creating curiosity and inspiring inquiry
TRANSCRIPT
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Cultivating curiosity and inspiring inquiry
Mary Williams, ASPBMarch 2016
@PlantTeaching
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
What plant science stories have reached the public in the past year?
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Tasmanian fires Indonesian fires
Food
Climate change
Oddities
Capsaicin in hot peppers
California drought
Plants in space
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Climate change
Food
GMO
Oddities
Plants in space
Mosts…OldestRarestTallestSmallest
?
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
We like stories about people
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
A Race to Save the Orange by Altering Its DNABy AMY HARMON, New York Times July 27, 2013 CLEWISTON, Fla. — The call Ricke Kress and every other citrus grower in Florida dreaded came while he was driving. “It’s here” was all his grove manager needed to say to force him over to the side of the road. The disease that sours oranges and leaves them half green, already ravaging citrus crops across the world, had reached the state’s storied groves.
The Stress TestBy Dana Goodyear , New Yorker February 29, 2016Yoshiki Sasai was known as “the brainmaker.” One of Japan’s foremost developmental biologists,….
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
More than ever, science must be central to all our lives Venki Ramakrishnan, The Guardian 27 Feb 2016……When David Bowie died, his face was emblazoned across the front page of every newspaper with a national outpouring of grief. But when Fred Sanger, who ushered in a new age of biology and was one of the few people to win two Nobel prizes, died a couple of years ago, it was largely relegated to smaller pieces on the inside pages.
The reason people care about David Bowie is that he touched their lives, experientially. ... If people are going to care about science, they need to care about the experience of doing science. That may be difficult to achieve, but emphasis on practical usefulness will get you nowhere.
Talking about science isn’t enough – we have to connect people to science and scientists
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Who is the audience?
Rarely engaged, only minor interest
Super engaged, information seeker
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Health
Environment
Gardening
Anti-GM
Pro-science James Wong@Botanygeek
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Teachers and students
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Who do you want to reach with your science communication?
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Successful science communicators
Ed YongNational Geographic
Amy HarmonNew York Times
Nathanael JohnsonGrist
If you want to be a full-time, professional writer consider a MS in journalism / science writing
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
If you'd like to take to the soapbox and contribute a guest post, please email [email protected].
Agricultural Biodiversity WeblogAll under one leaf (UK Plant Science Federation)Annals of Botany BlogBiology FortifiedGARNet (UK Arabidopsis Research network)Global Plant CouncilIn defense of plantsJohn Innes Student Voice CommitteeKew Science blogMorsels for the Mind (Within each post, scroll down to Beautiful Botanicals)Phytogen (Australian Society of Plant Scientists)Roots and Shoots (Plant science summaries from eLIFE)Roots and Shoots blog (Danforth Plant Science Center)The Botanist in the KitchenDr. M Goes Wild (Jonathan Mitchley, University of Reading)Awkward Botany (Daniel Murphy)Plant Scientist (Sarah Shailes)PhD and the Single Mom (Jen Ro)New Under The Sun (Johnna Roose)The Quiet Branches (Ian Street)
Create or contribute to a blog
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
“Learn how to write. Practice makes perfect and it is an essential tool in communication. Science is in desperate need of a new voice, one that can synthesize and disseminate its story in new and interesting ways.
We spend so much time preaching to the choir that we forget that there is a whole world of people out there that have no clue (and may not even trust) what scientists are doing. Learning how to write clear, concise, and compelling stories can help science reach greater audiences.”
-Matt Candeias-In Defense of Plants
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Science communication is becoming more and more visual
Create images / graphics / videos
Andy BrunningChemistry Teacher>150,000 followers on facebook>14,000 followers on twitter
Alex WildCurator of Entomology at the University of Texas/Austin
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Can you make a really great illustration for your next poster / paper?
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
twisteddoodles
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Why bother trying to communicate about science?
The public funds science and has a right to learn from and about it
An educated public should make better decisions
Carl Sagan once said, “Science is an absolutely essential tool for any society. And if the scientists will not bring this about, who will?”
Becoming a better communicator will always help you, no matter what you do
The more you write, the better you write, and scientists have to write
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Exposure to scientists transforms children’s perceptions
http://ed.fnal.gov/projects/scientists/
To me, a scientist is bald and has hair coming out of the sides of his head. . . . Scientists live in their own world and the rest of society puts them there.
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© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Exposure to scientists transforms children’s perceptions
http://ed.fnal.gov/projects/scientists/
To me, a scientist is bald and has hair coming out of the sides of his head. . . . Scientists live in their own world and the rest of society puts them there.
