Science process/inquiry skills are notoriously difficult to assess in isolation. As a result, we often see assessments that “test” process skills through multiple choice questions:  “choose the best hypothesis based on the sample experiment shown above.”  Despite the ubiquity of multiple choice, we know that these types of questions are a two-dimensional means of assessing most knowledge, particularly process skills.  Even if a student selects the correct answer, he or she may still have difficulty creating his or her own hypothesis if the answer choices were removed.  Multiple choice assessments create good test takers but not good real-world problem solvers. Worchester Polytechnic Institute’s Janice D. Gobert, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology and learning sciences, might have the answer to this dilemma.

Dr. Gobert and her team developed a method to assess middle school students’ process skills using “microworlds,” a virtual lab simulation that uses open-ended response to capture student understanding in a way that multiple choice cannot.  Thus far, the team’s results have been promising – initial findings show that students could still demonstrate the skills they acquired six months prior. 

The crux of Gobert’s work rests on shifting how we approach concept of knowledge: rather than using a top-down approach (also known as knowledge engineering), where a predefined pathway is laid out to reach a specific point of knowledge according to pedagogical theory, Gobert believes that a bottom-up approach using educational data mining and machine learning is more effective.  This approach aims to find the best way to learn a topic, based on how thousands of students interact with the concept in the microworld. 

One challenge is the manual input required by this approach, which can complicate scalability.  Each student’s open-ended responses need to be hand scored and coded and then added to a database in order to increase the systems’ accuracy in automatically scoring a student’s process skills knowledge.

The potential for these systems is huge.  Several companies and organizations, including the Rice Center for Digital Learning and Scholarship, are diligently working to make such systems a reality, but approaches differ.  Dr. Richard Baraniuk, Victor E. Cameron Professor of electrical engineering and computer engineering at Rice University, argues that hand coding is not a feasible option for making large scale machine learning platforms.  The amount of data processed by these systems is immense – having slews of programmers grading and hand coding the relationships between the data sets would make any resulting product prohibitively expensive.

Still, the power of machine learning systems might justify the expense.  Teachers need not fear though: even if large, robust machine learning systems were available for your students tomorrow, the power of hands-on problem based learning, authentic teacher interventions, and full scale science projects would not disappear.  In fact, learning experiences such as these may amplify the teacher's role, as increasing granular data may show the exact nature of a student's misconception, giving teachers more clarity on how to offer support.  In this way, harnessing the power of machine learning might be more analogous to a stethoscope than penicillin – we’ll be able to better diagnose and then act on problems, rather than simply cure them in one sweep.

Sometimes when we look at landmarks or monuments we don’t realize the countless hours of brainstorming and planning that went into their design.  We may stand in awe for a few moments but the complexity of the engineering and science needed to construct them escapes us.  Nearly fifty years ago construction started on the Gateway Arch, a 630-foot-tall, 17,246 ton monument to the westward expansion of the United States, situated on the west bank of the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri.  Being the scientists and life-long learners we are, our recent trip to NSTA:STEM in the arch’s hometown left us curious about its construction.

Commissioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the design was chosen though an architectural competition for its timeless beauty and bold design.  Lead architect Eero Saarinen and structural engineer Hannskarl Bandel represented the brilliance behind the massive construction.  What appears to be a single, solid archway is actually a complex skeleton of triangular-shaped wedges that precisely fit together to create a smooth arch.

Saarinen and Bandel’s plans were remarkably simple.  Each leg would be built independently and slowly curve to meet in the middle; the 142 12-foot-long wedges would be constructed off-site, imported by rail, and then hoisted into place using cranes.  Workers would then crawl along the scaffolding to weld and permanently fuse the pieces together.  The interior of each wedge carried long tension wires that prevented prevent the archway from swaying and cracking even in hurricane force winds and to fit a small elevator for future visitors to the observation deck at the top. 

When the legs reached 100 feet in height engineers had to innovate – the cranes could not be built higher than 100 feet and still lift the heavy wedges into place.  Their solution was to build a railway into the sky.  On the back of the arch’s legs, a rail served to lift a derrick (a large construction platform) into the air along each leg.  The unconnected legs had to support their own weight, dozens of workers, a massive 100-ton derrick, and the construction wedges carried upon the derrick.  Nicknamed “crawler cranes,” the derricks acted like elevators on the spine of the archway adding one layer at a time.  At 530 feet, a truss, or a large support beam, was placed in-between both legs to keep them from collapsing due to all the weight they had to support while unconnected. 

The day the arch was to be completed, the fire department had to hose down the south leg with cold water because the heat had caused the metal of the wedges to expand.  Using a combination of water and a powerful jack not unlike a car jack, the legs were forced apart to allow the final piece to slip into place.  The final piece in, the structure was completed on October 28, 1965, the end of a three year endeavor.

Somersaults in school?  No, this isn’t PE, but in education circles there is a lot of talk about "flipping the classroom."  The concept is simple: before a class begins, students watch a video to preview material that will be taught.  This opens up classroom time to focus on practice and refinement of the skill outlined in the pre-work.  Although this pedagogical model has gained a lot of traction, it is not without its problems. 

Front-loaded instruction requires self-discipline among students.  Granted, high expectations should be maintained for students, but it is unreasonable to assume student interest in material that is not engaging.  The flipped classroom is therefore especially challenging for early elementary students, English language learners, and students who have gaps in prerequisite knowledge and skills.  The problem is exacerbated if a teacher relies exclusively on this model to deliver direct instruction; students who began a school year behind grade level can possibly fall further behind.  Perhaps the biggest issue is that the flipped classroom offers little to no opportunity for students to clarify misconceptions, interact, and learn socially, and many students yearn for the opportunity to learn "hands-on" in a traditional classroom setting.  

The Content Connections Videos (CCVs) available in STEMscopes™ 2.0 seek to improve on the flipped classroom model by "backflipping the classroom."  CCVs are intended for use in the classroom after a student has touched, experienced, and explored science by doing science, giving meaning and context to what is watched in the video.  Through digital animations, real-world examples, and virtual field trips, the CCVs reinforce, rather than introduce, the concepts students learn in hands-on investigations.  Throughout the videos, teachers and students are presented with numerous opportunities to pause and engage in discussions that relate to a previously done hands-on investigation.  Curious? Take a look for yourself:

Content Connections Videos are a new element for STEMscopes 2.0 scopes, and are constantly being developed and added to our 2.0 preview site.  To view more examples visit www.stemscopes.com/preview.

