Watering My Tree

Have you ever put so much effort into something in hopes of getting something in return? As part of my work, I invested my heart and soul into developing and designing a new interactive education exhibit for children. After the Grand Opening event last weekend, I was invited to present my results. The meeting wasn't a cent short of exciting. (Left: A sneak peek of the exhibit)

So, what does my day job have to do with this class or my tree climb? Well, after weeks of building my personal learning network, it wasn't until this week that I realized a fundamental, yet missing, way to expand my professional development. To really advance my network into desired contact groups (and become one of the gang), I need to not only gather, but also produce. In other words, from time to time, I need water my tree.

For this entire class time, I've been reaching out to search for more knowledge, to gain more contacts, to learn more technology applications. The fact is that I've been looking only to others to network with me. This technique alone will not continually grow or sustain my network. I need to also find ways to network with "them."

So what I'm wondering is what if we all took the time to actually develop science education work products (i.e. our plans coming up next week) in a strategic way so that others would be interested... Would we create more opportunities for our students? Would we create positive recognition for our schools? And most significantly, would we engage students in science in a more effective and lasting way?

This networking twist isn't really new, but I had to re-learn it this week; and it was refreshing. It made me consider how many things I learned when I was little about networking. Growing up, thanks to my mother the master gardener, my sister and I spent the summer watering, weeding and growing the most beautiful vegetables and flowers. (Proof: we have 4-H Best of Show ribbons in both categories.) What's the network translation to now? We need to tend our network like a garden. Plant strategically. Water diligently. Tend often. Share the fruits of our labor. Connect with master gardeners. Bottom line, it is better to give than receive. And it is when we give of ourselves with creativity and ingenuity that our tree will shoot up to new heights.

And so, I must re-fill my water can.

Need Input

Have you ever seen the movie Short Circuit? The robot (no. 5) malfunctions, comes "alive," and then, spends all its time trying to satisfy its cravings for input. No. 5's favorite saying was, "need input."

To understand any scientific problem, you need data. To discuss potential solutions to scientific problems, you need data. And ultimately, to solve any scientific problems, you need data.



Data may not be fun as solo numbers and information with units, but what the data can do is where the real fun begins. And when students can work to solve real problems with data, or collect their own data in the field, or participate with scientists in collecting data, that's when they'll start to see science come alive too!

In my Thermal Biology course, I developed a water cycle program for elementary students that utilized temperature data in a virtual field trip activity. In the summer edition of Science & Children, a project involving collecting data is featured for grades 4-6, called "Designing Payloads." The students worked with a local university to create a payload that collects temperature, relative humidity, and/or light intensity data in the atmosphere. Prior to coming up with their own design, the teacher worked with students to teach them how to use a data logger. When the construction of the payload was complete, the students with university scientists launched the payload, tracking it with a GPS unit. Wow!

As seen with this project, data collection, explanation and analysis can be a time-consuming project in the classroom with students. But because it can be very worthwhile if done in creative ways, I'm wondering how often data is used in the classroom to conduct science investigations vs. being reviewed by students online to only see science data?