms of external and internal feedback. This element of reflection is
a keystone component of Kolb’s model and indeed many learning theories, for it provides pathways to individual meaning–making and links current experiences to prior learning.
And yet, it is also among the most persistent criticism of experiential learning theories, in the form of a lack of sufficient attention to the processes of reflection itself within the learner. While reflection has certainly been identified as a primary feature of experiential learning in general, it has proven to be most elusive for the field to penetrate or even usefully describe. This may in part be a symptom of a larger problem facing proponents of experiential learning models, and that is a general lack of research evidence to support such theories. Important questions surround all proposed experiential learning cycles. For example, do people really progress through such sequential stages? If so, how many stages are there; one, four, fifty? Can discrete stages actually be delineated or indicated by evidence? Can any one model describe the experiential learning process for all or even most people? Curiously, the utility of such models may lie more in their prescriptive value for education and training purposes than in their descriptive value. For instance, it may well be entirely beside
“.....reflection has certainly been identified as a primary feature of experiential learning�
the point whether or not learners actually cognitively progress through the various stages of a given experiential learning cycle if the model employed is a successful organizing principle for designing and framing a learning experience for both educators and their students. Such models may be pedagogically valuable to practitioners as structural frameworks around which to center a designed learning opportunity. Our work at XSci has taken important cues from the late psychologist Jerome Bruner and his notions of “Discovery Learning.”
ELVIS has left the magazine until next
month, but part II continues in June.
“Thank you very much.” Dr. Brad McLain XSci
http://XperienceSTEM.com