A revolution is underway in science classrooms. The demands of the new workplace and the ready access to information afforded by new technologies have radically changed the way we define a scientifically literate society. 

More than ever teachers need professional development that provides them with the resources they need and empowers them to take the action required to build classrooms where the next generation of scientifically literate students will flourish. In order to address this growing need, Rice University, Rice Digital Learning and Scholarship, STEMscopes, and Coursera, a worldwide provider of MOOCs, have partnered to offer a series of 4-week long professional development courses that aim to transform how teachers lead science instruction.

Inquiry Science Learning: Perspectives and Practices consists of four courses lead by STEMscopes staff (Reid Whitaker, C.J. Thompson, Lara Arch, and Lisa Webber), each designed to address a different strand in the development of skills teachers need to meet the demands of their career. Participants will be challenged to develop their science leadership skills, their pedagogy and their science content in ways that will empower them to revolutionize their classrooms.  The fifth course, Using the Next Generation Science Standards for Students’ Deeper Understanding, will be lead by Dr. Terry Tall and helps teachers understand how and why scientific and engineering design practices should be integrated into investigations.

Enrollment is free and grants 16 hours of continuing-education credit.  To enroll, visit coursera.org/rice.  Course 1 of Inquiry Science Learning: Perspectives and Practices begins on September 9.

Imagine the tallest building you have ever seen.  Is it tall enough to scrape the clouds, block the sun, and leave you in awe?  Engineers and scientists are already working on designing a structure that will make even the world's tallest building look tiny in comparison.  The International Space Elevator Consortium meets annually to put pen to paper and figure out how to make this mega-structure a reality.  If you didn't catch it, the hint was in the name - we're talking about an elevator into space.

Space elevators were popularized in a 1979 novel named "The Fountains of Paradise" by world-renown author Arthur C. Clark.  Almost 45 years later, no organization has been able to build a space elevator, but scientist and engineers think it might be a possible in the near feature.  The motivation for building a space elevator comes from the huge cost of sending satellites, people, and spacecraft into space.  In fact, each of NASA's 100+ missions since 1981 has cost millions of dollars.  Every pound of equipment, person, or spacecraft costs about $10,000 ($22,000 per kilogram) to carry into space!  The huge expense comes from the cost of creating, operating, and maintaining expensive rockets that guzzle fuel in order to push themselves into orbit.  Finding a cheaper solution will not only allow for more frequent missions into space but also save taxpayers billions of dollars in the long run.  The desire and motivation to build a space elevator are clear – why hasn’t it be done yet?

The answer is that engineering a space elevator is very challenging; many different fields such as materials scientists, mechanical engineers, structural engineers, physicists, and, oddly enough, oceanographers have to come together to devise a solution.  A space elevator would require an Earth-based installation that acts like anchor and load point for people and equipment (the lobby of an elevator).  The thousands of miles long tether (the elevator shaft) would then connect the base station to the orbital terminal (the highest floor of the elevator) that remains in geosynchronous orbit, or circles the Earth at the same speed it rotates so that it stays over the same spot over the planet.  The orbital terminal also serves to keep the tether taught through the centrifugal force; though technically not a real force, the centrifugal force is the tendency of rotating objects to move away from the center of rotation (think of how a rope lengths out and straightens if you spin one end of it in your hand).  An elevator would then climb the tether to reach space and unload the equipment onto a spacecraft or space station waiting in orbit.

To add to the complexity the base station would likely need to be a floating platform in the ocean allowing it to move.  As the base station moves, the tethered orbital terminal thousands of miles above would move along with it.  This movement would be necessary to avoid hazardous space debris that could damage or destroy the orbital terminal or tether.  The tether would thus need to be incredibly strong yet flexible to not only support itself up through Earth's atmosphere into space but to withstand the shearing movements of the base station from voluntarily moving, winds, and ocean waves (think of trying to move an extremely tall stack of coffee mugs without dropping any of them as you shuffle across your room).  Therein lies the central problem, what material could we construct the tether out of to handle such a huge burden?

Scientists point to carbon nanotubes, materials 1000s of times stronger than steel but as flexible as plastic, as a potential solution.  Thus far scientists have only been able to produce rods that are a few centimeters long - braiding the rods together to form a longer one as is done in suspension bridge cables is not an viable option because the carbon nanotubes strength diminish over distance.  Though it might work on a small scale, scientists have yet to find or create a material able to fit the need.  As a result, only a few companies such as LiftPort have taken interest in pursuing space elevator designs, but the next materials science break through may turn Arthur C. Clarke's vision into a reality.

TEKS:  5.8C, 6.11BC, 7.9B, 8.10C, C.4ABCD, P.5B

Have you ever struggled mightily to teach a scientific concept to your child or students — convinced that your lesson would "click" more easily if only you could reinforce it with a catchy song or fun activity?

If so, you'll be happy to know that now there's an app for that: called SciRave, this free app combines the power of music, the fun of tactile learning and the world of science in fast-paced, educational online activities that help teach basic scientific concepts and vocabulary to students K-12.

What is SciRave?

Demonstrating the principle that science lessons can and should be fun and relevant, SciRave is built around pop songs in various musical genres, including country, rock, rap and electronic. Written to inspire an interest in science, each SciRave song covers a different topic such as the parts of a cell, how rocks are created or how to read a map.

Students can sing along with on-screen lyrics, watch music videos, or create more of an immersion experience by dancing or playing a game. The game involves pressing buttons to move arrows on the screen to the beat of the music. A resulting score is based on how well the arrows follow the song's rhythm.  A pre-K version of SciRave featuring gestural music videos is currently in production.

Availability of SciRave

SciRave may be downloaded to desktop computers for schools and districts that already have STEMscopes —  a Rice University comprehensive K-12 online science curriculum program aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). TEKS define Texas's state standards for what students should know and be able to do.

Because SciRave addresses TEKS, it is ideal for classroom use. Originally introduced in 2010, SciRave is now one of the most popular elements of the STEMscopes curriculum and reaches over 1.3 million, or over one-third, of K-12 students in Texas.

