Keeping Students Engaged This Summer

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<p>Research from the <a href="http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.summerlearning.org/resource/resmgr/press_releases/nsla_summer_release_130528_f.pdf">National Summer Learning Association</a> reveals that students lose about two months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer. In addition, <a href="http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/Journals/spring2010/why-summer-learning/">a Johns Hopkins study</a> attributes a large portion of the reading achievement gap in low-income students to the summer slide. Furthermore, about a quarter of teachers spend at least 1.5 months simply re-teaching material from the previous year. For many students, the summer is a period of time designated for little to no academic engagement, and teachers pay the price in the fall — a steep price that affects their ability to stick to the teaching timeline and be innovative with new content and resources they acquire during the summer.</p><p><i>So how can science play a role in curbing summer slide?</i></p><p>Science provides a wealth of interdisciplinary learning opportunities because it requires both critical reading skills and mathematical proficiency. It can be a powerful tool to engage students through content that may not seem academic on the surface, but ultimately has very real connections to core scientific concepts and skills (as well as reading and math). Whether you’re a parent or you’re managing a summer program, there are creative ways to “sneak science” into summer.</p><h2><b>Connect summer hobbies to relevant scientific concepts</b></h2><p>Science is everywhere, and that includes the hobbies that students are working on during the summer. For example, summer is the season for athletic training camps and there are numerous ways for students to learn about sports science, a field with a wealth of free, online resources. <a href="http://mass.pbslearningmedia.org/search/?q=sports%20science&amp;selected_facets=supplemental_curriculum_hierarchy_nodes%3A1&amp;display=Science">A quick search on PBS Learning Media</a> will reveal over 6,000 resources that parents and educators can use to illustrate the physics and biology central to sports performance.</p><p>In addition, there are <a href="http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Sports_p038.shtml">entire projects</a> that students participating in summer camps can work on to dig deeper into the science that makes sports possible.</p><p>Magic Johnson on STEM in Sports.</p><p>The same goes for the arts. Students <a href="http://mass.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/2896ab88-f602-43e7-afcc-d25d246edc69/physics-1203-music-and-acoustics/">practicing an instrument</a> or working on improving their <a href="http://mass.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/d12e808e-d39d-4572-8364-7f06469b3660/d12e808e-d39d-4572-8364-7f06469b3660/">dance moves</a> might be surprised at some of the powerful STEM implications in the arts they enjoy.</p>
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<h2><b>Encourage online STEM games and skill building activities</b></h2><p>There’s a growing amount of research that suggests that games can have a powerful impact on improving attention, focus, and reaction time. When used as a teaching tool, games also provide the unique experience of forcing students to apply content and skills in an experience that is interdisciplinary and holistic. For example, the <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/labs/">NOVA Labs</a> website contains games and activities that foster scientific exploration through citizen science. With NOVA Labs, anyone can take part in real-world investigations by visualizing, analyzing, and sharing the same data that scientists use in their research.</p>
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<p>Through activities like NOVA Labs, students are placed in problem-based learning scenarios that require reading, math, and scientific reasoning skills while reinforcing core scientific competencies like conservation of energy or the process of protein synthesis. During the school year, many teachers may not find the time to implement online science games into their curriculum, but the summer is a great opportunity to explore these resources.</p><h2><b>Explore the science of this summer’s blockbuster movies</b></h2><p>The movie industry thrives in the summer as most major blockbuster films hit theaters between May and August. Science fiction has reigned as a dominant genre and comic book, post-apocalyptic, and alien world action films have swept audiences into a world of genetics, advanced robotics, space travel, and climate change. Though much of the science in these films is hand-wavy at best, they can do a great job at piquing curiosity for what’s actually happening in the real world of scientific research. Furthermore, there are some great online resources where scientists explore the science behind science fiction films. <i>Popular Science</i> magazine is often on the cutting edge of this topic and recently released an overview of some of <a href="http://www.popsci.com/article/science/real-life-science-behind-summers-most-outrageous-sci-fi-movies">the science in this summer’s upcoming sci-fi blockbusters</a> .</p><p></p>
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<p></p><p>If you’re a parent, encourage your children to explore the science featured in the film after they’ve watched. If you’re running a summer camp, prepare a lesson on the real science behind the film and have students work in groups to compare the representation of the science in the film to its current applications. This is also a great opportunity to reinforce science literacy by having students engage with articles about cutting-edge scientific research. Check out <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/">NOVA Next</a> for some examples of articles and op-eds on the groundbreaking science issues.</p><p>Summer slide is a real problem, but by doing your part as a parent, caretaker, or a summer program director, you can turn the summer months into a fun, innovative learning experience.</p><p><i>Cover image by Кирилл Б.</i></p>
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Can Games Change How We Think About Science?

