When curiosity is sparked...

I was honored to give a presentation yesterday to colleagues in Utah on strategies to promote engagement in the sciences when teaching in a 100% distance learning setting.

Rather than share an exhaustive list og best practices (which are constantly evolving), I decided to give participants a snap shot of my current thinking on distance learning science pedagogy which is heavily informed by constant reflective practice.

​Click here for a link to a PDF of the presentation which features my top four current strategies. I am sure these will change...but sharing reflection and iteration, I feel, is very powerful. At least for me. And it's my blog. :) 

If you are a high school or college science teacher teaching online right now, or an educator looking for ways to promote critical thinking, spacial reason, and computation thinking in the context of service to those impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic, and encourage you to check out Foldit.. 

Foldit is a multiplayer game that empowers students to learn how to manipulate, and develop, various protein structures. Players progress through various levels where they learn, subtly, about protein folding, hydrophobic/hydrophilic side chains, and protein receptor interaction.

​Special "puzzles" have been developed that challenge users to develop proteins to be used as biological pharmaceuticals to bind COVID-19 Spike Protein. Top designs are actually synthesized and test for efficacy! Check out the below videos to learn more about Foldit! 

I will be using Foldit in the following ways:

• Chemistry: To help reinforce concepts around polarity and IMFs.
• Biochemistry; To help reinforce concepts around Protein Structure.
• Engineering: To introduce students to current advancements in Chemical Engineering. 

Pennies made after 1982 are ~ 95% zinc with a plated copper exterior. Thus, a penny contains two metals and can, if manipulated properly, be converted into a battery. See video below: 

This video is LEGIT, and upon seeing it, my gut was to provide students with this video, the materials, and let them go at it as an introduction to our unit on energy in Biology class. (Mitochondria metaphor, etc.). 

Then I remembered the research on curiosity! The goal is to intentionally withhold the IDEAL amount of information.

Peak interest, but create suspense. Provide enough information as to not demotivate, but leave enough out as to keep the learner guessing.

​The below "inverted U" graph of Curiosity vs. Knowledge (knowledge confidence), provides a great visual.

Inspect it carefully.

Have all the info. Not curious. Have no info. Not curious. Withhold the ideal amount. Curious. 

So, back to the initial activity. I fear that if I give students the above video, as awesome as it is, the activity will transition from science to "arts and crafts".

I fear that by providing the video, I will provide too much information, push students to the far right of the "inverted U" and minimize curiosity.

DESPITE how engaging the activity is! 

The engagement lies not in the video quality, or the task, but the anticipation of what will happen. 
The frustration in not knowing exactly what will happen, or how to do it. 
The tension that is built when the instructor perfectly provides and withholds.
The cognitive reward the learner receives when that tension is revealed.
We all love solving riddles. 

​This is the true "Call to Adventure". 

So here is what I'm going to do instead. 

Step 1: Tell students that electrons can flow spontaneously through a material when two different metals are connected through a conductive solution. 

Step 2: Tell students that pennies after 1982 are platted with copper. 

Step 3: Provide students with the exact materials shown in the screenshot from the video above. Include the video title "How to Make a Penny Battery from Start to Finish" in the below image as a strategy for pushing students directly under the "inverted U" shown above. 

Step 4: Challenge students to light the LED using only the materials provided in the above image. Remove internet privileges to ensure that information is strategically withheld and students do not look up the above video. 

Step 5: Play the above video. 

Step 6: Treat this as the first  two"Es" (Engage and Explore) in the 5E Learning cycle. Continue on with lesson. Etc., etc. 

*Note: The below lesson is only an outline meant to encourage deeper thinking about the 5E cycle. 

Standard
NGSS: HS-LS2-3: ​Construct and revise an explanation based on evidence for the cycling of matter and flow of energy in aerobic and anaerobic conditions. 

Display the below image and ask the question: What are you curious about?
Desired student questions include, but are not limited to, the below: 

• How does blood relate to cycling?
• Does this apply to other sports?
• Does this have to do with "Blood Doping"? 
• Does this have to do with Lance Armstrong? 
• Are there more red blood cells than normal? 
• Does this have to do with energy and exercise? 

​
*Purpose: To surface content related  questions without explicitly asking students. 

Teach how to leverage Arduino Uno to create their own Pulse Oximeter. Click here for instructions and materials. Once complete challenge students to design and conduct an experiment to determine the impact that various types of exercises and activities (breathing through a straw, etc.) have on pulse and oxygen saturation. Students will then hypothesize the relationship between pulse, oxygen saturation and energy use. Experiment must be conducted using appropriate research design methodology. (Control, independent, dependent variables outlined clearly) 

*Purpose: To challenge students to think deeper about energy during exercise and strain, as well as revisit research methodology and promote crosscutting NGSS integration such as engineering, etc. into the lesson. By not addressing "Blood Doping" directly, students are left wondering the relationship between the "Engage" and "Explore" phase further intensifying their curiosity and desire for more content. 

Conduct a lesson on Cellular Respiration, clearly outlining and diagraming the process of Glycolysis, Krebs cycle, and defining organelles such as the cytosol and the mitochondria. Once complete, ask the driving question: How does the processes outlined relate to "Blood Doping". After students share their responses, play the video below: 

*Purpose: To deliver basic content (diagrams, processes, vocabulary) to help students make a deeper connection between the "Engage" and "Explore" phases. 

Pose the below medical case study to students and challenge them to:

1. Diagnose the patient.
2. Explain diagnosis in the context of new information above (Cellular Respiration, etc.). 
3. Pose a treatment plan

Case
A, 23-year-old, 5’ 9”, 105 lb, caucasian female presented in her physician’s office with a sudden onset of weight loss along, pain when urinating, and chronic extreme hunger. The patient also reported a strange mold-like substance forming in her toilet over the past week.  

*Purpose: To facilitate connection between information obtained during the "Explain" phase and applications of content in the "real world" (note: I hate the term "real world" but application can extend beyond medical diagnostics, etc.). 

• Quiz, test, etc. 

Currently my freshman Biology class is concluding a unit on cell division.

Rather than the typical unit where students memorize the phases of the "Mitosis" (Anaphase, Metaphase...blah, blah), I decided to take a more applicable, perhaps controversial perspective, and teach the unit through a lens of the Cell Cycle checkpoints, and in particular, cancer biology. 

After acquiring parent and administrative permission, as I wanted to be sensitive to student personal experience with Cancer, we embarked a 5E/Hero's Journey, learning cycle. Click here for the entire learning cycle. 

For the "Application" phase of the learning cycle, rather than have students research and present the current state of cancer detection and treatment. I challenge them with the below prompt: 

After reflecting on what we have learned thus far about cancer treatments, and assuming unlimited resources, develop your own comprehensive cancer treatment idea. Click here to share for details on your submission. (groups of 2-3).

With a basic understanding of the Cell Cycle, regulatory proteins, immunology and cellular respiration (The Warburg Effect), students came up with incredible ideas that combined not only information we have learned this year, but also mirrored many of the current cancer treatments without zero prior knowledge of the treatments themselves. 

Today in class (12/10/2018) we will crowdsource individual team ideas, with the goal of developing a comprehensive treatment plan that students can choose to further develop. Our modo: If Jack can do it, so we can we! 

Click here for view only access to today's document that contains  team idea summaries and a space for our collaborative solution (in progress).