Varied Uses of SciRave

Teachers have found varied and creative ways to use SciRave in the classroom. Some teachers introduce students to a new topic by assigning an appropriate SciRave song to learn during the week leading up to the new unit. Some teachers use SciRave to help students review for tests. And some connect dance pads to their computers

Teachers frequently report that SciRave instantly "grabs" their students — compelling them to rock out, learn and enjoy science, even if they were once fearful or intimidated by it.

Creation of SciRave

SciRave was developed with funding from the National Science Foundation by James Tour, a chemistry, mechanical engineering and computer Howard Gardner, an education researcher from Harvard University and the author of Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.

Gardner's studies on multiple intelligences and education showed that offering students varied types of learning experiences can help students digest and retain information. SciRave also builds on the work of Mindy L. Kornhaber, who conducted a three-year study under Harvard University's Project Zero of the application of MI theory at 41 elementary schools. The study demonstrated that incorporating MI concepts into teaching increased the depth of learning and engagement of students.

By teaching through musical experiences and tactile experiences involving physical activities, SciRave exploits two intelligences frequently overlooked in curriculum development (musical and bodily/kinesthetic). Furthermore, by mixing song, dance and science, SciRave yields a big lesson about the potential synergy between these varied disciplines, and their ability to impart more knowledge together than any of them could alone.

Development of SciRave Songs and Videos

To develop SciRave songs, STEMscopes™used to use a three-step process. First, a cadre of teachers would create a scaffold for each song by fleshing out the big ideas, vocabulary and concepts that it should cover. Second, Jason Young, a composer and proprietor of Invisible Strings Audio and Music in Pflugerville, Texas, would develop the music and lyrics for the songs in English as well as in Spanish. Next, an accompanying music video would be developed.

But more recently STEMscopes™ has been working with Sisbro Studios of Portland, Oregon, to write and produce each song from scratch. Sisbro studies each TEKS as it is taught in STEMscopes™ curriculum and then creates lyrics and music to convey it. Then it makes a 3-D animated video to accompany each song.

This article was reproduced from the National Science Foundation's Live Science Journal.

In the 1990s, gasoline prices seldom exceeded $1.25.  Today, most of us agree that gas for less than $3.25 is a bargain (check out how gasoline prices have fluctuated over the last 20 years).  Increasing fuel prices is a trend that is likely to continue as oil, the principal ingredient of gasoline, becomes increasingly rare and expensive to extract from below the Earth’s surface.  Though electric engines are gaining in popularity, our dependency on oil and gasoline is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.  Petroleum engineers, geologists, and a slew of other scientific fields have a “patch” to our oil needs for the time being, but it is not without controversy.  Hydraulic fracturing (also called fracking) is a novel method of extracting petroleum from fields where traditional drilling techniques would produce too little to justify their cost.  To understand how fracking works we first need to understand a little about the nature of oil.

Many of us have an image of a vast underground cave filled with dark, shimmery oil, lying hundreds or thousands of feet below our feet.  Finding these oil reserves is less of a guessing game and more a hard science to locate oil caches.  Geologists use a variety of methods to locate oil deposits such as extremely sensitive magnetometers, sniffers, and, more commonly, the science of seismology.  When we drill for oil, we basically insert a long straw into the ground that “drinks up” the oil and pumps it back up to the surface.  Unfortunately, a lot of underground and undersea oil deposits are not huge subsurface pools; instead, the oil is trapped in the pores of rock (often shale) much like how a sponge holds water.  Drilling into the shale layers does little to release the oil trapped within the rock, but fracking has the ability to metaphorically “squeeze out the sponge” and release the shale-trapped oil.

A fracking operation begins by drilling a deep well, or borehole.  Wells vary in depth, but Chesapeake Energy reports that the average well depth is about 7,700 feet (2,347 meters) or the equivalent of about six laps around a track surrounding a soccer/football field.  Despite the extreme depth, most boreholes are only 1 foot (30.48 centimeters) in diameter.  Upon reaching a predetermined depth, engineers force the drill head to take a right or left turn that can span nearly ¾ the length of the entire borehole.  The turn can either be gradual or sharp thanks to motorized, steerable drill heads and up-to-the-minute measurement while drilling.  These turns are characteristic of fracking because it enables the wellbore to traverse a large underground shale bed and thereby extract more oil trapped within the porous shale.  Afterwards, the borehole is lined with a steel and concrete “skin” designed to protect surrounding groundwater and soil from any leaks caused by minor earthquakes, movement of the oil, or the use of fracking fluid (more on this later).  In the horizontal section of the wellbore, a specialized tool perforates the steel and concrete casing with tiny holes that are vital for extracting the oil from the shale.  The wellbore is then capped on the surface to pump a mixture of water, sand, and dozens of other chemicals that, under high pressure, travel down the wellbore, into the horizontal section, out the perforations, and into the surrounding shale.  Because the fracking fluid is both caustic and pumped in under extremely high-pressure, it cracks and breaks apart the shale, releasing the trapped oil.  The fracking liquid is then pumped out and oil follows up the wellbore to be collected.  The bore hole can then continue to produce oil (and natural gas because it exists alongside oil) for decades to come.

Though the process sounds straightforward, the real complexity comes when discussing the benefits and drawbacks of fracking.  It’s no surprise that fracking has proponents and critics eager to defend or outright forbid it.  One pro-fracking argument states that it helps preserve landscapes – rather than extracting oil with a multitude of vertical drilling installations dotting a landscape, the same goal can be accomplished thanks to horizontal drilling techniques.  Furthermore, natural gas, a cleaner alternative to oil, is almost exclusively accessible through fracking.  Companies invested in fracking are also quick to mention that this technique allows the United States to reduce the need of importing foreign oil, which creates more domestic jobs and bolsters our economy.  If oil continues to be a necessity, fracking represents a clear pathway to get it.

Counterarguments are offered just as quickly on the subject.  Anti-frackers assert that fracking has numerous pitfalls that outweigh its benefits.  For one, fracking requires a huge operation; hundreds of trucks, storage containers, and pieces of equipment are needed to successfully frack.  Despite needing only one borehole, those against fracking say that it transforms beautiful vistas into a massive worksite as trucks barrel in with equipment and workers from all directions.  Farmers and landowners fear that accidents, fracking fluid leaks, and oil spills during fracking can contaminate ground water, damage crops, and poison the land causing them to lose their livelihood.  In addition, the fluid itself requires millions of gallons of water, and areas experiencing drought are reluctant to give up their water supplies in the name of fracking.  Fracking companies have responded that they attempt to recycle the fracking fluid into future operations to minimize water consumption and waste.  Other groups feel that companies are overhyping the economic benefits of fracking just to make a quick buck.