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<p></p><p>In a digital age where misinformation often travels faster than facts, debates that pit science against uninformed opinions and conspiracy theories are all too common. Controversy over widely accepted scientific evidence for human-induced climate change, vaccines, and evolution leaves scientists and science communicators stymied. Often, fervent “deniers” paradoxically appear to become even <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2014/12/08/heres-how-irrational-flu-vaccine-deniers-are/">more emboldened in the face of evidence</a> . So how can scientists communicate effectively with the people in the middle—those who don’t have strong opinions, but could have a large impact socially and politically, based on what they choose to believe? In an age where millennials are consuming their news through <a href="http://www.ap.org/Content/AP-In-The-News/2015/Survey-Young-adults-do-consume-news-in-their-own-way">digital formats on social networks</a> , a newspaper op-ed may not have much impact. Short-form videos are one way in which science communicators can help people develop informed opinions about science topics. In fact, there are <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channels/science_education">numerous YouTube channels</a> dedicated to helping viewers better understand science. However, another form of digital media has become increasingly ubiquitous, with enormous potential to be effective at reaching and teaching audiences: games.</p><p>The use of games to educate has changed significantly since the days of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oregon_Trail_(video_game)">The Oregon Trail</a> , the popular 1971 computer game about 19th century pioneer life. Now there are entire organizations like <a href="http://www.gamesforchange.org/">Games for Change</a> and the <a href="http://engagementgamelab.org/">Engagement Game Lab</a> that focus on developing games that encourage social change, civic action, or learning empathy. These games are not simply narrative-driven decision games—they make full use of traditional and emerging gaming mechanisms and technology to educate players. For example, <a href="http://playspent.org/">Spent</a> is a web game that uses social media to show how easy it is to fall into homelessness. In the game, asking people for financial assistance actually requires posting on Facebook to highlight just how difficult some of the decisions can be. These games have shown success in teaching people be more empathic to the needs of others and <a href="http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/2195">engage in citizen participation</a> . Can the same be done to improve people’s understanding and opinions about controversial science topics, such as climate change? I’ve interviewed a professor working in this field who will describe his study on gaming and climate change opinions later in this post.</p><p>There are a few notable examples of games that tackle some of the important science issues of our time. <a href="http://vax.herokuapp.com/"><i>Vax</i></a> is a puzzle game about epidemic prevention that simulates the spread of a virus within a human social network and forces the players to distribute vaccines and quarantine individuals who are at risk of becoming infected. The game has a minimalist visual design with simple mechanics: at the beginning of each level you vaccinate members of a network—focusing on the individuals with the most connections. Once the outbreak occurs, you must then attempt to quarantine enough people to stop the entire population from becoming infected, and meet the percentage goal of uninfected in order to beat each level.</p><p></p>
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<p>In Vax, each dot represents a person in the network. Bigger dots have more connections to others in the network. Yellow dots are anti-vaxxers.</p><p></p><p>Another game highlights a popular transportation topic: self-driving vehicles. In <a href="http://madewithmonsterlove.itch.io/error-prone"><i>Error Prone</i></a> , players observe 26 autonomous cars driving in a circle—each labeled with an alphabet letter. By pressing the corresponding key on their keyboard, they can control the speed at which that car travels within that circle. Unfortunately, within a second you find out that as soon as human judgment is thrown into the situation, the entire system begins to break down as cars bump into each other. Add a few additional players (other people pressing down on a keyboard letter) and you’ll soon have damaged cars from accidents and traffic jams even with a small, contained system. The message for this game is simple: humans are more prone to the erratic driving behavior that causes gridlock and accidents while autonomous vehicles avoid this problem.</p><p></p><p>In both of these games, the main takeaway is a cautionary one: if we don’t commit to doing X as a society, Y why will happen. <i>Vax</i> reveals how quickly a disease can spread even in a small network that contains 50 people. Furthermore, there’s no such thing as a “perfect score.” Because players never start out in a situation where they have enough vaccinations to meet the needs of the entire network, they’re fighting a constant battle that reveals how easy it can be for a disease to ravage a community when people are not vaccinated. In addition, in later levels the game introduces people in the network who refuse to take vaccines and the player’s ability to contain the disease becomes increasingly more difficult with this additional challenge. In <i>Error Prone</i> , the message is quite similar. It’s very difficult to succeed as a human in a system with autonomous cars and not cause mistakes. Probably one of the best cases of using this type of “worst case scenario” game design is a game about climate change called <a href="http://www.soothsayergames.com/what-we-do/"><i>Fate of the World</i></a> .</p><p>David Waddington, a professor at Concordia University in Canada, <a href="http://civicgaming.com/research/">investigated how a simulation game about a world ravaged by climate change could impact people’s opinions about climate change</a> . In <i>Fate of the World</i> , players must make tough decisions in a world that has one unified government, but due to climate change, is facing numerous problems that affect local economies, the health of people, and conflicts over land. To play the game, players make decisions about environmental, economic, and international policies while monitoring carbon dioxide emission levels. In his study, he investigated whether playing the game would affect people’s opinions about the importance of climate change mitigation via pretest/post-test surveys and interviews with the participants after they had played the game. I recently spoke to David about the game’s impact in his study and the role that this medium can play addressing controversial science topics.</p><p></p>
