Tag Archives: Science

Young Inventors, Designers & Innovative Thinkers with PBS LearningMedia

March 6, 2013, 11:09 am • Posted by Almetria Vaba
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Scientist Profile: Inventor

Scientist Profile: Inventor

Spark your students' curiosity in engineering and technology by introducing them to the designers, inventors, and clever thinkers featured in PBS LearningMedia. Use their stories to illustrate various themes of study like the engineering design process and the impact of technology. For free access to PBS LearningMedia, register today!

Designing a Wheelchair for Rugby
Grades 6-12 | Video | Inventions
See what happens when a U.S. Paralympic athlete challenges two teams of high school students to build an automated wheelchair. Use this segment to initiate a design challenge in your own classroom.

Wind Energy Fuels Jobs for Oklahoma Youth
Grades 6-13+ | Video | Innovations 
How can your students affect the world around them? Use this video segment about wind energy to illustrate the real-world impact of an innovative idea.

Scientist Profile: Inventor
Grades 4-6 | Video | Inventions
Get your class excited about great ideas! Introduce them to Ryan Patterson, teen scientist and inventor of an electronic sign language translator glove.

Kid Designer: A Comfortable Cardboard Chair
Grades 3-12 | Video | Inventions
Introduce your class to this industrious young designer who demonstrates how to construct a sturdy chair out of cardboard.

A House for Teddy Bear
Grades K-2 | Video | Problem Solving
See these young learners engaged in problem solving and trial-and-error design! Consider replicating this project in your own classroom to reinforce lessons on design, construction, and experimentation.

Sid's Amazing Invention
PreK-1 | Video | Problem Solving
Sid believes that he has invented the ultimate solution to putting away his toys, later to learn that his invention is actually a simple machine called a lever. Invite young learners to explore the function of a lever alongside Sid and his friends.

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In the Classroom: A SLANT Approach to Learning at the Paul Revere School

January 31, 2013, 10:55 am • Posted by Matthew Williams
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SLANT

Cynthia Vasquez teaches her Pre-K students at the Paul Revere School in San Francisco with the methodology of learning through play. Her approach is influenced by a group of teachers from the San Francisco Unified School District's SLANT (Science, Literacy, Arts, and Technology) program where she explores ways of integrating each of these disciplines into her students' learning objectives.

In this installment of In the Classroom, Ms. Vasquez has selected the unit of study "things that roll (or do not roll)" and we see her students explore this theme in a variety of playful activities derived from their curiosity and desire to learn through play.

Although many Pre-K learning models emulate play, Ms. Vasquez argues that this approach can serve students at all grade levels where they become more active, following their curiosity and inquiry to perhaps stimulate a growth in academic achievement and an interest in becoming life long learners.

See the video below:

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Five Resources for Soaring to Space

January 9, 2013, 9:41 am • Posted by Almetria Vaba
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Space exploration allows for an interdisciplinary moment between science and social studies. Use these 5 PBS LearningMedia resources to add richness and depth to your lessons.  PBS LearningMedia has thousands more classroom-ready media to enhance classroom learning.

1.  Hubble’s Expanding Universe Video(4:14) Grades:  6-12

Use this video and accompanying support material to spark astronomy fascination among your students featuring a view into Edwin Hubble’s discoveries: galaxies outside of our own and the constantly expanding universe.

2. Building Curiosity: Rover Rocks Rocker-Bogie Video (2:00) Grades: 9-12

Use this NASA video to show a behind-the-scenes view of how NASA engineers designed Curiosity to be sturdy but light and to be highly maneuverable and stable. Curiosity is NASA’s Mars rover that will, over a 23-month mission, collect and analyze Martian soil and rock samples.

3.  Mass vs. Weight: Introduction Video (5:42) Grades: 6-12

In this video from NASA's Teaching From Space initiative, two astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) describe mass and weight and the differences between the two. Embedded animations and demonstrations support the video's learning goals and are highly entertaining.