Needless to say, the fracking debate rages on, and it likely will continue for the next few years.  A big problem is that there is a lack of scientific research on the harmful effects of fracking at this time.  Evidence that is currently available for fracking’s destructive effects is partial and incomplete, but new studies are produced daily.  For example, Time Magazine recently investigated claims of fracking (specifically, the pumping of millions of gallons of fracking fluid) causing minor earthquakes.  Many companies are performing their own research and media events to show that fracking is not as bad as it is made out to be.  Halliburton, for example, demonstrated its fracking fluid was benign by having a company executive drink it at a conference!  Regardless, fracking is a technology worth watching in the coming years; as we learn more about just how profoundly it can help or damage our country and communities, taking a firm stance on either side might become justified.

TEKS:  5.6A, 5.7A, 6.7AB, 8.11D

The final moment of Asiana flight 214 as it scraped across San Francisco International Airport on July 6, must have been terrifying.  Photography of the downed plane shows massive gashes in the cabin caused by intense flames, a missing tail section, and a landscape littered with debris.  However, despite the extensive damage, we marvel at how only two of the 307 passengers on board lost their lives.  A well-trained flight crew and series of technological innovations are to thank for making flight 214 less of a tragedy than it could have been.  In fact, the aviation industry is relatively safe; on average less than 800 lives are claimed annually due to commercial air travel worldwide.  Comparatively, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2011 alone there were 29,757 fatal motor vehicle crashes (nearly 40 times more deaths per year when compared to air travel).  Nonetheless, despite the rarity of airplane crashes, scientists pour over the subject to develop safer planes.

Aerial photo of the wreckage of  Asiana Flight 214 after it crashed at the San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, on 7/6/13.  (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

Turbulence and wind shear, or changes in wind speed and direction in a small area, still pose a threat to planes.  Atmospheric phenomenon such as microbursts, a powerful downward gust of wind, are linked to numerous aircraft accidents.  The development of sophisticated scanning technologies – microwave radar, Doppler LIDAR, and infrared – have allowed pilots and on-board computers to predict turbulence and wind shear in an effort to compensate or all together avoid it.  Though each scanning technology has a drawback, the three together are able to give a complete picture of atmospheric conditions by tuning into different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.  Microwave radars excel at detecting larger rain droplets and their speed; on the other hand, Doppler LIDAR bounces lasers of aerosols, or microscopic particles suspended in air, to detect wind speed and direction but functions poorly in heavy rain.  Finally, infrared scanners measure thermal energy put off by carbon dioxide in order to detect columns of cool air that are characteristic of microbursts.  All of these systems suffer from interference when a plane is close to the ground –turning off your devices during landing and takeoff helps minimize the interference.  Nonetheless, ground installations are necessary during landing and takeoff to communicate with planes near the surface and provide data on turbulence and wind shear.

Fires are among the greatest hazard to passengers in a plane crash.  Planes carry hundreds of gallons of highly explosive fuel, which can easily ignite by the friction and sparks created during emergency landing.  As a result, thermally insulating all surfaces helps passengers earn extra time to evacuate the cabin before it is engulfed in flames.  Since 2003, planes have been retrofitted to use more flame-retardant materials that produce less smoke-emissions both in seat cushions, ceiling and wall panels, and cabins.  At the same time, exit passageways have been expanded and better illuminated to help direct passengers to the nearest exit when a fire does break out.

Seats have undergone a big overhaul as well.  In 1952, airplane seats were designed to withstand only 9-G, or nine times the force of gravity, before snapping free.  Their more modern cousins are standardized to bear 16-G forces.   This means that the sudden deceleration caused by hitting the ground is less likely to break seats off their harnesses and send passengers flying against cabin walls or other passengers.  However, seat belts are a different story.  Common sense tells you that having shoulder restraints on planes would help reduce injuries and deaths caused by people hitting their heads during a crash.  Still, there’s not enough data to show they would actually help.  In a car accident, the force is horizontal – you tend to lunge forward.  In a plane crash, you also have to contend with vertical forces, which might mean that a seatbelt does little to help reduce injuries.  The bottom line is that commercial airlines are reluctant to invest the money to add shoulder restraints until there is enough evidence to show it will help safe lives.

By no means are these innovations an exhaustive list.  Scientists such as physicists and biologists often collaborate with aeronautical engineers and structural engineers to continue creating advances in aviation safety.  Pilot skills and flight crew training also have a huge influence on how an airplane accident plays out.  Though the two lives lost on flight 214 are a tragedy, they are not in vain:  the data accumulated from the flight will help usher in the next wave of innovations to make air travel safer.  

TEKS:  4.6BC, 8.6C, P.5B, P.8B, P.4DE

A committee of teachers and state science community leaders came together this summer to review instructional materials for TEA's Proclamation 2014.  The committee has concluded reviews of STEMscopes' alignment to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, awarding STEMscopes K-12 a rating of 100% alignment.  Though the Commissioner of Education must still recommend these instructional materials to the State Board of Education for adoption.

To be eligible for adoption, instructional materials submitted in response to this proclamation must meet at least 50% of the elements of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)—for the subject and grade level for which the materials are intended—in both the student version and the teacher version of the instructional materials. The materials must also comply with applicable manufacturing standards and be free from factual errors at the time of implementation in schools. 

Instructional materials submitted in response to this proclamation will undergo a full and complete investigation by a state review panel to identify the extent to which the materials meet the required TEKS and to identify factual errors. At the completion of the review, the state review panels will report their findings to the commissioner of education. 

The panels’ findings serve as the basis for the commissioner of education’s recommendation to the SBOE regarding the adoption of materials. The SBOE is scheduled to make its determination regarding the adoption of materials submitted in response to this proclamation in November of 2013. The SBOE’s determination is final. 

