Meeting 14 • 20 February 2014
Week 7: Rocks & soil, weather & water

Version:
2/24/14

pictures of the week

Mt. Chimborazo, illustration from Humboldt's time

Humboldt's iconic engraving of Mt. Chimborazo

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)

•√ (05') This week's mini-text: Where have you yourself seen boundaries between plant zones or (much more difficult to note) animal zones? What might create those boundaries? Are they boundaries between species or something less definitie than that? If you're puzzled for an example, think about driving from PDX over/around Mt. Hood to Bend. (eph csffet; ivnbo sbdft?)

•√ (10') Followup on meeting 13 discussion of "data" and whether X is a "fact": 1) quantity / cost of data in 1800 and now; 2) differences in meaning among "data", "fact", "inference", "conclusion", "opinion", "hypothesis", "theory", "truth". To what extent to we take data, facts, etc. "on faith"? How do we decide what we believe/ accept? Where do you get your various data about the topics and issues that concern you? Where have you encountered wrong data in daily life? What examples can you give of other people innocently (or "innocently") finding and passingon (not generating) incorrect data?

•√ (10') Follow-up on "My Education" and prep for species descriptions / group projects:

1) food for thought: How do you know where you learned X? How do you know that what you learned is really true? How/When did you learn how to learn? If you lost your curiosity and interest in learning, how and when did it happen?

2) How many have talked this over with: friends? siblings? parents? former teachers? current teachers (other courses)? employers? your mentor (individually)? me (individually)?

3) SINQing the Humboldt Canoe as material for discussion of curriculum: for math: age-appropriate activities; "spiral" syllabus; calculus?! AP?! Which other subject areas did we address / could be addressed? This is prep for larger discussion of species descriptions and group projects

•√ (05') More about educational standards and their parts in the course, and how that relates to the individual and group projects: a) Standards are regarded as a necessary part of creating curricula and competent learning activities in SCHOOL but NOT necessarily COLLEGE!) – so it may benefit you to learn about them as you evaluate your own education, especially now that you are in college. b) Educating the young(ish) learner about sustainable environmentalism, as you will explore with your species and descriptions and maybe your projects, requires systematic learning mapped onto standards (in a complete project, if not in your "proof of concept" versions)

•+ (15') Species descriptions, with work samples. Important: Don't write as though you yourself were the audience, as though you were writing a biology paper, or even as though I were the ultimate audience. Picture a distinct category of learner and work from there. 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 your activity 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

Choose the Humboldt Penguin and the Humboldt Squid with caution, since so many people make them their easy choice and we've had too much of those "Bambi" creatures already and not enough attention to other Humboldt-named species, especially plants. If you go with the penguin and the squid, your project will be judged by particularly strict standards. But the penguin and squid can be used in group projects. So can the species descriptions, but they can't substitute for the main content (example: creating the template and several examples for a booklet or similar resource that collects the Humboldt-named species into one handy reference tool, for example for a Humboldt-named school to keep in its main office for kids, parents and visitors)

•+ (15') The problem of courses that are only 10 weeks long. Group project guidelines/ specifications and second look at ideas for group projects: which skills do thethe projects need / which skills map onto which ideas? Examples of group projects from last year's Humboldt SINQ. Concept of Big IDEA for Major Project, rather than finished, packaged product. Reasons: a) never enough time; b) we're contemplating another SINQ (summer, maybe) and even a Humboldt Capstone. This course's group projects could be handed off (anonymously) to your successors for further development. Into the projects we'll integrate the species descriptions and the foundation for learning materials of use to Humboldt-named schools, or just about any school. You learn best when you have to teach what you've learned. To be an educated, committed citizen is both to learn and to teach.

Organizing principles: AmAze me (Amaze me with the idea, amAze me with the presentation) - but if I tell you what will amaze me, it won't.

Examples - stop me if I'm invading your idea - of hypothetical projects: "Humboldt and Electricity"; "Humboldt and Presidents"; "Humboldt and Indigenous Cultures / Peoples /'Races'"; "Humboldt - You've Read the Novel, Now Go to the Play / See the Movie"; "Humboldt-Themed Student-Created Businesses (coffee, chocolate, Humboldt-branded articles made from Humboldt-related materials)

•+ (10') Examples of lesson plans that can guide species descriptions and some group projects: Enchanted Learning - but one of many sources of learning activities, especially for younger learners. Here's their "Explorers" page about Humboldt. Here's their section about "astronomy:Earth", with activities that could be inspiration for learning activities for Humboldt-named schools. Here is "ThirteenEd Online", about lesson plans (example: math). For the Bigger Picture about principles, stakeholders, etc., see PSU/Oregon "STEM+German" grant-funded project.

•N (05') grants, jobs, résumé lines through PSU Institute for Sustainable Solutions; grants and conferences elsewhere; see earlier handouts for examples of internships

• (0') 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? Margins for error in Humboldt's time and our own: latitude, longitude, altitude, temperature; news flash: PSU Building World's Biggest Barometer!!

Soon: topographical mapping and iso-dimensions

Looking further ahead (projects, etc.): presentation (continuation) about educational standards and their parts in the course: 1) Improving your learnign 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; the iconic graphic of Chimborazo; Upcoming: presentation about society back then (and any time before 1800 or so), to help understand how H related to people of other classes / races (teaser: When was it that someone's ears first popped with a change in altitude?)

advice about "educated citizen" reading, with a short sample