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<h3><b>What was the most interesting insight from your</b> <b><i>Fate of the World</i></b> <b>study?</b></h3><p>The most interesting insight was probably the ability of the game to help participants get a grasp of the complexity of the climate change problem. One of the important things about <i>Fate of the World</i> is that it simulates multiple aspects of climate change simultaneously—the player has to simultaneously monitor social, environmental, technological, and political aspects in order to succeed. Over and over again in the post-play interviews, players told us about how the game helped them grasp how many factors are in play in climate change and helped them realize what a difficult challenge it is to solve.</p><h3><b>What do you think can make games about controversial science topics more effective at educating people?</b></h3><p>One reason that I think games are especially effective at educating people on controversial topics is that they allow the user to experiment with the problem in question, which allows him/her to develop a better understanding of the it. For example, in <i>Fate of the World</i> , if you want to take a radical approach and ban coal straight away, you can do it. The problem is that you then cause a massive power generation crisis, as there is no immediately ready replacement for all of the coal-fired power that you just banned. This kind of experimentation on the part of the player can generate some very profound learning—by playing around with the different factors under your control, you come to understand the problem in a much more thorough way than if you had, say, watched a movie about it.</p><p>Another reason for effectiveness in this regard is that games are (at least sometimes) less preachy and can even build in space for alternative assumptions. In the case of <i>Fate</i> , for example, there is a scenario called Cornucopia, which assumes much higher levels of fuel abundance than the standard scenarios. Even under this scenario, however, it’s clear to the player that climate change is still an extremely difficult problem.</p><p>A final reason is simply that games are tons of fun. There are already lots of fans of complex simulations, and we might as well leverage that fan base to help folks develop a more robust understanding of important social and scientific problems. Other genres of gaming have plenty of educational potential as well, although I’m a real believer in the educational power of simulations above all else.</p><h3><b>Which science topics do you think are important for games to tackle?</b></h3><p>Climate change is certainly on top of my list here, but there are many other possible topics. My favorite kinds of games are ones like <i>Fate</i> which don’t just model scientific problems in isolation, but which also model the social impacts of scientific and technological challenges. As a person who is interested in citizenship education, it is games like this that intrigue me most—the impact that they could potentially have on citizenship is huge.</p><hr/><p>Probably one of the most interesting results to come from the David’s study are these two word cloud images below that were generated by participants in the study during a concept mapping activity. The first word cloud was generated by pre-test responses while the second word cloud was generated by post-test responses. The second word cloud includes terms and concepts that better reflect the sources (emissions, methane, carbon dioxide) and solutions to mitigating climate change and understanding the scope of its effect (renewable energy sources, health).</p><p></p>
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<p>The pre-test word cloud</p><p></p><p>Games like <i>Fate of the World</i> and <i>Vax</i> show the potential of making science games that educate people about the scientific and sociological effects of the decisions that people make. Even at NOVA, we’ve tackled an issue that is often the source of controversy with our <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/labs/lab/evolution/">Evolution Lab</a> , a puzzle game that outlines the evidence of evolution via phylogenetic tree puzzles.</p><p>In 2014, <a href="http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/publication/level-up-learning-a-national-survey-on-teaching-with-digital-games/">research by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center</a> revealed that a majority of teachers who use digital games in the classroom are using them at least once a week and find that they support and motivate low-performing students. A <a href="http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/06/17/can-students-learn-better-with-digital-games/">Gates Foundation study</a> found that when digital games were compared to other instruction conditions without digital games, there was a moderate to strong effect in favor of digital games in terms of broad cognitive competencies. Students in the median see their learning achievement increase by 12 percent in conditions where they have a game. As games continue to become a more prominent part of K-12 classrooms, it’s imperative that we take advantage of their full potential to both augment content knowledge in science as well as the critical thinking skills citizens should have in order to make informed public health, social, and political decisions.</p>
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<p data-block-key="ycb0q">Games have become increasingly ubiquitous, with the enormous potential to be effective at reaching and teaching audiences.</p>