Instructional materials adopted under this proclamation are scheduled to be implemented beginning in the 2014–2015 school year [STEMscopes 2.0]. Adopted materials are eligible for purchase with funds from the Instructional Materials Allotment, and will be ordered by school districts and open-enrollment charter schools through the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) Educational Materials (EMAT) system. The intrastate freight costs for adopted instructional materials will be paid by the TEA. 

Rice University is partnering with the KIPP Foundation and KIPP Houston Public Schools to improve college completion rates for underserved KIPP students in Houston and around the nation.

Some of the students who attended Rice's Schlumberger Computer Engineering Design Academy for Middle School Girls recently were from KIPP schools. Rice's partnership with the KIPP Foundation and KIPP Houston Public Schools will help prepare students for the challenges of college. (Photo by Wendi Schoffstall-Nunez, program coordinator for Rice's School Science and Technology program)

The goal is to better prepare KIPP students from low-income families who are often first-generation college students for the challenges of higher education. The partnership also will provide experiential education and research opportunities at KIPP schools for Rice undergraduate students in their roles as teachers and mentors.

“Rice has a long history of admitting first-generation college students, and we hope this new partnership with KIPP will help such students finish their higher education and pursue careers related to their college degrees,” said Rice Provost George McLendon. “At the same time, this partnership will enhance Rice’s teacher preparation programs and complement our ongoing efforts to improve K-12 education in Houston, in Texas and the nation.”

KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) is a national network of free, open-enrollment college-preparatory public schools that are dedicated to preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life. The program, which originated in Houston, emphasizes academics and character development through longer school days and more attention to homework and parental involvement.

“This partnership between KIPP and Rice University is a crucial step in getting our KIPPsters to and through college,” said Mike Feinberg, co-founder of KIPP. “We have been collaborating with Rice for a long time, and their president, David Leebron, is a major supporter of ours. Turning that relationship into a formal partnership means our students will have even more opportunities to earn that bachelor’s degree, which opens doors of opportunity for them throughout their lives.”

Rice’s partnership with KIPP will involve multiple parts of the university.

Carolyn Nichol, director of Rice’s School Science and Technology program, said SST will work with KIPP students and faculty “to demystify the many pathways to college and to increase not just college readiness, but college and postcollege success.” She noted that SST staff will coordinate faculty and student workshops, student tours and other events to support KIPP students.

“The real reason that Rice is a great place for KIPP students to learn about college is because Rice students are such great mentors,” Nichol said. “Partnering KIPP students with Rice students is a winning combination. KIPP students will learn from enthusiastic, young role models about college success, while Rice students will learn valuable leadership skills.”

The Teacher Education program and Center for College Readiness at Rice’s Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies will work closely with KIPP teachers and leadership.

“Through our Master of Arts in Teaching program for pre-service teachers, we envision multiple opportunities for getting Rice undergraduate and graduate students out into KIPP schools for field observations,” said Jennifer Gigliotti, executive director of the Center for College Readiness and associate dean of the Glasscock School. “We also welcome the opportunity to provide professional development for KIPP teachers.” The new Master of Arts in Teaching for experienced teachers will admit its inaugural cohort in summer 2014.

Rice Digital Learning and Scholarship (RDLS) also plays a role in the university’s partnership with KIPP.  STEMscopes, a K-12 science curriculum based at Rice, is used in more than 10 KIPP elementary and middle schools around the country, and KIPP plans to use the STEMscopes biology curriculum for all of its high school students this year. “STEMscopes is a curriculum that has strong ties to KIPP and has been used for several years to increase the science teaching and learning of both the teachers and the students,” said Reid Whitaker, founding director of STEMscopes and executive director of RDLS.

The partnership will provide opportunities for the leadership and staff of both Rice and KIPP to meet and create strategies to address the challenges of colleges that underserved students face, and to refine the curriculum and teaching at KIPP Houston to offer students the knowledge and skills required to be successful at Rice and other top universities.

Tamara Siler ’87, senior associate director and coordinator of minority recruitment, said Rice’s Office of Admission will promote Rice University to students at KIPP Houston Public Schools. “This agreement provides strong avenues to encourage qualified students to consider Rice as their destination for college,” she said.

In reference to a recent study showing that KIPP middle schools across the U.S. have positive and statistically significant impacts on student achievement across all years and all subject areas examined, Rice Associate Vice Provost Matt Taylor ’89 said, “Both KIPP and Rice University have national footprints. Our mutual interests and this new partnership should benefit not just students in Houston, but across the country.”

This article has been reproduced from:  news.rice.edu.

Adding your students one-by-one or using a .csv import are great ways to get your students into STEMscopes, but they can be time consuming.  Wouldn't it be nice if students could help you get themselves into STEMscopes so that you can assign them activities and assessments?  Houston, we have a solution!  Our resident tech-gurus have come up with an even more fluid method for your tech-saavy students: the token system. 

STEMscopes' token system allows teachers to do one of two things in a jiffy:

1. Students who already have a STEMscopes login can add themselves to a group that you have already made.
2. If your students do not have a login/password for STEMscopes yet, they can both create their own and then add themselves to a group that you have previously created.  (Don't forget to get their username/password from them!  You can always reset their passwords and usernames within the student management system.)

You can access the new token system by logging in to STEMscopes and checking under the student groups tab in the top header next to scopes .  For each group that you create, you will notice a small "Group Code" appear to the right of group name (see image above).  Click on the group code to receive a unique URL that you can then distribute to your students so they can do the leg work for you and add themselves to STEMscopes and a specific group.  Upon visiting the URL, students will have the option of doing either #1 or #2 listed above.  Enjoy!

In the cavernous halls of 5615 Kirby Drive, a group of caped crusaders collectively know as "the STEMscopes team" meets daily, bringing together passionate educators from all over.  Boasting powers such as a genuine concern for how students learn, wacky creativity, and a wide array of STEM skills, the team works around the clock to continue creating, refining, and improving STEMscopes.  

Hyperbole aside, the STEMscopes team is, in reality, a diverse group of passionate former teachers, principals, science coordinators, students, parents, self-proclaimed nerds, and thinkers.  Our passion is bringing in what our teachers need.  While many of you have met us, we wanted to put a YouTube face to who we are.   

We encourage you to reach out to us, probe our thoughts, push our thinking, and tell us what you need to make STEMscopes better for you, because you are the prime movers and shakers of the STEMscopes curriculum.  For that, we give our sincerest thanks:

So next time you are in the area and come upon 5615 Kirby Drive, stop by, visit us, and lay a brick on the ever-growing edifice that is STEMscopes. 