4. Life on Mars? Video (2:59) Grades: 6-12

With this video and additional support material, invite your class to ponder the mysteries of water on Mars. Assess the clues and learn the facts behind the discovery of ice on the red planet. Delve into the question: Could evidence of life exist in buried ice?

5. Gabriela Talks to an Astronaut Video (2:10) Grades: Pre-K-1

Use this video to how your young students how astronauts train and what astronauts do. Your class will learn directly from an astronaut engineer who helps build and fix things in space.

 

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Do Now #56: Concussions in Sports

January 8, 2013, 9:57 pm • Posted by Andrea Swensrud
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To respond to the Do Now, you can comment below or tweet your response. Be sure to begin your tweet with @KQEDEdspace and end it with #KQEDDoNow

For more info on how to use Twitter, click here.

Do Now

Should professional and amateur sports have stricter rules to prevent injuries like concussions? Why or why not? Please provide a suggestion that could tackle this issue.

Introduction

Concussions are not rare occurrences in contact sports, such as football. And this is not only for the pros, but for college, high school and even younger athletes. An article in the New York Times reports that half of all high school football players have had at least one concussion and 35 percent have had two or more. With about 1.3 million high school football players in the U.S., that adds up to a lot of concussions.

A concussion is an injury to the brain, caused by a traumatic blow to the head, or rapid acceleration and deceleration of the head, often from a hit. Concussions can be hard to diagnose because a doctor can't "see" a concussion like an x-ray can show a broken bone. Doctors have had to rely on patients reporting symptoms, which include loss of consciousness, loss of memory, difficulty thinking or concentrating, dizziness, headaches and nausea. For most people, recovery from a concussion happens in 7-10 days, but, for others, some symptoms can last months or years. For youth, concussions may be especially damaging because their brains are still developing. And scientists believe that there are cumulative long-term effects from enduring multiple concussions.

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Filed under: 6 -12 Science, Do Now, Science
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Five Resources for Engaging in the Microscopic World of Cells

December 13, 2012, 10:07 am • Posted by Almetria Vaba
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Teaching about cells can be a bit abstract. Often, classroom microscopes are not capable of illuminating tiny cells and structures and textbook images never quite do the amazing cell justice. Current media resources however, can be just the thing to engage students in this microscopic world!

In the Cellular Structure and Function activity from PBS LearningMedia, multiple media resources (Grades: 6-12) can be woven together for a virtual tour of the cell.

1. Gallery of Cells Images

Students start by viewing images of a variety of specialized cells.  At all levels of organization in the living world, form and function go hand in hand. Take the cell, for example. A cell's DNA determines the size and shape of the cell as well as its role in the host organism or environment. These images illustrate the variety of forms cells can take, suggesting the myriad functions performed by cells in the human body and in other life forms.

2. Nucleus, Cytoplasm, Membrane Video (4:21)

With this video clip, students learn the three main parts of a cell -- the nucleus, cytoplasm, and cell membrane -- and can discuss generally what each part does. What constitutes a cell? More than any other structures, it's the nucleus, cytoplasm, and membrane. Explore the form and function of these three critical cell parts in this video segment.

3. Cell Membrane: Just Passing Through Interactive

With this interactive game, students explore the gatekeeper role of the cell membrane.  There may be a dozen different types of materials passing through the membrane of a cell at any one time. The job of the membrane is to regulate this movement in order to maintain the proper balance of ions, water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients, and other molecules. This interactive feature illustrates the movement of some of these materials and describes the structures that make it possible.

4.  Organelles in the Cytoplasm Video (6:06)

Follow up by examining in more detail the organelles located in the cytoplasm. Much like complex organisms with organs that perform specific tasks, cells have many organelles that keep them functioning properly. Explore some of a cell's most important structures in this video segment.

5. Animal and Plant Cell Images

There are some striking differences between plants and animals, especially vertebrate animals. But how different are human cells from the cells of a plant? Students will compare the two images provided.

 

With numerous engaging media activities woven together, it is no wonder these resources were a top hit with California educators last month!