Exploring the Life and Legacy of Percy Julian

<p></p><p>In the fall of 2015, two seventh graders from Houston contacted NOVA seeking information about Percy Julian, the subject of their National History Day project. Their journey to learn about the life of the inspirational and accomplished African American chemist led them to archival artifacts and even an interview with the director of NOVA’s film, <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/forgotten-genius.html"><i>Percy Julian</i> : <i>Forgotten Genius</i></a> .</p><p>The story of Percy Julian remains a powerful reminder of the challenges and bigotry that many scientists of color have had to overcome. Born in 1899 in Montgomery, AL, Julian pursued his education during a brutal Jim Crow era. After completing his undergraduate studies in chemistry at DePauw University and his master’s degree at Harvard University, he was forced to pursue his doctorate in chemistry overseas at the University of Vienna because Harvard would not allow him to complete his teaching assistantship due to his race.</p><p>After returning to the United States to take a job as a professor at Howard University, Julian began working in industry where he developed processes to synthesize progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone from plants. His research on plant-derived hormones advanced industrial-scale production as well as the number of treatments available for medical conditions like arthritis and even helped with the production of birth control. When Shotwell Academy seventh graders Tatyana McClain and Han Van set out to choose a historical figure for their National History Day project, they knew that they wanted to choose someone whose work had improved the quality of life for people around the world and whose story was inspiring.</p><p>Eight years after NOVA’s <i>Percy Julian</i> : <i>Forgotten Genius’</i> initial broadcast in 2007, the students contacted NOVA to inform us that they had been inspired to select Julian as the subject of their National History Day competition project after watching the NOVA film on DVD. They were seeking more information beyond the educational resources available online. We were able to provide numerous materials to them from our archives, including an unpublished memoir written by Julian. We also connected them with the film’s director, Llew Smith, who told them about his personal experiences while making the film and meeting members of Julian’s family.</p>
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<p>From left to right: Han Van, Tatyana McClain, NOVA Senior Series Producer Melanie Wallace, and Ms. Monica Blackshire</p><p>The pair placed first in their school competition, progressed through districts (second place) and regionals (first place), and went all the way to the <a href="http://www.aldineisd.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=750&amp;pageId=9913417">state competition in Austin earlier this spring</a> . Their success is proof that this NOVA program and the story of Percy Julian continues to provide an invaluable educational experience, reaching and exciting new generations of students.</p><p>I got an opportunity to chat with Tatyana and Han as well as their teacher, Monica Blackshire, about their experience working on the Percy Julian project.</p><p><b>Ralph</b> : Why did you choose Percy Julian for your project?</p><p><b>Tatyana</b> : We were just really interested in his journey and how he still prevailed even though he encountered many challenges, such as racial discrimination. His experiments were very significant, and actually we still use them today. We found that very interesting.</p><p><b>Ralph</b> : What’s been an interesting finding from your research about him?</p><p><b>Tatyana</b> : The most interesting finding was when Ms. Melanie Wallace sent us his journal entries that we were able to include in our exhibit. It really gave us personal insight into his thoughts and his actual goals that he tried to pursue while he was living.</p><p><b>Han</b> : It also helped us understand his experimental method when he was performing chemical research on plants.</p><p><b>Ralph</b> : What would you say were some of the challenges that you’ve encountered while working on this project?</p><p><b>Han</b> : Finding pictures. Not many people knew about him and there weren’t that many pictures of him in the early 1900s.</p><p><b>Tatyana</b> : We also talked to the DePauw University archivist, and he said that most of his family had the pictures and his belongings, but since his children and wife are deceased, it’s pretty hard to get in contact with his family.</p><p><b>Ralph</b> : What’s the big takeaway that you want people to have after they view your project?</p><p><b>Tatiana</b> : That Percy Julian explored treatments for conditions like glaucoma and helped identify steroids used in many medications and birth control. He’s not being given enough credit today, so we would like for his research to be more known.