After writing up my assembly guide, I downloaded my guide and files to Thingiverse, which is a community website for makers to upload their CAD files and instructions for anyone to use. I was excited to find that Thingiverse has a section of their website specifically for education, where people participating in maker education can upload both the instructions and files for their print and and lesson plans that they have written surrounding it. Now that I know my way around a 3D printer, I definitely intend to utilize this resource in the future!
Now came the last portion of my project- writing up activities that would enable educators to use this tool efficiently in their classrooms or informal spaces. My entire idea was inspired by the "How to Read A Fish" lesson by Margaret Olsen (2008), so I had a rough idea that I would need to provide learners with some sort of guide to the parts and what they meant. The version of this lesson that I had previously used in my classroom was too complex and word heavy, and students were so overwhelmed by the amount of parts and the task of using clay to build a fish that they often completely lost the understanding that they were intended to gain about anatomy and adaptation. My 3D printed version already reduced the complexity of the task to a more reasonable level, but I still wanted to make sure that the intended function of each part was clear to a novice.
In order to make absolutely sure that the function of each part was clear, I created a multimodal Anatomy Guide that allows students to see the shapes directly alongside their function and some examples. When I went to deliver the 3D printed set to the aquarium they specifically had asked if I could make this for them, so I was extremely proud to have already developed it. Once I had my anatomy guide, the last thing to do was to design the lessons. I had a vague idea in my head of what I wanted that to look like, but I still wanted to make sure I was able to make it locally relevant to the Galway Atlantaquaria so that these lessons could have a maximal impact for them. At an earlier meeting with the direction of education, I had learned about a book called The Shapes of Fish Around Our Irish Coast by Carmel T. Madigan that was available for free online and that the aquarium used extensively within their current education activities. This resource is beautiful, informative, and well labeled. Unfortunately, it only features a handful of fish so I headed back to the aquarium to drop off the 3D prints and to photograph some of their fish to use for more activities.
The finalized activity guide contains 5 different activities that can be taught using this 3D printed set. These activities include:
This experience has been a difficult but fulfilling one. There have literally been blood, sweat, and tears (thanks to trying to use a craft knife after a morning macchiato), but I have gained a newfound trust in my own expertise and resilience as an educator. On top of that, I have learned a suite of tech skills that are both practical within my context and pretty darn cool. I am leaving this project (and the MAET program) a stronger teacher ready to take on anything the world throws at me.
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After a solid day of scanning and model-editing for just about everything I could get my hands on, it was becoming apparently that even with the higher resolution I had achieved, my original project idea was simply not going to be possible with the equipment at my disposal by the deadline. Sure I could probably do it if I dedicated all of my time and effort to it, but even then I would maybe get one printable product, which was not enough to be helpful. It was time to go back to the drawing board.
I thought back to my initial meeting with the aquarium and reminded myself of which parameters were important. The main audience for this activity would still be middle school students coming into the aquarium for a field trip and a lesson, with secondary audiences of general visitors to the aquarium and any teachers who would like to download my future lesson. I needed something that would be easy for educators to pick up and use, that would be sturdy enough that the prep time on their end would be minimal. Whatever I designed should still be somewhat general, so that it could be remixed for usage in different contexts. I wanted it to still involve 3D printing, as I had already learned the softwares involved and therefore my time to produce a product should still fit within my given time frame. I wanted desperately to make sure I could give the aquarium something workable and useful to them before returning to the states. Going back to my initial batch of ideas, the one that best seemed to fit my current conditions was the mix-and-match fish idea.
CAD'ing a Cod
For my first attempt at fish creation, I wanted to see if any fish models already existed that I could use for my purposes. I needed something that was relatively simple in shape, both to make printing go easier and to make it so the fish wouldn't become too distorted as I changed the dimensions to work for a fish body shape lesson. I spent a good chunk of time looking at databases for a fish model that would work well for my purposes, including Turbosquid, Thingiverse, and TinkerCAD, but nothing seemed to quite fit my specifications. I started to play around within MeshMixer on my own to try and design a fish that would work for me. For the 3D printer to work quickly and efficiently, I needed a design that minimized overhang, which is when material sticks far out from the main body of an object and requires additional support below it. I also knew I needed to make something that was not super detailed, as more details would lead to prints taking longer and being more likely to go wrong. Finally, my original body design needed to be something that could be changed into different dimensions while still seeming fish-like. Eventually, I came up with a super simplified fish design- it consisted of an orb-like body with a triangular anal (bottom side) fin that would also help to keep the body upright, some simple cartoony-eyes, and some pectoral (left and right side) fins. Students using this activity would be able to switch out between multiple dorsal (top) fins in 3 different positions (picture a catfish vs a shark), between different shapes of caudal (tail) fins (think an eel vs a tuna), and between three different mouth positions that would represent different feeding strategies. These could all be switched out on any of 5 body shapes to allow for the recreation of hundreds of different fish. I have been describing it to people as "Mr. Potato Head, but with fish".