I know scientists are just normal people with a not so normal job. . . . Scientists lead a normal life outside of being a scientist. They are interested in dancing, pottery, jogging and even racquetball. Being a scientist is just another job which can be much more exciting.
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© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Teachers and students
Q. How is teaching
different from science
communication?
Think about this, then share your ideas with your neighbors
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
• Students don’t really have a choice • Their learning will be assessed
Many students preconceive plant science as “boring”
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
How can I engage students and motivate them to learn?
1. Make learning relevantProvide context
2. Make lecture periods easy to stay awake inProvide structureTeach in chunksIncorporate active learning and problem solving
3. Demystify assessmentProvide clear learning objectivesEvaluate on higher-order skills when possible
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Climate change
Food
GMO
Oddities
Plants in space
Mosts…OldestRarestTallestSmallest
?1. Make learning relevant
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
2. Make it easy to stay awake
Outline•Topic 1•Topic 2•Topic 3
Provide outline and structureWhat we did before
What we’re doing next….
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
2. Make it easy to stay awake
Outline•Topic 1•Topic 2•Topic 3
Helps audience see that progress is being madeProvides “on ramps”
Provide outline and structure
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Repeat key points, creatively
“Rule of three”
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
2. Teach in chunks
Miller, S., Pfund, C., Pribbenow, C.M. and Handelsman, J. (2008). Scientific Teaching in Practice. Science. 322: 1329-1330.
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Class discussion questions
1. Plant vacuoles are large, 90% of cell volume, which pushes the chloroplasts to the periphery of the cell. Why is this an advantage?
2. Draw and explain why chloroplasts have a double membrane (inner and outer)…note each membrane is a lipid bilayer. In which bilayer might one look for peptidoglycan? It turns out that glaucophytes (a type of freshwater algae) do retain a peptidoglycan layer. Why is this strong evidence in support of endosymbiosis?
3. Chloroplast genomes are small (~145 kb). Where did most of the genes in the original photosynthetic prokaryote go?
Courtesy of Judy Brusslan, Cal State Long Beach
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
http://www.lifescied.org/content/8/2/89.full
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Think – Pair (- Share)
https://youtu.be/qQra4baNwP8
Q. How is teaching different from science communication?
Interactive teaching with Chandralekha Singh
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
“Flipped classroom”
Solving problems, thinking, creating, and working with new ideas are essential for learning
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Remember, finding solutions and solving puzzles is fun
Asking students to learn pathways rather than synthesize them is like starting the game of Cluedo by opening the envelope
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Practical guides for evidence-based teaching and learning (free)
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
3. Demystify assessment
Photo credit: David Muir
Should a teacher be a “Sage on the stage”
or“Guide on the side”
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Great teachers•Define learning objectives •Communicate and practice learning objectives•Assess based on learning objectives
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Great teachers•Define learning objectives •Communicate and practice learning objectives•Assess based on learning objectives
Students hate surprises
If you want your students to learn to walk on a tightrope, Tell them the learning objective (to be able to walk on a tightrope)Practice the learning objective (use class time to practice this skill)Assess them on their ability to walk on a tightrope
Don’t assess them on their ability to do a flip!
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Learning objectives (examples)Concepts•Define the primary functions of the five classic plant hormones•Evaluate the different roles plants can play in an ecosystem•Distinguish the role of osmosis and pressure in the movement of water in the plant body•Identify three ways that excessive heat affects agricultural yields
Competencies•Interpret genetic evidence and assemble it into a genetic pathway•Identify positive and negative controls for an experiment•Write a lab report in the style of a journal article•Write a three page review article that includes ten primary references
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Bloom’s Taxonomy, and action verbs
DesignEvaluateContrastInterpretExplainList
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Learning objectives
Pre-class assignmentTopic:
By the end of this lesson students will be able to:
Key concepts
Engagement strategy Post-class assignment
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Summary: Make connectionsProvide context
When teaching, provide structure, opportunities for engagement, and clear, assessable learning goals
Cultivate curiosity and inspire inquiry
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists
Education / careers workshops and symposia at conferences
SEB BrightonJuly 2016
Plant Biology Austin, TexasJuly 2016
Writing workshopMedia workshop (Sense About Science)How to Publish workshopEthics, Social Media and Publishing workshopGrant Writing workshopJob Negotiations workshop….
Education and Outreach symposium
Creative Communication workshopScience with Impact symposium
Enhancing Biology Education symposium
SEB Symposium, LondonDec 2016Creativity in Science Teaching