</p><p><b>Ms. Blackshire</b> : I think that it would be great if Percy Julian was acknowledged just as much as other well-known African American leaders in history. I mean, his work is so significant, and I’m so surprised that many people don’t know who he is. The documentary that you guys made was really good, and I feel like it should be maybe televised more.</p><p><b>Ralph</b> : Tatyana and Han, what careers are you interested in pursuing?</p><p><b>Tatyana</b> : I was looking at anesthetics, maybe being an anesthesiologist when I get older, or a pediatric nurse. Definitely something in the medical field. And I think Percy Julian has really inspired my interest in medicine.</p><p><b>Han</b> : A radiologist. I like the idea of taking pictures of bones and stuff. While doing the project, I learned that he also helped produce cortisone that helps treat arthritis.</p><p>Share the story of Percy Julian with your students. Check out our collection of clips and resources from NOVA’s <i>Percy Julian: Forgotten Genius</i> , on <a href="http://mass.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/pj07.sci.civil.tactics.education/getting-an-education/">PBS LearningMedia</a> .</p>

<p>Eight years after NOVA’s <i>Percy Julian</i> : <i>Forgotten Genius’</i> initial broadcast in 2007, the students contacted NOVA to inform us that they had been inspired to select Julian as the subject of their National History Day competition project after watching the NOVA film on DVD.</p>

New NOVA Resource Collection for Teachers!

<p>For more than 50 years, NOVA has been inspiring people with stories of science that spark curiosity and illuminate the ways that science can solve important problems and improve lives. In classrooms across the country, teachers have been using NOVA to bring these compelling stories to their students. This year, we are excited to announce the launch of the updated <a href="https://pbslearningmedia.org/collection/nova"><b>NOVA PBS LearningMedia collection</b></a> — with over 1,000 resources from NOVA films, digital series, apps, and more!</p><p>Search for clips from NOVA films — all contextualized with lesson planning resources for a wide range of STEM topics and aligned to national and state teaching standards. The updated collection includes several exciting features:</p><h4>Dynamic organization of all NOVA resources by disciplines and topics</h4><ul><li>Simple topical organization within disciplines using NGSS framework</li><li>Quickly switch topics with a responsive pull-down menu</li></ul>
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<h4>Improved search functionality within the NOVA collection</h4><ul><li>Search function within collection delivers only NOVA resources and is accessible anywhere in the collection</li><li>View all resources within a topic – no more multiple page clicks to browse!</li></ul>
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<h4>Sub-collections for NOVA films and digital series</h4><ul><li>Browse the most popular NOVA film and digital series collections with dynamic signature art</li><li>Updated visual design for simpler navigation</li></ul>
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<p>“I cannot count the number of times that I’ve been told by scientists and non-scientists alike how important NOVA was to them as they were growing up,” says NOVA Co-Executive Producer, Chris Schmidt . “From the Army Captain who, as a 9-year boy, struggled in school until he saw a NOVA about bridge engineers that made him excited about learning math and science; to the astrophysicist who credits NOVA with turning her eyes to the stars.</p><p>“It’s young, curious minds that continue to ensure NOVA’s relevance now and into the future,” added Co-Executive Producer, Julia Cort. “We are so excited that this updated collection will better highlight NOVA’s 50 years of incredible stories of science discovery, innovation, and human achievement. NOVA is committed to supporting the important work that teachers do to educate and inspire students with resources from our films.”</p><p></p>
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<p>Last year, we invited several teachers to share their experiences of using NOVA in the classroom. Nancy Gifford, a 7th grade science teacher in Massachusetts reflected on her use of NOVA in the classroom, “Teaching science through stories is a really great way to present information. I've taken that to heart and it makes it more meaningful for the students!”</p><p>See testimonials from Nancy and other teachers about NOVA’s impact on their classrooms in this video!</p>
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<p>Whether you want to explore the deepest corners of space, travel back to prehistoric times, or understand new advances in technology, this updated collection will inspire your students through engaging videos, games, and activities!</p><p></p><h2><a href="http://pbslearningmedia.org/collection/nova"><b>EXPLORE NOVA PBS LEARNINGMEDIA COLLECTION</b></a></h2>
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<p data-block-key="fth0e">This year, we are excited to announce the launch of the updated NOVA PBS LearningMedia collection — with over 1,000 resources from NOVA films, digital series, apps, and more!</p><p data-block-key="140ll"></p>

