Transcript Chapter 6. Clicker Questions

My name is K. W. Nicholson
I teach math and physics at
CACC
Brief Resume
1967
Tehran, Iran
1973
Sydney,
Australia
1993
Began
attending TYC
meetings
1998
Marie Plum
&
John Taylor Gatto
Next few years
rd
3
watching
graders & Science
Team’ers
Idea:
What if we
taught Football
like we teach
physics?
2008
STEM Camp Recruitment
Observed ridicule of students
interested in STEM first hand.
Also watched
STEM Camp’ers
react to
Lego competitions.
CACC Physics Department
Road Show Part I
The Education Problem
Nat’l Bureau of Labor, 1996:
“America needs to produce 750,000 engineers by 2006.
We only produced 440,000. “ Source: ASE
The number of people majoring in engineering dropped
15% even though college enrollment increased by 15%
during that period.
China produced 450,000 engineers in 2006
alone. Source: USA Today News
Excerpts from
"Clueless In America"
by Bob Herbert, New, York Times
April 22, 2008
• 'We have one of the highest dropout
rates in the industrialized world'
- Allan Golston
• Many students get a first-rate education
in the public schools, but they represent
too small a fraction of the whole to save us
all from disaster.
- Allan Golston
• “When I compare our high schools with
what I see when I’m traveling abroad, I am
terrified for our work force of tomorrow.”
• “By obsolete, I don’t just mean that they
are broken, flawed or under funded.
• By obsolete, I mean our high schools —
even when they’re working as designed —
cannot teach all our students what they
need to know today.” - Bill Gates
Male students
make up 82%
of that 40%.
Adults who don't finish high school in the U.S. earn
65 percent of what people who have high school
degrees make, according to a new report comparing
industrialized nations. No other country had such a
severe income gap.
So, I’m no economist but, it seems to me that:
If the number of dropouts is increasing,
Then average income is decreasing,
Which means people have less money to spend,
Which is bad for business in general.
So, enough about the problems,
what’s my plan to do something
about it?
I’m glad you asked. Here’s The Plan
What? Build a Science Team
Why ? To duplicate the methods used
in sports.
How? Provide stipends for science
team members.
CACC Physics Department
Road Show Part VI
Science Teamers
Target Audience for This Proposal
Dadeville elementary
Stephens elementary
Horseshoe bend k12
Central elementary coosa county
Reeltown k12
What we need
We need a four person team for each school.
So we need 20 Science Team members.
The idea is to
teach math &
science like we
teach football.
The Science Team will:
Do science activities with 2 third grade classes
Coach "mini lego league" for grades 4 - 6 in
spring
Coach real First Lego League (FLL) team for
grades 5 - 8 for state competition for six weeks
in fall.
Organize a First Tech Competition (FTC)
team for grades 7-9 and perhaps even a FIRST
Robotics Competition (FRC) or a BEST team
for grades 10 - 12.
How much will it cost?
Third Grade Science Team activities - Free.
Mini Lego League - “Nearly” Free
Cost will be a major factor for First Tech
competition, (FTC) and
FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC).
Here are the costs in round figures,
which include robot kits and registration fees, with some
added for miscellaneous costs.
"mini lego league”
a lego mindstorm kit and a computer,
both of which I am prepared to provide for free.
Cost of a Mindstorm Robotics kit is $275
FLL - $500
FTC - $1500
FRC - $7000 - $10000,
plus, a professional engineer as a mentor is
required, deep pocket sponsors also highly
recommended. Might get some sort of grant to
support this.
How much should we pay Science
Team members?
$1000 each semester
These scholarships can be used to buy tuition or
anything needed from the bookstore.
These scholarships will be awarded in
conjunction with any other scholarships students
have obtained.
Dual enrollment students should be eligible for
these scholarships
Why do I believe the Robot
competitions are the correct
mechanism for this objective?
From personal observations of
the STEM camp lego
competitions and the following:
What Can A First Lego League Do
For Our Young People?
