Engaging Science Lesson: What's on Your Mind?

1. Lesson Plan:What’s on Your Mind? Sex Food Murder Boys Girls Men Women Sex Ice Cream Chocolate Koula Quirk RET 2009 Teaching Plan University of Illinois at Chicago Dec. 12, 2009 RET 2009 Program NSF EEC 0743068 (A. Linninger, PI)

2. Abstract • Due to budget cuts I have no permanent class and, therefore, this is a lesson plan for one class to be taught at various and different science classrooms upon invitation by interested teachers/schools. This will be taught some time after the study of the brain has been reviewed by the permanent teacher during the course of her teaching. There are already two biology teachers on my list that have expressed excitement and interest in this presentation. • My goal is to present the video on my research during the summer of 2009 as part of the research experience for teachers at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Along with this will be a PowerPoint presentation. During the course of this, students will be noting down their questions for the post-discussion as well as other information that they think may be relevant to the short quizzes they will take at the end. The goal is to provide an engaging, realistic approach and example of how scientific investigation is performed by “real” scientists in their laboratory. This will test the students’ effective listening skills in formal and informal situations. As well, this serves as a review to re-inforce their acquired learning of brain functions and how research is conducted. • This class presentation will be subject to on-going modification according to the feedback of both students and teachers.

3. Objectives • My RET experience provided me with an exciting way to engage and ignite students’ interest in all things science. Whether in a formal or informal environment my hope is that this lesson plan will create questions, enthusiasm, and, above all, a hunger to learn more. My objective is to create this hunger: to wonder about the world of science, which is all around us, from the rat we may see in our neighborhood to the study of that rat’s brain to solve humanity’s ills. • Alignment with Illinois State Learning Goals: • IL 9 SCI - STATE GOAL 11: Understand the processes of scientific inquiry and technological design to investigate questions, conduct experiments and solve problems • IL 9 SCI - 11.B:4f Evaluate the test results based on established criteria, note sources of error and recommend improvements • IL 9 SCI - STATE GOAL 12: Understand the fundamental concepts, principles and interconnections of the life, physical and earth/space sciences

4. Methodology • Before the audiovisual presentation I will engage the students in discussion about their understanding of the nature of science and how they see themselves within that world. I will clue them into paying particular attention to the presentation since there will be a short quiz at the end.The materials needed for this traveling lesson plan include: a laptop computer that will be used to present the audio/video and PowerPoint presentations; and a digital camera with video recorder capabilities to record the presentation and students’ participation. This will also serve as a way to improve future presentations and allow others (students, teachers) to see themselves thereby improving their own presentation skills in the process.Every subsequent class presentation will have a chance to see portions of the previous presentation in order to acquire ideas and offer critiques for future improvements and adaptations.  After my presentation, I will engage the students once again about their understanding of the nature of science and their role therein. They will take short quizzes. Student input for the next quiz (to be given to the subsequent class) will be solicited before each presentation. This allows for direct student participation in designing and modifying the class presentation.

5. Expected Learning Outcome •  By the end of this class, students will • Improve their listening skills in scientific knowledge • Wonder about the world in a scientific way • Reflect on ways they can participate in improving the world around them • Gain more knowledge, enthusiasm, and confidence that they can understand aspects of this world and can thereby also change it • Consider pursuing a science career

6. Budget Section • Because this is a traveling lesson plan, it is essential to have a laptop to carry from one class to another into different schools. As well, a digital camera with audiovisual recording capability is another key component as it would be needed to record/capture student input and participation to present to subsequent classes. • The estimated costs: • Dell Studio 14Z, $1,600 (dell.com) • Canon PowerShot SX200IS $360 (newegg.com)

7. Koula Quirk 1204 W. Chase Ave. Chicago, IL 60626-2227 773-338-8561 bikerobin12@yahoo.com EDUCATION University of Massachusetts, B.A. (Magna cum Laude) Major: Psychology; Minor: Pre-medicine SKILLS Fluent in Greek, read/write French and Spanish EMPLOYMENT 2009 RET Summer Fellowship, (Research Experience for Teachers) Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience, University of Illinois,Chicago 2008-09 Instructor, English as a Second Language, Oakton Community College, Illinois 2006-09 Teacher, Newton/Edison Supplementary Educational Services: Teaching Math & Reading in after- school program, Chicago 1980-05 Communications Technician, American Telephone & Telegraph Used computer applications to provision, troubleshoot & maintain analog and digital, voice and data services 1978-79 Research Technician, Histocompatibility Testing Department of Immunobiology Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York: Mixed lymphocyte culture lab/leukemia research 1976-78 Public Health Advisor, Bureau of Preventable Diseases, NYC Dept. of Health Immunization Program LICENSE/CERTIFICATE State of Illinois Standard Secondary Teacher Certificate (09) in General Science, Chemistry, Physical Science, Psychology, & Social Study TEFL/TESL certificate (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) CPR, FIRST AID, AED CV

8. Appendix 1: Brain Games • Brain Games: Spot the Differences • By: Dr. Pascale Michelon • How many differences can you spot? You have seen and maybe tried that exercise or game in the Sunday paper many times: find 5 differences between the two images. You may like it or not. You may think it is only for kids. But it is a GREAT brain exercise! • Let’s see what cognitive processes and which brain areas are involved in this exercise: • - You have to identify the objects that you see: this involves your occipital lobes (in red, below) • - You have to analyzed the spatial relationships between the objects that you see: this involves your occipital and parietal (in green) lobes • - You have to remember what you see in one picture and compare it to what you see in the other picture, that is you have to use your short-term memory: this involves your frontal (in blue) and parietal lobes • - You have to mark down the locations where you see a difference: this involves mostly your frontal lobes (for the movement) • Did you realize that so much was going on in your brain during that seemingly simple exercise?