MIT+K12 is Training the Next Generation of Science Communicators

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  The world could use more Neil deGrasse Tysons and Janna Levins. In a time where information is being consumed through various mediums and misconceptions about science often spread faster than the truth—it’s important that scientists are able to meet people where they are. A new program at MIT is creating the next generation of science communicators and they’re tackling the digital landscape through engaging, short-form videos on YouTube.
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  The
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   MIT+K12 program
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  was started in 2011 to address the underperformance of US K-12 students and the underrepresentation of minorities and women in STEM fields. The program started with MIT students working together to create short explanatory videos for STEM topics like
  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm6cCg_Do6k" target="_blank">
   the rock cycle
  </a>
  and
  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKH1DyV9vNU" target="_blank">
   sports car aerodynamics
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  . Since 2013, the program has expanded into four core initiatives:
  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzMhsCgGKd1hoofiKuifwy6qRXZs7NG6a" target="_blank">
   Science Out Loud
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  is an original web series written and hosted by MIT students,
  <a href="http://k12videos.mit.edu/outreach-events" target="_blank">
   SciVids101
  </a>
  is an outreach event which brings area middle and high school students to the MIT campus for a crash course on making science videos, an
  <a href="http://k12videos.mit.edu/20219-becoming-the-next-bill-nye" target="_blank">
   MIT class
  </a>
  on writing and hosting educational shows, and the
  <a href="http://k12videos.mit.edu/k12-video-fellowships" target="_blank">
   MIT+K12 Fellowships
  </a>
  train future thinkers and makers in educational media.
 </p>
<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_1881" style="max-width: 1010px">
<figure class="richtext-image full-width">
<img alt="lindsey wang engineering trash" class="richtext-image full-width" src="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/media/images/lindsey-wang-engineering-trash-e1429899681889.width-990_nZbYbUx.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p class="wp-caption-text">
   MIT student Lindsey Wang hosting her “Engineering Trash into Treasure” video
  </p>
</div>
<p dir="ltr">
  Elizabeth Choe, the program manager and the Executive Producer of Science Out Loud, has worked with the program for nearly two years and participated in the pilot program as an undergrad. With a B.S. in Biological Engineering and a background in nanoparticle-based cancer therapy research, Elizabeth has channeled her love for science with her desire to share the work of MIT students in a way that is both educational and engaging. This season of the Science Out Loud series included 20 cast members and there are currently another 20 students enrolled in the “Becoming the Next Bill Nye” class (who will be responsible for the third season of the web video series this fall). Every year, the students take their videos to more exciting frontiers, both in content and in the way they are shot. For example, check out the first episode of the second season where a group of students go skydiving to explain drag!
 </p>
<div class="inline-caption">
  Andrew Horning, Banks Hunter,&amp; Swati Varshney take to the skies to explain drag.
 </div>
<p>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">
  I recently got a chance to talk to Elizabeth about the importance of science communication, her experience in managing MIT+K12, and the future of the program.
 </p>
<h2>
  Why do you think science communication is such an important skill for MIT students to possess?
 </h2>
<p dir="ltr">
  ELIZABETH: I think a lot of people here certainly enjoy sharing their interests with others, but there can be a tendency within scientific communities to overlook the sense of urgency there is in developing ambassadors for science. On a practical level, there’s really a civil responsibility to promote STEM literacy with a public whose daily life is affected by this science, who can understandably be scared by a lot of it, and whose votes can shape the research that happens. It’s easy to take this for granted when you’re in a community like MIT, where everyone shares this passion for science and engineering and learning. I think there’s an equal civil responsibility to share scientists’ love of learning with non-scientists and to highlight the many faces of science. There are certain aspects of our current culture that perpetuate misconceptions about the door to science being open only to certain people, and by equipping the very diverse student population at MIT with the ability to both inform and inspire, we can start to fight those misconceptions.
 </p>
<p>
</p>
<h2>
  What lessons have you learned about effective ways to communicate science to the public since you’ve started MIT+K12?
 </h2>
<p dir="ltr">
  ELIZABETH: If anything, I’ve just come up with more questions! There aren’t really established best practices for the space we’re trying to inhabit, this space that’s sort of at the intersection of education and entertainment, of TV-narrative and web video. Definitely still trying to figure those out. I will say that my thoughts on what constitutes good science communication has changed a bit, in that things like clarity and accuracy are important, but the ability to empathize with an audience and understand their perspective is the crucial bit. So much of effective communication is listening, and then reaching people where they are.
 </p>
<div class="flex-video">
<div class="flex-video">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="439" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R1kxajH629A?feature=oembed" width="780">
</iframe>
</div>
</div>
<div class="inline-caption">
  George Zaidan explores the smelly world of farting and gut bacteria.
 </div>
<p>
</p>
<h2>
  What are the biggest challenges that you face when producing a new Science Out Loud episode?
 </h2>
<p dir="ltr">
  ELIZABETH: It’s funny, I talk to many members of the community here whose eyes will just light up when they’re talking about their research, and then when you ask them to write a script or you turn on the camera, it’s this sudden fall-back to formulaic, textbook-like, and almost robotic content and delivery. We’ve just been ingrained with a sort of traditionally bland mode of knowledge transfer throughout the majority of our education that it’s a very hard habit to fight. But it’s also probably one of the most fun parts, helping the students to be themselves on camera. It’s also difficult to get them to think outside of their MIT perspective, which is completely understandable—if I’d been asked to do this as an undergrad I probably would have been the worst! But thinking about what someone outside your sphere would find interesting or uninteresting, or identifying the parts of your world that others may not be able to see but would want to… it’s hard to step outside of yourself and do that.
 </p>
<p>
</p>
<h2>
  What kind of feedback have you gotten from teachers and students who have used Science Out Loud videos in the classroom?
 </h2>
<p dir="ltr">
  ELIZABETH: They like that we show real-world applications to the things they learn in the classroom and bring them to this world outside of the textbook. Science Out Loud was never intended to be an instructional series. Instead, we try to highlight the resources we have at MIT and give other people—who otherwise wouldn’t have access to them—a window into these resources, and the chance to start their own discussions.
 </p>
<p>
</p>
<h2>
  What are your next steps for the Science Out Loud series and the MIT+K12 Fellowship program?
 </h2>
<p dir="ltr">
  ELIZABETH: I’ll be teaching a class during MIT’s January term called “Becoming the Next Bill Nye,” where students can earn credit for learning about digital media literacy, STEM-advocacy, and what it means to be a good science communicator through writing and hosting short educational shows. I put this together after seeing that there was this huge opportunity to develop these skills during the production process of Science Out Loud, but one that we couldn’t really take advantage of because of limited time. We’ll take the best projects from the class and produce season 3, and eventually turn it into a semester-long course! As for the fellowship program, we just selected our inaugural class, and they’ll be working on various educational media projects (not just related to MIT+K12 Videos) throughout the spring semester. It’ll definitely be a learning experience for all of us, but hopefully one that will help them advance their interests and understanding of educational media. I would love to see this program continue as a way to support students who have an interest in occupying the space between science and media, in equipping them in a more specialized way.
 </p>
<p dir="ltr">
<i>
   MIT+K12 is a great example of how important it is for scientists to use new tools and spaces to share their work with the public. Challenging the perception of who scientists are and what they do is a powerful way to increase student interest in STEM and show them the agency that they have to accomplish great things. Check out the second season of Science Out Loud on their
   <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzMhsCgGKd1hoofiKuifwy6qRXZs7NG6a" target="_blank">
    YouTube page
   </a>
   and visit their
   <a href="http://k12videos.mit.edu/" target="_blank">
    website
   </a>
   to learn more about the program!
  </i>
</p>
<p>
</p>
</section>