(FIRST Robotics Competition is the
high school version of FIRST LEGO
LEAGUE)
2005 independent study by Brandeis
University, funded by the Ford Foundation
» FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) alumni who
graduated between 1999 and 2003
» Teams from metropolitan areas, including schools
serving low-income,
inner-city populations
» Diverse group, including substantial numbers of
minorities (56%) and women (41%),and students
from families with limited educational background
Compared to a group of students with
similar backgrounds and achievement
in high-school math and science,
FIRST alumni are:
» Significantly more likely to attend college
» Twice as likely to major in science and engineering
» 10 times as likely to have had an apprenticeship,
internship, or co-op job in their college freshman
year
» More than twice as likely to expect to have a
science or technology-related career after college
Case Histories:
»Just 5 years ago, East Tech, an urban high
school located in
the center of Clevelands most impoverished
housing project
was slated for closing.
What FIRST opened up for these students can
be seen in their achievements.We've become the
science/engineering magnet school for all the
district. More students try out for the FIRST
team than for football and basketball combined.
12 students, including 5 females, representing the
first class to experience four years in FIRST,
all from inner city neighborhoods, all received
scholarships and went on to the following schools:
Case Western Reserve; Cornell; MIT; University of
Dayton; Cleveland State; Air Force Academy;
Ohio State; Allegheny College; Mount Union
College; Georgetown.
Mr. Jerome Seppelt FIRST Program Manager,
East Technical High School, Cleveland,OH
» At Chatsworth High School in inner city Los
Angeles, where 60% of students graduate
and less than half go on to college, every FIRST
participant graduated on time, attended
college and many enrolled in Honors and Advanced
Placement courses
» At Joseph C.Wilson High in inner city Rochester,
NY,
every FIRST team member has graduated.
Graduates have attended Cornell, Harvard, Penn
State, Rensselear Polytechnical
Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology,
Stanford, SUNY and Tufts
» At Pennsylvanias William Penn High School, about 17% of
students drop out, 50% do not attend college.
Every FIRST participant has graduated and gone on to college
or technical school.
The 01-02 team received more than $250,000 in scholarships
» Only one partnership has caused a fundamental change in
both our institution and the young people it serves. FIRST has
inspired and revitalized the Wilson teachers.The effect on our
young people has been a profound one. Never in my long
experience as a high school principal have students been so
totally absorbed in a project.
Suzanne Johnston
Principal, Joseph C.Wilson Magnet High School,
Rochester, NY
The Science Team Proposal
2009 version
The Governor’s Address
Governor Bob Riley
State Capitol
Montgomery, Al 36130
Chancellor Freida Hill
P.O. Box 302130
Montgomery, AL 36130-2130
Email : [email protected]
State Superintendent of Education
Joseph B. Morton Ph.D.
P.O. Box 302101
Montgomery, AL 36130-2101
Email: [email protected]
CACC Physics Department
Road Show Part II
Stem Campers
The Science Team Proposals
2010 & 2011 versions are located on
the webpage for this workshop, and
also at:
http://caccphysics.cacc.cc.al.us.html
Under the link “Science Team
Proposals”
Last Spring – Introduced Lego
Robots to 24 kids at Radney
Elementary.
Last Fall- Took 4- six person teams
to FLL qualifier in Birmingham, and
a 10-person to the Alabama State
Championship.
This Spring
Held a one day workshop for teachers from Dadeville,
Horseshoe Bend, Radney and Stephens elementary
schools.
We had 2 person teams for the training phase.
We’ve divided up into 4 person teams for the
competition phase.
7 teams at Stephens Mon & Wed
4 teams at HSB Tuesday
4 teams at Radney Tuesday & Thursday
18 person team at Dadeville Monday & Tuesday
We are hosting our Spring Training
Competition at CACC on March 10
from
7:30 AM til 3 PM
Y’all Come Watch!
This Stuff
really works.
Need Help!