“Let’s get ready to ruuuummmmble!”  Rice University is sponsoring a STEM design competition this fall with cash prizes.  Students who love hands-on learning, enjoy working in competitive teams, and have a knack for science, technology, engineering, and/or math, look no further!

High school students sponsored by any Science, Technology, Engineering or Math teacher can participate in a Global Health Technologies Design Competition.  Student teams use the engineering design process to develop a solution to a real-world global health design challenge under the mentorship of Rice360°'s students, staff, and faculty, gaining hands-on design experience as they design a prototype.

For the 2012-2013 Global Health Design Competition, the Rice 360° team issued two challenges: 1) develop a self-calibrating dosimeter to measure the intensity of phototherapy lights or 2) design a simple method for adjusting CPAP nasal prongs.  Participating students choose to undertake one of these challenges thought the academic year, completing 6 rounds of one-page assignment submissions.  At the end of the competition, selected student teams present their prototypes to a panel of judges from Rice 360° and our partners.  The winning teams receive a cash prize.

What’s a dosimeter?  What are CPAP nasal prongs?  Dosimeters are medical devices that measure an individual’s exposure to radiation by detecting X-rays, alpha rays, beta rays, and gamma rays.  These devices are essential for radiation therapy (cancer) patients; doctors use take readings from these devices to adjust how and when treatment is delivered.  Too much radiation can be lethal; too little, and the cancer will survive CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure, nasal prongs are devices used to help people with sleep apnea and related breathing disorders.  Improving how nasal prongs are adjusted has the potential to help millions suffering from breathing difficulties worldwide.

Applications for the April 2014 Global Health Technologies design Competition will be made available on September 2013.  For more information, please email beyondtraditionalborders@rice.edu or visit www.rice360.rice.edu/hs for details additional opportunities.

We learned about Paul Eyler, a Tyler ISD Science Facilitator, through an impressive Prezi (take a look here) and poster set he made to help his teachers understand how to use STEMscopes.  Intrigued, we were eager to meet the tech-superhero behind the video and have him share his love of learning and teaching with us.  As you start your school year, we hope you can take a page from Paul's ideas to start the school year off right.

A fearless educator: Paul shares a moment with a pet tarantula as it crawls across his head.  After all, teaching quality hands-on science does take some bravery. 

What motivated you to pursue a career in education?

I have always had a love of learning and I’ve spent my life helping and ministering to children.  Whether it is overseas teaching university students or down at a pond with elementary students, seeing the faces of young people who learn something new is invaluable.  On top of that, teaching science, which of course is the coolest subject in school, is almost always exciting to learn about and teach.

What do you do as a Science Facilitator at Tyler ISD?

When students ask me this same question I always respond with the opinion that I have one of the coolest jobs in the world because I get to do science all day every day. 

My primary function is making sure that teachers know how to teach their standards and to provide them with effective training and engaging resources that will help students be more successful.  I work with an awesome team of professionals such as our district science coordinator, secondary science facilitator, Instructional Coaches and a great majority of teachers that work hard even past the normal work hours. 

Teachers have a lot on their plates at any moment; do you have any advice for them to teach science while decreasing their load yet continuing to be successful with their students?

In order for teachers to have successful students, classroom instruction needs to be engaging and relevant.  Teachers have to be competent about the standards and the specific content that is addressed.  They also need to have some great resources in their tool belt as well such as fun and effective learning strategies and engaging material such as STEMscopes. 

I am personally trying to put some things together on my own time that would enhance my teachers’ and students’ understanding of the standards by using graphical concept maps and short engaging explainer videos for each SE that will be available for them at TEKSvideo.com.  I hope they can utilize this upcoming resource to complement all the great things found on STEMscopes.

Lastly, sometimes teachers forget that the students are the ones who need to do the work…we teachers will do everything for them.  So give them reasons to investigate.   Equip them with the ability to observe and analyze the world around them.  But make them do the work. 

What is the biggest issue facing education today?

I think the biggest issue facing us today is split between two things actually.  First is the digital divide and second is nature deficit disorder.

The digital divide is occurring because our schools are trying to keep up with the pace of tech innovation yet many families do not have the resources necessary to provide their children with an internet device / computer at home.

Now on the other side of the spectrum is the nature deficit disorder where many of our children are staying inside stuck in front of mind-numbing TV programming or immersed in virtual escapades of digital gaming.  I’m not saying that either thing is bad in moderation or in good content, however, much of it is violent junk and too many young people are in front of it for too much of the day.  They have less and less understanding of nature and the amazing things that are going on right outside.

What can individual teachers do to address this problem?

Concerning the digital divide, teachers can help lead efforts to encourage communities (or private companies) to provide low cost computers/tablets with free city-wide wifi.  Writing grants is also a great way to provide funding for such efforts.

Concerning the nature deficit disorder, teachers need to get students outside more often during their science instruction.  I did this a lot as a teacher and my students were heavily engaged in learning (teachers do need to have procedures in place to keep students safe and engaged though).  I always tell my teachers that there is more science outside than inside.  We can’t control what they do when they go home but we can help promote awareness with parents on what they can do to help get kids off the TV and game consoles and outside having fun.

PBLs are notoriously hard to implement but profoundly impactful on student learning.  What advice would you give to new teachers on using PBLs to their fullest?

As a former I.B. science teacher, I utilized the PBL approach extensively with my students.  PBL provides an in-depth relevance to student learning as well as embedded process skills that teachers are required to implement. 

First, always make sure that what is being done with the lessons/activities is aligned to the standards. 

Next, try to start off in the shallow end before swimming in the deep end.  Train students on how to be self-directed in bits and pieces of the PBL process before dumping an entire project on them.  Have clear instructions and rubrics that students can follow and use. 

Finally, let students know that you are not going to give answers but to facilitate them in finding solutions.   

What impact has STEMscopes™ had in your experience with helping teachers?

A few years ago when our district was looking at supplemental science resources, we were sold on STEMscopes after Reid Whitaker showed us all the capabilities and great instructional resources that the program offers. 