Below are some screenshots of my initial CAD images for the different fish activity pieces.
Bodies
A. Compressiform (like a surgeonfish) B. Globiform (like a lumpsucker)- this was the first design I made and turned into the others C. Fusiform (like a salmon) D. Depressiform (like a stingray) E. Anguilliform (like an eel)
From CAD to 3D Printing
The gif to the left shows the computer processing of one of my print attempts. The red shows the outer walls of the object. The orange shows the infill. The blue shows the supports and the support brim. As you can see in the bottom right of the screen, printing these 5 objects (each about the size of my palm) took a little over 9 hours. The gif to the right shows the 3D printer executing a different print of a single fish body.
Making a Functional Prototype
Now that I had all of my parts, I needed to figure out a way to make it easy to add and remove the tails and mouths from the fish. Because this resource is being used at an informal education institution, I needed to make sure that whatever I developed was inexpensive, easily replicable, and would be sturdy enough to survive use by the general public (shoutout to that kid who once tried to eat an artifact I was showing them when I worked at a museum). I first played around with the idea of creating a 3D printed part that could serve as an attachment. There are plenty of tried-and-true files online, like this set of bolts and nuts from Mike Mattala on Thingiverse, that could easily be downloaded and added onto my CAD models. However, I had a few concerns about this method- if anyone were to re-scale the CAD models in the future, the nuts and bolts would not work properly. Additionally, their effectiveness can be prone to how they are printed and processed, which would be disadvantageous to an institution that does not regularly print and needs a one-and-done method for accessing this activity.
The push pins didn't have quite as strong of a magnetic grip as the paperclips, but they looked far nicer and were a much easier solution than the paperclips- someone could certainly replicate this with relative ease. But for now, it would work. I spent the rest of that afternoon assembling the rest of my prototype models so that I would have something to both show to the aquarium and to show the other educators within the MAET program for feedback. In the mean time, I had a little photoshoot with my prototypes and filmed a video of how they are intended to work, both of which can be seen below.
Improving My Prototype
I knew I was going to need some heavier duty glue to make these magnets work. My fiancé spends a lot of time assembling, modifying, and painting miniatures, so I got his expert consultation on what type of glue would work best for this particular type of plastic. I headed back to the game shop and was able to pick up a bottle and will be trying that new method next week!
I was also finally able to meet with the aquarium education department- they LOVED what I have so far and feel comfortable 3D printing more copies for themselves later on as long as I can provide them with documentation to help them do it. They did point out that push pins would not work as a solution because they could be dangerous to students if they were pulled out, which I absolutely agree with. We also discussed utilizing The Shapes of Fish by Carmel T. Madigan (2020) as a resource, as it is something already used within the aquarium, is available for free online, and is focused on locally relevant Irish fish species. I was also able to get some more formal feedback from my MAET classmates. They suggested, in no particular order, color coding the different sets of parts to make them easier to sort and use, creating task cards as a way to differentiate this activity, writing versions of this lesson that focused on different age groups, and making sure I am clear enough in my lesson writeup so that not much background knowledge is needed.
Next Steps
Now that I have an attack plan for my next prototype iteration and plenty of feedback in my pocket, my biggest goal for my final week here in Galway is to finish at least one workable set of parts for the aquarium to use with the improved magnets. In addition to that goal, I need to make sure my CAD files are completely finalized for anyone to print, write up whichever versions of this activity I intend to publish, and spend some time reflecting on my design process. I am extremely proud of the progress that I have made next week and am excited to see what next week brings!