 

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Four Great Sites for Teaching About the Science of Winter Sports

December 12, 2012, 1:46 pm • Posted by Andrea Swensrud
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photo by Arthur Mouratidis/Wikimedia Commons

Winter break is just around the corner! And there's a good chance that some of your students will be watching or participating in winter sports during the break or over the next few months. Engage students with examples of scientific concepts in action! Teach about the science of skiing, ice hockey, snowboarding, ice skating and more with the following multimedia resources.

  1. Science of the Olympic Winter Games (NBC Learn)
    NBC Learn, in partnership with the National Science Foundation, delves into the physics, chemistry and engineering behind various sports of the Winter Olympics. A collection of 16 videos covers topics including the connection between speed skating and Newton's Laws of Motion, the engineering of skis for different ski-based sports and the physics of ski jumping.
  2. Inside the Action (The New York Times)
    This collection of six videos, created for the 2010 Winter Olympics by the New York Times, uses video footage, animation and graphics to break down and analyze various "tricks." Discover how snowboarders, skiers and figure skaters execute their winning moves and runs.
  3. The Science of Hockey (Exploratorium)
    This site from the Exploratorium incorporates video and text to examine the sport of ice hockey. It explores questions like, "Why is ice slippery?," "What's in a puck?" and "How do you hit a puck 100 miles per hour?"
  4. How It's Made: Snowboard (Discovery)
    Learn the process of making a snowboard in this video from Discovery. A great opportunity to investigate the crucial role of science in the manufacturing of materials.
Filed under: 6 -12 Science, Science
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PD Module #2: Narrated Slideshows for Science Education (self-paced)

December 11, 2012, 11:40 am • Posted by Matthew Williams
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Today, science demands sophisticated skills not generally taught as part of standard science curricula. Ideally, science instructional strategies teach a body of knowledge and cultivate other abilities required for the practice of science. For example the scientific community values collaboration and teamwork, critical and focused observation, the use of technology for data collection, evaluation of information, and communication skills. All of these skills can be cultivated through the use of media making projects. For this reason, student media-making projects are an excellent way to introduce these 21st century proficiencies.

A good first-step media project to use with students is a narrated slideshow. The programs used to make one are relatively simple and students can either take their own photos or find properly licensed images on the web in addition to using their own voice to narrate the story. KQED has developed a new tool for educators to assist in the understanding of how to create a slideshow as well as the implementation of such a project in the science classroom.

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Filed under: 6 -12 Science, Online Training Modules, Science, Teacher Trainings
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Do Now Round Up: Nuclear Energy

December 3, 2012, 12:45 pm • Posted by Matthew Williams
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Last month's science Do Now looked at the viability of using nuclear energy as an energy source. We asked students what they think about expanding the use of nuclear energy in California? Here are some of their responses.

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Why Can't Girls Be Machine Engineers?

June 28, 2012, 10:10 am • Posted by Matthew Williams
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Kam Gan, a Chinese immigrant living in San Francisco, may not have ever thought it possible to go into engineering as a career. But an after school program in robotics has inspired her to envision an education — and eventually a job — in this male-dominated field. Watch the video below.

Co-produced by Tina Barseghian from KQED MindShift as part of our My Education project.

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Permission to Make: Adam Savage

May 24, 2012, 8:30 pm • Posted by Matthew Williams
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photo by Inkyhack/Flickr

MythBusters host Adam Savage has a thing or two to say about the importance of tinkering — even if that means it gets messy.

“If you don’t get a chance to fail, if you don’t get a chance to try things and not get them right the first time, and you keep on doing it until you do get that specific kind of success, then you become so risk-averse that you in fact get an allergy to trying new things. And that is the worst thing we can do to kids.”

At Maker Faire last weekend, Savage spoke about how the “maker culture” is the engine that will fuel kids’ love for — and excelling in — math and science.

Here’s to that maker spirit!

Produced by Joanne Elgart Jennings and Matthew Williams. Photos in the video by Patrick Giblin.

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