For the past few years, my 5th grade teachers and secondary teachers have been using STEMscopes and have completely loved it.  It is their main science resource.  This year we have purchased it for all grade levels and my K-4 teachers are super excited about having a great tool to help them teach science.  I would say that the teachers who extensively use STEMscopes have seen improvements in their students’ science content knowledge and assessment performance. 

Thanks, STEMscopes. 

Thanks, Paul!  We hope you have a great year!  

Elon Musk is no stranger to pioneering new ideas.  He was the driving force behind PayPal and is the current CEO of Tesla Motors (which created the electric Tesla S, the highest-rated car in history) and Space X.  The South African native is a perpetual learner and tinkerer and as such,  no one was surprised when he recently revealed his latest idea:  the hyperloop, a new mode of transportation that could revolutionize how we travel long distances.  Glimpsing into Musk’s mind, we invite you to explore the creativity of Musk’s latest endeavor. 

Musk began by identifying a problem, as most inventors do.  Airplanes are expensive, trains and boats are generally slow, cars create clouds of pollution and result in thousands of deaths – what if there were a fifth mode of transportation that was cheap, reliable, safe, and amazingly fast?  That fifth form already has a name, according to Musk:  the hyperloop.  The hyperloop is, in its basic form, a huge drive-up bank deposit vacuum tube, but with a few key differences. 

Musk's concept art for the hyperloop is impressive and frightening.  The idea of riding a "missile" cushioned by air might have some travelers a little worried.

Passengers would enter a narrow capsule suspended on a cushion of air within a tube that connects two distant stations.  Using magnetic propulsion, the capsule would accelerate to 700 miles per hour.  At these speeds, a trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco (the region where the hyperloop might be built) would take a little over 30 minutes.  Even better, multiple capsules could be sent through the tube at the same time meaning that station wait time would be only minutes.  Sound too good to be true?  Musk has drawn out compelling plans to back his idea.

Musk’s plans describe the minutiae of the hyperloop’s parts and systems, but most intriguing is how he overcame a physical law:  the Kantrowitz Limit.  The Kantrowitz Limit describes a phenomenon that occurs when an object moves through an enclosed space, like a tube.  If the object is nearly as voluminous as a cross-section of the interior of the tube, the maximum speed it can travel through the tube will be relatively low.  The reasoning is that the air in front of the object needs to squeeze around it as the objects traverses the tube; if there’s less space on the edges of the object to squeeze around, the air ahead of the object acts like a wall, slowing or even stopping its movement.  The hyperloop’s capsule would travel inside a tube much like in the later example.  For safety, it would have to be nearly the size of the tube to prevent it from wildly bouncing around and smashing to pieces against the tube wall at high speeds. 

Determined in the face of this physical limitation, Musk devised an ingenious solution.  Using a fan-like rotor on the front end of the capsule, the capsule could redirect air in front of it to the back end using an internal duct system.  Taking a step further, Musk intends for the rotor to redirect air to the edges and sides of the capsule to create “air bearings” that would perform like ball bearings (small metallic spheres that allow two pieces to easily slide by one another like in a rotating tray).  The advantage of air bearings is that they do not wear down and create heat from friction.  By generating air bearings, the capsule would effectively glide on a cushion of air through the tube much like a puck on an air hockey table.  However, ordinary air is not dense enough to support the weight of heavy capsule and prevent it from grinding against the sides of the tube.  Musk’s plans include a series of air compressors to increase the density of the air and thus make the air bearings a reality.

Musk’s plans also call for the spine of the tube to be plated with solar panels, making the entire hyperloop, stations and all, self-powering.  In fact, using magnetic accelerators that attract and repel the capsule as it moves through the tube would require no fossil fuels to attain the incredible speeds of 700 mph Musk has promised.  Still, storing energy created by the hyperloop to power the magnetic accelerators, the capsule rotor, and station equipment is still a challenge, as batteries have difficulty storing large amounts of energy.  As funding begins to pour in for the project, we are likely to see more refinements along the way.  Regardless, should it work, planes, trainsz, and cars may soon be dated forms of transportation.

We couldn't resist ourselves - we had to release this video!  2.0 is less than a year away!  Our star cast of curriculum designers is putting the finishing nails on the projects.  If you haven't had a chance to preview it, you're missing out!  Find out more about our exciting new elements like the student App Designer, Content Connection Videos, all-new explore investigations, game-based learning opportunities, print products, revamped kits, and so much more at www.stemscopes.com/preview.

The Problem

The entire STEM education initiative is intended to address a major issue: the lack of student interest in STEM careers.  Agencies have been formed and companies have been created to investigate solutions to this problem.  Extensive budgets and entire divisions of school district personnel have been allocated to funnel resources to develop STEM-focused initiatives.  Will all of this effort, why is the lack of student interest in STEM a problem?  Well, our future depends on finding a solution. We need innovators.  We need creators.  We need people to resolve unforeseen problems and understand unforeseen concepts.  All of us at some point have already benefitted from these types of people, whether it’s by taking medicine, using a smart phone, or fueling up a vehicle.  The time is now to stand on the shoulders of these giants and move forward.

The REAL Problem

Although those of us in the STEM education field are diligently working to solve this problem, we at STEMscopes are taking a moment of reflection to ask ourselves, “Though we are working hard to solve this problem, are we working smart?”

The SMART STEM Answer

If you had a hole in your bucket, when is the best time to fix it? Some people argue the best thing to do is to empty the bucket of water and then fix it.  Some want to keep the water and try to fix the hole when it is small.  However, STEMscopes has looked at research and brain development and made the not-so-groundbreaking decision to build a bucket that is strong enough to never have holes.

Dr. Montessori wrote, "The most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to the age of six. For that is the time when man's intelligence itself, his greatest implement, is being formed. But not only his intelligence; the full totality of his psychic powers… At no other age has the child a greater need of an intelligent help, and any obstacle that impedes his creative work will lessen the chance he has of achieving perfection."

Introducing STEMscopes Early Explorer

We encourage districts and schools to put time, effort, and budgets into building strong buckets.  The newest product from STEMscopes, Early Explorer  (name subject to change), is a curriculum founded on scientific content standards and best teaching practices integrated into top-quality STEM lessons for our youngest STEM learners.   Research has repeatedly shown that engaging students in Early Childhood education is the most effective way to positively influence their future.  So instead of fixing potential bucket holes or waiting until it is too late, we have developed a curriculum that lays a foundation for love of STEM with opportunities for innovation and creativity at the very beginning of a child’s educational career.  Our hope is that the Early Childhood students of today will grow into the innovators, creators, and problem solvers of tomorrow!   STEMscopes Early Explorer will be released in 2014.