Works Cited
Baby Groot - 3D Printing Time Lapse. (2017, February 11). [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_QhY1aABsE&feature=emb_imp_woyt
Madigan, C. T. (2020). The Shape of Fish. Foras na Mara Marine Institute. http://www.heritageinschools.ie/content/resources/Shapes-of-Fish_CarmelMadigan.pdf Never regret thy fall, O Icarus of the fearless flight For the greatest tragedy of them all Is never to feel the burning light.- Oscar Wilde
Having secured access to some fish jaws and all of the technology I would need, I went in to this week expecting to leave on the other side with at least one 3D printed jaw to bring to the aquarium. The first step to accomplishing this would be to make use of the Matter and Form scanners within the makerspace to scan some jaws. From there, it should have been easy to clean up the model, print it, and move on to the next one. Seems simple, right? Spoiler alert: it was not.
Prototype 1- Object Scanning
Prototype 2- Manual Photogrammetry
My makerspace contact suggested that I try out some photogrammetry software to get some more resolution on the teeth (and to work around not being able to access the specimens for long periods of time). Photogrammetry is a method which involves user a computer to piece together pictures taken from different angles until you have a 3 dimensional picture of the object. It works a little bit like the panorama mode on your phone does- take lots of pictures and stick them all together to make one cohesive thing. I had luckily taken a bunch of pictures of the blue shark jaw the day before, so I had some material to work with.
The cons of Regard3D are less numerous, but present significant issues for my particular project and time frame. Making a model in Regard3D requires multiple rendering steps- first you have to make the points, then you have to make the points from each photo match up, then you have to turn the points into triangles, then you turn the triangles into a solid. To get the resolution that I needed in my shark jaw model, each of these steps was taking about an hour. One of my renders even crashed while I was on a Zoom call with my advisor because I was pushing my computer too hard. In addition to this constraint, there was no clear way to edit out points during the process, resulting in the weird floaty bits around and inside of my model (see above picture).
Unfortunately, it seemed that while Regard3D seems like an excellent modeling software, it wasn't going to work with my needed resolution within my given time frame. I turned to another software called Meshroom. I spent about a day playing with it, but I was unable to get their tutorial photosets to work. After having already sunk about a day and a half into computer-based photogrammetry, I decided to look elsewhere.
Prototype 3- Phone-based Photogrammetry & CAD Editing
Unfortunately after the day of my MeshMixer experiment, I developed COVID symptoms and had to quarantine given my confirmed positive exposure. However, I am confident that the prototyping that I was able to accomplish this week will lead to a printable model next week! To see how my prototyping process fits into my overall design process, check out the interactive below:
Jaw Diversity
Scannable
I was also able to meet with the curator of the Zoology and Marine Biology museum at NUIG, who was gracious enough to meet with me and show me their specimens. While they have a great diversity of fishes, it seems that most of the specimens are too large to fit on the scanner. As a result, we plan to start with some of the smaller shark jaws while I work on learning the photogrammetry software for the larger specimens. Locally Relevant
What's Next? Now that I have made the contacts that I needed to make and gotten access to both some specimens and the makerspace, I next need to do a trial run of scanning the specimens. If that is successful, I will be able to move on to 3D printing some of the smaller ones. If it is not, I will have to continue my training on photogrammetry to come up with a plan B. All in all, I feel optimistic about the direction that this project is headed in! Works Cited Graham, V. B. (2016, May 31). Analogous & Homologous Structures [Illustration]. Wikimedia. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Analogous_%26_Homologous_Structures.svg
Hiroshi Ito & Chisato Igano (2020) Place-based environmental education to promote eco-initiatives: the case of Yokohama, Japan, Regional Studies, Regional Science, 7:1, 292-308, DOI: 10.1080/21681376.2020.1794950 NGSS. (2014). NGSS Hub. https://ngss.nsta.org/CrosscuttingConcepts.aspx?id=6
I am one of those people who grew up with dreams of being a marine biologist- I have jars full of shells, an enthusiasm for sea slugs, and a head full of fish facts. Students at my school know me as the "Shark Lady". That deep-seated passion, plus my love of all things EdTech, has led me to Galway, Ireland where I will be spending the next month living and learning with fellow tech educators and working on a tech design project for the Galway Atlantaquaria. My goal in this project is to assess the needs that this organization has and use both my knowledge of EdTech and my knowledge of marine science to develop something engaging and sustainable that can enrich the education work already done by the amazing staff there.
The Design Thinking Toolbox
The steps work out as follows (Lewrick et al., 2020):
Rinse and repeat as needed. My first meeting with the education staff at the aquarium was happening shortly after I arrived in Galway, so I spent a day researching and a day observing at the aquarium to ensure that I could understand, observe, and define the problem before meeting to ideate.