A new program at MIT is creating the next generation of science communicators through engaging, short-form STEM videos on YouTube.

NOVA's Evolution Lab: Adventures in the Tree of Life

<section class="entry-content instapaper_body clearfix" itemprop="articleBody">
<div class="add-container clearfix" id="add-block-placer">
</div>
<p>
<em>
   “Evolution isn’t just a story about where we came from. It’s an epic at the center of life itself.”
  </em>
  – Kenneth R. Miller, Biologist, Brown University
 </p>
<p>
  If you are reading this sentence, you’re presumably a member of the species Homo sapiens, one of somewhere between 5 and 100 million distinct types of organisms living on Earth today. Incredibly, the story of how you are related to all of those species—and millions upon millions more that have gone extinct over the 3.5 billion year history of life on Earth—can be summarized in an enormous family tree. To help you explore this tree and understand the amazing mechanism behind it, we’ve created the
  <strong>
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/labs/lab/evolution/">
    Evolution Lab
   </a>
</strong>
  .
 </p>
<p>
  With the support of the Biogen Foundation, the groundwork laid by the
  <strong>
<a href="https://lifeonearth.seas.harvard.edu/">
    Life on Earth project
   </a>
</strong>
  , and the
  <strong>
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/labs/about/advisors/#evolution">
    expertise of our scientist advisors
   </a>
</strong>
  , the Evolution Lab is now the 6th Lab on the NOVA Labs platform.
 </p>
<div class="flex-video">
<div class="flex-video">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="439" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OYhok45LLkI?feature=oembed" width="780">
</iframe>
</div>
</div>
<div class="inline-caption">
  The Evolution Lab was produced with support from the Biogen Foundation.
 </div>
<p>
  Play the Evolution Lab and you’ll be on your way to becoming an expert in phylogenetics—the study of the evolutionary relationships among species. The information and concepts you learn along the way will provide a strong foundation for pursuing any topic in the life sciences, from astrobiology to zoology. As Russian biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky noted in the title of his 1973 essay, “Nothing in biology makes sense except in light of evolution.”
 </p>
<p>
  The Evolution Lab features two interactive digital learning tools—made available online for the first time here—developed by the Life on Earth project based at Harvard University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. “Understanding phylogenetic trees can be difficult, but we’re working to make it more accessible,” says principal investigator Chia Shen, director of Scientists’ Discovery Room (SDR) Lab. Shen’s team worked for several years to develop Deep Tree, “an open-ended space to explore the common ancestry of all species and understand how life continues to evolve.” Florian Block, lead developer of NOVA’s web version of Deep Tree, notes that today most computers and mobile devices have enough power to run interactive visualizations from huge datasets. “Working with NOVA to make our work accessible to virtually anyone with Internet access is exciting—we want as many people as possible to experience some of the evolutionary wonders contained in the tree of life.”
 </p>
<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2197" style="max-width: 790px">
<figure class="richtext-image full-width">
<img alt="" class="richtext-image full-width" src="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/media/images/deeptree-compare.width-990_SmX1wIC.png"/>
<figcaption>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p class="wp-caption-text">
   Trace the shared ancestry of over 70,000 species in Deep Tree.
  </p>
</div>
<p>
  The other tool that came out of their research is a puzzle-based game called Build A Tree, in which players create their own phylogenetic trees from a set of species and a list of shared traits. “Games can be powerful tools for giving people a motivating and structured learning experience,” says Michael Horn, an assistant professor of computer science and learning science at Northwestern University and co-principal investigator for Life on Earth. “But for us, it’s more about providing a really challenging problem in a context where it’s fine to fail over and over again as an integral part of the learning process, as you puzzle through quandaries that real scientists have wrestled with over the centuries.”
 </p>
<p>
  Begin your exploration by watching our introductory video entitled “Evolution 101” for an overview of evolution, going back to its discovery by Charles Darwin (and Alfred Russel Wallace, just a little late to the party). Then you’ll be ready to put your understanding to the test by playing our version of the tree of life.
 </p>
<div class="flex-video">
<div class="flex-video">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="439" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JUM6NOARlO4?feature=oembed" width="780">
</iframe>
</div>
</div>
<div class="inline-caption">
  Start exploring the history of life on Earth today!
 </div>
<p>
<strong>
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/labs/lab/evolution/">
    Play the Evolution Lab
   </a>
</strong>
</p>
</section>

Play NOVA's Evolution Lab to explore the tree of life and become an expert in phylogenetics—the study of the evolutionary relationships among species.