New STEMscopes research available today demonstrates that teachers that use STEMscopes often with high fidelity significantly outperform teachers that do not use STEMscopes on both 5th and 8th grade science STAAR scores.  The research is drawn from nearly 1,100 campuses across Texas throughout the 2012-2013 school year.  

The findings indicate that 5th grade STEMscopes users were able to have an average of 5% more students, or an additional one of every twenty, pass the 5th grade science STAAR.  Similarly, 8th grade STEMscopes classrooms achieved a 5% higher passing rate than those without STEMscopes. 

Results on economically disadvantaged students in 5th and 8th grade boasted even higher passing rate differences between STEMscopes users and non-STEMscopes users.  The full description, methodology, and results of both studies can be found in the High STEMscopes Users and STAAR Passing Rates in 5th Grade and High STEMscopes Users and STAAR Passing Rates in 8th Grade documents.

When you think of vultures, what comes to mind?  The most common images might be of Halloween, haunted houses, or a group of birds flying in circles above something dead.  In truth, however, vultures may be one of the world’s most misunderstood animal species.

Vultures inhabit each continent except Australia and Antarctica.  They are very adaptable and can be  found in a variety of habitats, including the suburbs! There are over 20 different species of vultures, 14 of which are endangered meaning they are threatened with extinction. 

Vultures are raptors, or meat-eating birds that hunt and kill other animals for food. Their prey includes small birds, fish, mammals, lizards and insects. They have strong talons, sharply hooked bills, and powerful wings. Their diet consists mainly of carrion, which is a term to describe the dead or decaying flesh of other animals.  Vultures’ stomachs produce an acid that helps them digest this carrion, which would sicken other animals.

In addition to eating decaying meat, vultures regurgitate their rotten meals knowing the smell alone will thwart predators’ attacks.  This defense mechanism also makes the vulture physically lighter for a hasty flyaway.  And whereas other animals sweat to cool themselves off in hot weather, vultures urinate on their own legs. 

There are, however, plenty of good things to say about vultures.  Unlike many raptors, vultures are very social and often are found in flocks eating, flying or roosting. Vultures also have excellent senses of sight and smell that assist in locating food.  While they are not the most attractive birds, with their bald heads and necks, there is a good reason for this: when vultures feed on rotting carcasses, having no feathers on their heads or necks prevents bacteria and other parasites from burrowing down and causing infections.  This adaptation keeps vultures healthier while feeding on material that would easily infect or kill other animals.

The most important characteristic about vultures is the role they play in a community. Because of their diet of carrion, environments are cleaned up and saved from the threat of disease.. This makes vultures the ultimate recyclers and sanitation saviors of an ecosystem, instead of the deathly omens they are often thought to be.  There are myths about vultures attacking healthy livestock, prompting farmers to poison them.

With their keen senses of sight and smell, scientists and public safety officials are testing if vultures can help search for missing people or bodies.  So don’t be surprised if the next new Law & Order series is SVU – Special Vultures Unit!  Vultures have their own holiday, International Vulture Awareness Day, which is celebrated on the first Saturday of September. Not every species is honored with its own holiday, which sets vultures apart and signifies the good they can do.

Would you like to help spread the word about how incredible and important vultures are? One way to help is by entering the Vulture Poetry Contest sponsored by Dr. Corinne Kendall.  The rules of the contest, as well as past contest entries, can be viewed at Vultures Rock!. You can help raise awareness about vultures by taking some time to write about them, and we hope you will!

Nature turns out to be as prodigious an engineer as human beings.  The University of Cambridge recently discovered that a European plant-hopping insect called the Issus coleaptratus possesses natural, biological gears not unlike those found in bicycles, transmissions, and automobile differentials.  Adding to the surprise of this discovery, the Issus has been living comfortably in European gardens for decades.  Only ornamental “gears” have been spotted in nature prior to this discovery; those of the Issus, however, play an essential role in the insect’s survival.

No, this isn't something out of horror movie.  These are the gears - a remarkable feat of "organic engineering" - of a Issus coleaptratus nymph (photo courtesy of The University of Cambridge).

Asymmetrical in design, the Issus’s gears are interlocked but only function in one direction, unlike the gears of an automobile transmission.  Ten to twelve teeth and grooves serve to synchronize the jumping action of the insect’s hind legs.  Whereas mammals, such as a dog, utilize neuromuscular signals to leap across a roadside curb while on a run, the Issus cannot rely on the same technique.  “The precise synchronization would be impossible to achieve through a nervous system, as neural impulses would take far too long for the extraordinary tight coordination required,” explains Professor Malcolm Burrows of the Department of Zoology at Cambridge University.  The gears thus force both legs to “fire” in tandem, preventing the tiny insect from jumping askew and flying out of control.  Thanks to these “biogears” the insect’s legs spring so close in time that their timing is measured in fractions of a second: both legs move within 0.000030 seconds of one another.  Compare that to human reaction time at 0.1 seconds, which is how quickly we can interpret the firing of a gun to begin sprinting down a track.  The insect accelerates so quickly that the amount of force generate on its minuscule body can be measured at upwards of 500 Gs (a sharp curve or loop on a roller coaster hardly generates 2-3 Gs)!

Scientists are still baffled, however, about why only the nymph stage of the Issus possesses these gears.  As the Issus molts into its adult body, the gears seemingly disappear.  Without these gears, the Issus might encounter trouble when it comes to leap frogging between leaves, escaping predators, or even preventing itself from crash landing into the ground below its leafy canopy environment.  Entomologists, or scientists who study insects, theorize that because the Issus, like other insects, stops molting when it reaches adulthood, it cannot repair its gears should they become damaged.  This phenomenon might indicate why the adult insect displays no gears – a gear with a broken tooth becomes ineffective.  Regardless, the adult Issus is still able to perform impressive leaps – how exactly this is done is still a mystery.  On the other hand, there is no mystery when it comes to nature’s status as an excellent engineer.  After years of thinking otherwise when it comes to mechanical gears, it appears that nature beat humanity to the punch!