Understanding the Problem
Going into my aquarium visit, based upon what I saw on their website and my own experience with informal education, I wanted to make sure that I figured out...
Observing the Context
Defining Point of View
general and could apply to multiple contexts and age levels. Because of the size of the education team, it would be ideal if the project could be finished by the time I leave Galway, and if the project was something that required little maintenance and could be operated with a small staff size.
Ideate
We ultimately settled upon the idea of 3D printing a variety of fish jaws, including those of the culturally significant ballan wrasse, to be used alongside a lesson on form and function adaptations in Irish fish. This will be accomplished by acquiring CAD models of some fish jaws, printing out a few sets (and creating instructions to that this could be replicated), and creating the activity guide to be used alongside these tools. The education staff had expressed a desire to have more biofacts to be used alongside their teaching, so a secondary hope of mine is that making the necessary connections and writing out protocols will enable and empower the education staff to print to their hearts' desire.
Coming Up...
I intend to spend the next few days doing an internet deep dive to look for fish jaw models, as well as contacting some local makerspace professionals and marine biologists who may have access to the bones I am looking for.
You can view my progress on this project on my interactive Ziteboard. I will be updating it as the design process unfolds!
Works Cited
Lewrick, M., Link, P., & Leifer, L. (2020). The Design Thinking Toolbox: A Guide to Mastering the Most Popular and Valuable Innovation Methods (Design Thinking Series) (1st ed.). Wiley.
My story is not unlike that of many students- most people could tell you when a subject was ruined for them, and 9/10 times it will have to do with feeling like something doesn’t apply to the “real world”. This is not coincidental. The learning that we do in school largely does not map directly over to the “real world” (Bransford & Brown, 2000, p. 62). For just about the entire history of modern schooling, we have focused on “generalized skills”- the good old “Reading and Writing and ‘Rithmetic”(Wikipedia Contributors, 2011)- in the hope that it will magically make us prepared for any job and therefore lead to a better economy (Resnick, 1987). The learning that happens “in real life” ends up helping us more in the situations that happen in our lives outside of school, while the skills we learn in school help us get better at “doing school” (1987). Despite knowing all of this, our schools have not yet been able to bridge the gap. For example, during my first year teaching, a student said to me after a week’s worth of (admittedly school-like) activities about the water crisis, a student said to me “I don’t care about conserving water”. While this wounded me at the time, it made one thing very apparent- just because a topic is “real world” doesn’t mean it is real to any one individual’s world out of context. We know how to fix this- Project Based Learning (PBL) has been heralded as a solution since the time of Dewey (albeit not under the same name)(CITE). We know that PBL can better align learning tasks and outcomes with the “real world”, improve outcomes for struggling students, and help to develop a whole host of skills to help students in a variety of settings (like teamwork and resilience) (Blumenfeld et al., 1991). The learning is situated and social, and allows students to participate in something closer to the ways of knowing and doing of a specific community (1991). However, despite that, very few educators at “traditional” schools tend to use full-fledged PBL. Why is this? PBL takes time (as most good things do).In a world where our curriculum is controlled by the annual ticking time bomb of standardized testing dates, even PBL-trained teachers can start to get nervous about the amount of time available when the powers that be are telling you that you aren’t moving fast enough. It is vital that teachers willing to adopt PBL trust their gut and do what they know is best for their students, myself included.
Works Cited Blumenfeld, P. C., Soloway, E., Marx, R. W., Krajcik, J. S., Guzdial, M., & Palincsar, A. (1991). Motivating project-based learning: sustaining the doing, supporting the learning. Educational Psychologist, 26(3-4), 369-398. Bransford, J. L., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school (Expanded Edition). National Academy Press. Resnick, L. B. (1987). Learning in school and out. Educational Researcher, 16(9), 13-20. Wikipedia contributors. (2021, March 11). The three Rs. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_three_Rs
Dedicated to my dear friend and crocodile enthusiast, Alex Coady
narrow subset of behaviors- namely, the videos that people tend to see of humans fighting different creatures tend to be situations where the human wins.
guidance from a more knowledgeable other leaves us stuck in our Zone of Proximal Development, and leaves many stuck at the understanding of “I could totally take that bear” rather than being able to grow in their understanding (Cherry, 2019b). With the lack of a more knowledgeable other, we turn to those around us to make sense of the world within our sociocultural context (Cherry, 2019b). Usually, this allows us to gain an understanding beyond ourselves. However, if the culture surrounding you is overly machismo, it is likely that the understanding that gets supported by your day-to-day interactions is that of riskier behavior.