9. Appendix 1: Brain Games Spot the Differences

10. Appendix 1: Brain Games

11. Appendix 1: Brain Games • Time for some illusion fun • Can you find the 12 faces hiding in this tree?  • What cognitive processes and which brain areas are involved in this exercise?

12. Appendix 2: Quiz • 1. On average, men’s brains are smaller than women’s brains. • A. True B. False • 2. The________, or “little brain”, weighs about 150 grams and is located at the lower back of the brain. This part of the brain is key to maintaining posture, walking, and performing coordinated movements. A. Hindbrain B. Cerebellum C. Hypothalamus • 3. We use only 10% of our brain. • A. True B. False • 4. Albert Einstein’s brain was ______the average adult male brain. A. slightly bigger than • B. the same size as C. slightly smaller than • 5. The medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis & treatment of disorders of the brain, the spinal cord, & the nerves is called ________. • A. Neurology B. Craniology C. Psychology

13. Appendix 2: Quiz • High School Test Answers (Arkansas 2000) • Q: What is a planet? A: A body of earth surrounded by sky. • Q: Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink.  A: Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists. Q: How is dew formed? A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.

14. Appendix 2: Quiz • Q: What causes the tides in the ocean? • A: The tides are a fight between the Earth & the Moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon, because there’s no water on the moon, & nature abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight. • Q: How are the main parts of the body categorized? (E.g., abdomen) • A: The body is consisted into 3 parts- the brainium, the borax & the abdominal cavity. The branium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart & lungs, & the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels, A, E, I, O, & U. • Q: How can you delay milk turning sour? • A: Keep it in the cow.

15. The Scientific Method • The scientific method is the way scientists learn and study the world around them. It can be anything from astronomy to medicine to biology to agriculture. The basis of the scientific method is asking questions and then following an organized process to come up with answers or theories. You could ask, "Why do dogs and cats have hair?" One answer might be that it keeps them warm. That is how it starts. It's the scientific method in action. You could proceed from there to test you supposition (that the hair is to keep them warm). QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Just about everything starts with a question. Usually, scientists come up with questions by looking at the world around them. "Hey look! What's that?" See that squiggly thing at the end of the sentence, a question has been born. So you've got a scientist. They see something they don't understand. Because they are a scientist, they probably have some huge urge to answer questions and discover new things. The trick is that you have to be able to prove every answer you give. If you can't test your answer, other scientists can't prove it to see if you were right or not.

16. The Scientific Method, cont. • As more questions were asked, scientists worked really hard and came up with a bunch of answers. Then it was time to organize. One of the cool things about science is that other scientists can learn things from what has already been proven. They don't have to go out and prove everything again and again. That's what makes science special, it builds on what has been learned before. This process allows the world to advance, evolve, and grow. All of today's advancements are based on the achievements of scientists who already did great work. EXPERIMENTAL PROOFExperimental proof is the thing that makes all of the observations and answers in science VALID (proven). The proof shows that the statements are right. It sounds like a really simple idea, but it is the basis of all science. Statements must be proven. Enough said. Scientists start with observations and then make a HYPOTHESIS (a guess), then the fun begins. They must prove their hypothesis with trials and tests which show the why their data and results are correct. They must use CONTROLS which are QUANTITATIVE (based on values and figures, not emotions). Science needs both ideas (the hypothesis) and facts (the qualitative results). They examine their data and develop newer ideas. Then they have more observation and refinement of their hypotheses. Back to the fur idea. The question: Why do bears have fur? The hypothesis: Bears need fur to keep warm. Trials and tests: Can bears stay warm when you shave them? If you double the amount of hair, do bears overheat? The results: Bears have hair to stay warm, they shiver when shaved and overheat when they have too much hair. A new idea/question: do bears use their hair for protection?

17. The Scientific Method, Cont. • THE WHOLE PROCESS • There is an evolution for every idea... (1) Hypothesis (something that uses a few observations) • (2) Theory (something that uses many observations, it can also use • additional, unrelated facts and new relationships) • (3) Principle or Law (stands the test of time, is proven over and over, can create true predictions for different situations, has uniformity and is universal)

18. References • Information on the CSTR program: • http://vienna.bioengr.uic.edu/RET/index.html • Neuroscience for kids:http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/flash/brainfly.html • Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education: • http://caise.insci.org/ • The Math Science Partnership Network: • http://mspnet.mspnet.org/ • Informal Science community: http://Informalscience.org • http://brainconnection.positscience.com

19. Acknowledgements • I am in gratitude to: • My mentor Dr. David Wirtshafter, • Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience • His lab staff: Mary Clare Kane, and • Vishnu Mudrakola, Beth Cowgill • For invaluable assistance: • Dr. Gerardo J. Ruiz-Mercado, Dr. A. Linninger, • Sukhi Basati, Tamilosai Mahalingam • And, of course, UIC, and • NSF RET EEC-0743068 Grant • (A. Linninger, PI) • Thank you!