Everything You Need to Teach Evolution

<section class="entry-content instapaper_body clearfix" itemprop="articleBody">
<div class="add-container clearfix" id="add-block-placer">
</div>
<p>
  Evolution is the central unifying principle of biology and yet, it is an area of science that is rife with conflict. This conflict is purely societal and not scientific, and unfortunately there are many organizations that have a vested interest in spreading confusion and doubt about evolution. If you are a science educator who teaches evolution, you are bound to hear misconceptions about evolution that students have picked up from pop culture, news media, and, in some cases, other science classrooms.
 </p>
<figure class="richtext-image full-width">
<img alt="" class="richtext-image full-width" src="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/media/images/teach-evolution-poster-image.width-990_0gwSy0N.png"/>
<figcaption>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>
  On February 9, 2016, we hosted a webinar with Stephanie Keep to discuss some of the common pitfalls and misconceptions that science educators encounter when teaching evolution. Stephanie is the editor of
  <a href="http://reports.ncse.com/index.php/rncse" target="_blank">
   Reports of the National Center for Science Education
  </a>
  and is a science consultant and writer who regularly writes about evolution misconceptions on the National Center for Science Education’s blog. Her presentation during the webinar covered how to spot and address the most common misconceptions and we also shared some of the best resources for teaching a comprehensive unit on evolution. Watch it below:
 </p>
<div class="inline-caption">
  Learn about common misconceptions about evolution and how to avoid them.
 </div>
<p>
<a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/aw2sg25kerrffet/Everything%20You%20Need%20to%20Teach%20Evolution%20-%20NOVA%20NCSE%20webinar%20presentation.pptx?dl=0" target="_blank">
   Click here to download Stephanie’s presentation.
  </a>
</p>
<p>
  Below is a list of the resources that were covered in the webinar.
 </p>
<p>
<strong>
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/labs/lab/evolution/" target="_blank">
    NOVA’s Evolution Lab
   </a>
</strong>
<br/>
  Create phylogenetic trees and explore genetic relationships between species with NOVA’s Evolution Lab. In this Lab, evaluate similarities in the traits and DNA of species, and conduct your own investigations in an open-ended interactive tree of life. Along the way, watch short animated videos that explain the evidence for evolution and illustrate it with specific examples. Come climb around the tree of life and see evolution—what some have called the greatest show on Earth—in action.
 </p>
<div class="flex-video">
<div class="flex-video">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="439" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hNLqRiujSyg?feature=oembed" width="780">
</iframe>
</div>
</div>
<div class="inline-caption">
  NOVA's Evolution Lab trailer
 </div>
<p>
<strong>
<a href="http://mass.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/nvev-sci-worksheet/nova-evolution-lab-interactive-mission-1-6-pdf/" target="_blank">
    NOVA’s Evolution Lab Worksheets and Interactive Lessons
   </a>
</strong>
<br/>
  Explore the evidence of evolution with these worksheets based off of NOVA’s Evolution Lab. These worksheets contain questions for each level and video of the Evolution Lab and provide assessment on topics like cladograms, fossil evidence of evolution, DNA and genetics, biogeography, applications of phylogeny to health, and human evolution. The worksheets are divided into missions and are designed to be completed while playing through the game. The worksheets feature multiple choice questions, short response questions, and cladogram drawings.
 </p>
<p>
  The interactive lessons are digital versions of the worksheets and contain the same content from the worksheets.
 </p>
<p>
<b>
<a href="http://ncseteach.com/" target="_blank">
    NCSEteach
   </a>
</b>
<br/>
  The National Center for Science Education is the only national organization devoted to defending the teaching of evolution in public schools. NCSE’s
  <a href="http://ncse.com/evolution/science/evolution-primers" target="_blank">
   Evolution Primers
  </a>
  are written by NCSE’s scientific staff to explain key concepts or findings in evolution that are frequently misrepresented by creationists. NCSEteach is a network that brings science teachers together, allows educators to connect with one another (and NCSE staff), guides them to good-quality and well-vetted resources, shares stories of how teachers have dealt with challenges to science education and also connects them to early career scientists as a resource.
 </p>
<p>
<strong>
<a href="http://ncse.com/users/stephanie-keep" target="_blank">
    Misconception Monday
   </a>
</strong>
<br/>
  Stephanie Keep’s blog posts on the NCSE website cover common misconceptions about evolution that appear everywhere from textbooks to science news articles.
 </p>
<p>
<strong>
<a href="http://evolution.berkeley.edu/" target="_blank">
    Understanding Evolution
   </a>
</strong>
<br/>
  Understanding Evolution is your one-stop shop for teaching and learning about evolution from kindergarten through college. Get friendly, clear background information as well as animations, comics, interactive investigations, news briefs, research profiles, and a database of free, vetted lessons for your classroom.
 </p>
<p>
<strong>
<a href="http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/evolution-collection" target="_blank">
    HHMI BioInteractive
   </a>
</strong>
<br/>
  The evolution collection contains short films, interactives, and classroom activities that cover mechanisms of evolution, human evolution, phylogeny, and more.
 </p>
<p>
<strong>
<a href="http://humanorigins.si.edu/education/teaching-evolution-through-human-examples" target="_blank">
    Teaching Evolution through Human Examples
   </a>
</strong>
<br/>
  This NSF-funded project from the Smithsonian contains 4 curriculum units for AP Biology classes that use human case studies to teach core evolutionary principles. The curriculum units include Adaptation to Altitude, Malaria, Evolution of Human Skin Color, What Does It Mean To Be Human, and a unit called Cultural and Religious Sensitivity.
 </p>
<p>
<strong>
<a href="http://www.shapeoflife.org/" target="_blank">
    Shape of Life
   </a>
</strong>
<br/>
  Shape of Life is a series of short classroom videos that depict evolution of the animal kingdom on Earth. Shape of Life focuses on biodiversity, adaptability, body structure, design, behaviors, and the innovative scientists who explore these creatures. Shape of Life includes videos, lesson plans, readings aligned with the Common Core, illustrations, and relevant resources.
 </p>
<p>
<strong>
<a href="http://www.birdsofparadiseproject.org/" target="_blank">
    Birds-of-Paradise Project
   </a>
</strong>
<br/>
  The birds-of-paradise are among the most beautiful creatures on earth—and an extraordinary example of evolutionary adaptation. On this site you can find what few have witnessed in the wild: the displays of color, sound, and motion that make these birds so remarkable. Then you can delve deeper, examining the principles that guided their evolution and the epic adventure it took to bring us all 39 species. There are also free lesson plans that explore the topics of the scientific process, natural and sexual selection, behavior, and heritability through hands-on activities and lively discussions: http://www.birdsleuth.org/paradise/.
 </p>
<p>
<strong>
<a href="http://biology.allaboutbirds.org/all-about-fancy-males/" target="_blank">
    All About Fancy Males
   </a>
</strong>
<br/>
  All About Fancy Males is an eight section online interactive developed to accompany one of the most respected introductory evolution courses in the country—Cornell University’s Evolution and Biology and Diversity. This interactive allows students and the general public to develop a solid understanding of fundamental concepts in evolution while exploring rare behavioral clips and engaging animations.
 </p>
<p>
  Have questions about these resources or suggestions for additional resources we should add to the collection? Let us know in the comments!
 </p>
</section>

Evolution is the central unifying principle of biology and yet, it is an area of science that is rife with conflict. Learn about the best resources for teaching evolution in middle and high school science classrooms.

Ralph Bouquet

Articles