Given all of these falsehoods, what could actually determine if a person could consistently and reliably take a polar bear in a fight? It comes down to tools. Tools allow us to enhance our ability to learn and interact with the world around us (Salomon & Perkins, 2005). In this particular case, having the right weapon or the right training materials could prepare. So, could the average man fight a crocodile? Maybe not. However, with expert training on crocodile hunting (not the Steve Irwin kind) and a very powerful weapon, you may actually stand a chance.
Works Cited
Carter, C. (2021). Top 10: Which animals have the strongest bite? BBC Science Focus Magazine. https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/top-10-which-animals-have-the-strongest-bite/
Cherry, K. (2019, November 26). Sociocultural theory of development. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-sociocultural-theory-2795088 Cherry, K. (2019, September 6). How observational learning affects behavior. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-observational-learning-2795402 McKay, T. (2021, May 15). All the Animals American Men Think They Can Beat in a Fight and Why They Can’t. Gizmodo. https://gizmodo.com/all-the-animals-american-men-think-they-can-beat-in-a-f-1846900005 Salomon, G., & Perkins, D. (2005). Do technologies make us smarter? Intellectual amplification with, of and through technology. In R. J. Sternberg & D. D. Preiss (Eds.), Intelligence and technology: The impact of tools on the nature and development of human abilities (pp. 71-86). Erlbaum. ViralHog. (2016, December 5). Man Punches a Kangaroo in the Face to Rescue His Dog (Original HD) || ViralHog [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIRT7lf8byw YouGov America [YouGovAmerica]. (2021, May 14). After *THAT* Serena Williams poll, we thought we might see men overclaiming on their ability to beat up certain animals, [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/YouGovAmerica/status/1393248145706999812 Since its inception, scientists have relied upon models as a way to make sense of the world. Whether it was Vesalius’s anatomy diagrams or Darwin’s tree of life or Newton’s notebooks, scientists rely upon making their thinking visible to gain a deeper understanding of phenomena, and to explain that phenomena to others. This is reflected in modern-day scientific papers, always flush with figures, and within modern science pedagogy. In fact, “Developing and Using Models” is one of the core NGSS principles that dictate how young scientists should develop (NSTA). As a firm believer in the power of these models, and of all of the power that STEAM can bring, my students are frequently asked to make models of their thinking about different systems. In my classroom, models can look like anything from webs of connection between ideas to artistic representations of the larger world.
understanding of something, students have a chance to either assimilate information into their pre-existing schema or to accommodate their schema to shift and include their new findings (Cherry, 2019). By experimenting with different ways to represent and clump different ideas, students have a chance to practice thinking like scientists rather than simply memorizing facts. Over time, this “expert” way of thinking provides a deeper, more usable understanding of concepts (Bransford et al. 2000, p. 31). Finally, the use of drawings and models give students a chance to exercise their
While I do tend to hyper-focus on models in my classroom, the idea of having students “think like experts” by adjusting their schema does have other places in my classroom. I use scaffolded thinking in labs, activities, and other assessments, with the intention of helping students to gradually adjust new information into their schemata. Works Cited Bransford, J. L., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. (Expanded Edition). National Academy Press.
Cherry, K. (2019, September 23). The role of a schema in psychology. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-schema-2795873 NSTA. (2014). NGSS Hub. NGSS@NSTA. https://ngss.nsta.org/PracticesFull.aspx Russell, D. (2021, June 4). Why are we drawing in science class? [Infographic]. https://www.canva.com/design/DAEgenJL8U0/sx4nkmuvU3Gwf4Bp2rM7Yg/view?utm_content=DAEgenJL8U0&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton StanfordSCOPE. (2011, November 23). Claude Steele on Stereotype Threat [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvwvvbiwRkg.
