Meeting 13 • 18 February 2014
Week 7: Rocks & soil, weather & water

Version:
2/19/14

pictures of the week


Mt. Chimborazo, illustration from Humboldt's time

Humboldt's iconic engraving of Mt. Chimborazo

thought-bite of the week:

"…often during astronomic observations I almost dropped my instruments when I realized my face and hands were covered with these hairy bees. Our guides assured us that these bees only attacked when you annoyed them by picking them up by their legs. I did not try."

(Humboldt, "Personal Narrative", from Jaguars and Electric Eels, ed. & trans. Wilson, p. 17)

mini-text of the week (start):

"…the general phenomena of plant distribution…"

Humboldt, "Personal Narrative", from Jaguars and Electric Eels, ed. & trans. Wilson, pp. 14-16 (read more)
Topics for today (key to symbols)

•√ (10') This week's thought-bite and mini-text: expensive instruments, extreme conditions, and great insights about geography, climate, and species distribution. An example of debate among climate scientists that is very appropriate to the Stegner/Powell reading you have started: Justin Gillis, "Science Linking Drought to Global Warming", NYT

•√ What data do YOU collect first-hand, how do you do it, how precise is it, and how much do you trust it? Think bathroom, car, shopping, smartphone

•√ Groups discuss meaning and distinction of: factual, objective, impartial, truthful (not to mention: authoritative, definitive). How does this apply to your book reports, especially how you judge what's in those books?

•√ (10') An example of a very different course / project that relates to sustainabilty (and distant lands), and also illustrates how valuable are having many different kinds of knowledge / skills, and also teamwork and individual initiative. Small groups discuss and report out: What skills and behaviors are needed for "SpeakEasy"? How does that apply to our course? "Getting it" - the need and the difficulty

•√ (20') Species descriptions, group projects, and book review activity: What about AvH's life and work might spark interest in: 1) AP students of various subjects; 2) middle-/high-school boys, especially non-privileged/minority learns (and especially ones that have unduly high self-images); 3) elementary school girls; 4) special-needs learners; 5) school teachers and administrators; 6) communities that could be linked to H?

•+ Why the dimension of doing the activities with an eye to writing for a specific audience / helping other learners? 1) understand good learning; 2) evaluate your own educational experience; c) practice for later parenthood and citizenship; d) what satisfaction do we get out of writing papers that only the student and - maybe* - the instructor will ready (*if you're lucky / unlucky)?

•+ Hallmarks / gauges of strong species descriptions / group projects: 1) Is it about you or about sustainable environmentalism and AvH? 2) Will your audience learn ABOUT or learn TO, or both? 3) Could a teacher use youractivity a) as is; b) by adding something to it? 4) Does it contribute balance to a larger effort (or is it just another take on the penguin / squid)? 5) Could you confidently present it publicly? Example: PSU Student Research Symposium

•N Example of a hypothetical project: "Humboldt and Electricity"

•√ Projects that might have attractice "degrees of difficulty": 1) culture contact / clash; 2) human rights; 3) youngest learners / disadvantaged learners; 4) disliked subject areas (STEM!); 5) undersupported subject areas (art - "STE(A)M"); 6) integrative approaches (multiple subject areas / levels of learners).

•+ (10') Large-scale educational issues combined with our course activities: How standards are used to develop curriculum (curricula?) and learning activities. Example of major sources of lesson plans; curriculum mapping for STEM+Hawaiian language at the Lyon Arboretum; the PSU/Oregon "STEM+German" grant project; article (H0152) "School Gardens Blooming Teach Lessons On Nutrition, Environment, Science, Teamwork".

•N or ≠ (05') Small groups (usual classroom groups or project groups) kick these ideas around while they (the ideas, if not the groups) are still fresh

•N or ≠ (10') If time (or you can do on your own): Check your progress (other than by your current grades and the midterm) – and explore the related issues of standards, assessment and grading by exploring this self-evaluation guide for the middle of the term; this applies to your recent writing assignment, to your performance in the course, and to your larger roles as citizen and (possibly) parent.

• On the horizon:

Soon: A last quantification activity: precise measurement of altitude / distance (demo, then do in groups). Thought questions: Are all angles and degrees created equal? Why use a barometer to measure altitude when the theodolites and trig tables are there

Looking further ahead (projects, etc.): presentation (continuation) about educational standards and their parts in the course: 1) Improving your learning by helping others to learn - This is preparation for assignments about species description and group projects.

looking ahead: presentation of project ideas (just the ideas, not finished projects) in week ••

Later: what it's like to read Darwin; Humboldt-named species; forming teams and scoping out projects (ideas for group projects); the iconic graphic of Chimborazo; apps Humboldt would have liked; what shall we do with (to??) the people who haven't revealed their interests and strengths and don't get "on board" when they're needed?