On the surface, behaviorism can sometimes feel like everything that is wrong with schools- sit down, shut up, and regurgitate these facts (Hooks, 1994, p. 4). This, however, is very much a reduction of what behaviorism is. While it is still true that behaviorism can’t account for more complex learning and comprehension (Miller, 2020), the role of behaviorism in the classroom is more so that of building habits within students that will allow them to be more successful in life by using Skinner’s ideas of positive and negative reinforcement and punishment (Cherry, 2019). This can sometimes look like a teacher creating a positive environment in which students will
Behaviorism also plays a large role in specifically how teachers develop their craft and culture. A novice teacher might have to spend a lot of time and energy thinking through how to manage things that happen in their classroom (ex: students talking over you). As they are exposed to this cue more often, they try out different routines (ex: yelling, hand-clapping systems, reminding students to be quiet) (Duhigg, 2012). Routines with more favorable outcomes become the strategies that get used, and eventually that response becomes almost automatic (ex: giving the perfect “teacher look” to shush a student without having to think about it) (Duhigg, 2012). This also has great implications for teacher professional development and attempts to shift your classroom culture. For example, this year I have been working on shifting my language when speaking with students away from “you need to start focusing more" to "I noticed that you have been having some trouble focusing, let's brainstorm solutions" (Russell, 2021). At first making this shift required me to stop and think through each student interaction as I was changing my routine, but by the end of the year I found myself automatically going to that place of grace and patience when speaking with students. This also had the bonus behaviorism benefit of helping students to identify their own habits and to create plans for future behavior change (Duhigg, 2012)!
In terms of content knowledge, a 21st century learner should not be exposed purely to behaviorist ways of learning. Behaviorism does have its place in the learning of basal skills, vocabulary, and habits that lead to success (Berkeley Graduate Division, n.d.). However, students cannot gain deep, complex understandings through behaviorism alone (Miller, 2020). In fact, pure behaviorism can result in students having their misconceptions solidified and end up with incorrect understandings of material (Erlwanger, 1971, p. 25). As such, it is important that teachers have behaviorism in their toolbelt, but only use it as the job requires.
References
Berkeley Graduate Division. (n.d.). Behaviorism. Graduate Student Instructor Teaching Resource Center. https://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/learning-theory-research/behaviorism/
Cherry, K. (2019, September 5). What is operant conditioning and how does it work?. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/operant-conditioning-a2-2794863 Duhigg, C. (2012). The power of habit: Why we do what we do in life and business. Random House. Erlwanger, S. H. (1971). Benny's conception of rules and answers in IPI mathematics. Journal of Children's Mathematical Behavior, 1(2), 7-26.- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nss-_LLyLmHnslQCUk2uXUrk5YclE_Pa/view Hooks, B. (1994). Teaching to transgress. Routledge. Miller, K. D. (2020, March 25). Operant conditioning theory: Examples for effective habit formation. Positive Psychology. https://positivepsychology.com/operant-conditioning-theory/ Page S. (1992). Brian Wilson [Recorded by Barenaked Ladies]. On Gordon [Medium of recording]. Quebec, Active: Reprise/Sire. Russell, D. [@DanaRuss_]. (2021, May 6). This past semester I have been making a conscious effort to shift my tone from "you need to start focusing more" to "I noticed that you have been having some trouble focusing, let's brainstorm solutions", and it has made a world of difference [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/DanaRuss_/status/1390404266666434560
This can happen because of greed, perceptions of a resource being infinite, or a fear of falling behind your neighbors who may or may not be over-drawing from a resource (see the Ted Ed video above to learn more). Starting the year examining this idea sets us up for a theme to reflect back on, and also gets students thinking about their own choices as stewards of their community. With the onset of COVID, I knew that I was going to have to abandon my beloved lab. I spent months agonizing over different online versions of this that I knew would not work with my population of students. Finally, I came across a lab shared in one of my PLNs that utilized a virtual pool of resources that students could pull from. Knowing that my freshmen would likely struggle to follow complicated rules on their second day of Zoom high school, I converted this idea into a whole-class pool of resources, followed by general discussion and a bit of data analysis. My Tragedy of the Commons lesson plan includes a fish pond, activity slides powered by Pear Deck (my new favorite thing ever), and both live and pre-set data to show different case scenarios.
I am so excited to run this activity with my new group of students! While online labs may not be the exact same experience as doing physical labs, there is no reason to have to abandon strong, impactful experiences when some clever GSuite use will do. References Russell, D. (2020). Virtual Tragedy of the Commons [Unpublished manuscript]. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DkNX2xAHags0GjVGIgUTivSvagLZPXsnJs--ANDgZ2c/edit?usp=sharing
What is the tragedy of the commons? - Nicholas Amendolare. (2017, November 21). [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxC161GvMPc |
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