Week 5

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

Dr. Seuss

I have come to think of the research process much like reading a book.  The exposition and the rising action are when you do background research, form a hypothesis, come up with your method, etc.  The climax would be when you are performing the experiment.  Finally, the falling action and resolution is like the data analysis and conclusion.  And as stated last week this would be only one book in a long series of books.

With that being said this week I began work on the falling action and resolution, as I finished my experiments last Friday.  The week started with a brief course on the IRB for that the subjects in my experiments had to sign in order for me to perform the experiment as well as publish any of the data I have collected.  The on-line informational course certainly opened my eyes to some of the precautions that must be taken when working with human subjects.   Following that I watched a wonderful video about how to give a good presentation.  This had some great pointers to keep my audience entertained and interested!  These tips will not only be helpful when presenting my research, but also when I return to the classroom.  The week continued with lots of data analysis!  I want charts that clearly show what my data has told me to display in my presentation and on my poster.   I also worked on an outline for my poster/presentation as well as a short video to show people what an experiment looked like.  There is more work to be done on this and look forward to continuing the work next week!

  

Week 4

The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity. - Ayn Rand

This week I had an amazing opportunity to see the TEM (Transmission Electron Microscope) and the SEM (Scanning electron microscope) here at UNH.  These microscopes were remarkable to watch in action.  I was able to play around with the SEM after directions were given.  We were actually able to see the dirt in between the hairs on a black fly, gross I know, but pretty awesome too!

This is the TEM.  Want to buy one new?
 I was told that  this one new is $1.2 million!

This is the SEM.

Setting up the TEM

Looking at samples.

Looking at one of the samples through the TEM computer.

This is an example of the samples used for the SEM.  They must be coated.

Neat!

This is a worm!

“Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.” - Sarah Caldwell

On Tuesday of this week the RET program was visited by the Einstein Fellow.  This was also a unique opportunity to meet, as well as, speak with such an established teacher about what we love to do…TEACH and LEARN!  This week I also completed three more experiments.  All of the experiments were done with the same procedure as those before to collect legitimate data.  Soon I will be “completing” the process and presenting my results.  I put completing in quotes to make quite clear that though my time may be ending soon here at UNH the research, inquiry, and plans for implementation will never really be completed.  

Week 3 - Time is flying by!

“Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.”

– Dennis P. Kimbro

Project:

To start the week off I completed my first “trial” experiment.  I would compare this to my first day of teaching.  I had a lot of anxiety.  It was something new to me; I don’t remember the last time I did a formal experiment.  I made a few mistakes along the way as I fumbled through the first “trial” experiment.

This is what the eye tracker looks like when it is turned on and ready to go.

This is my view of the car during the experiment

When the experiment was complete I was disappointed in myself for making mistakes and being so nervous.  After a few minutes, I go over it! I think one of the greatest lessons I have learned in life is mistakes will be made, learn from them and move on.

Gathering data from the first “trial” experiment

Experiment 2 was completed a few days later and it went much smother (at least I felt it did).  A few teachers from the program came over to do the experiment.  It was a lot of fun!

This is me calibrating the eye tracker. Similar to when I calibrate the Enoboard at school.

After my experiment, the teachers who came over to participate tried driving. Here is a view of the road from the car.

After both of the experiments I looked at the data and plotted it in Excel.  Looking at the data I feel much like I do when the students take the AIMSweb or NWEA tests during the school year.  I want to get them corrected and get the data in the computer to see their progress right away because I am so excited to see their hard work to pay off.  Now I am excited to see if the data did what I thought it was going to.  It is very exhilarating!

Preliminary look at data from “trial” experiment 1. Looks pretty good!

This week I was also able to get out of my lab and go see a few things around campus.  I was able to visit the labs of the other teachers who are participating in the program as well as attend a class.  (I hope to have pictures of the other labs posted in the next couple of weeks).  It is great to be able to take part in so many opportunities.

This is me showing some of the teachers in my program my lab.

Teaching:

There are two parts to this program, the research and the curriculum that is to be developed for our classrooms.  This week I decided to spend a little bit of time working on the curriculum as my time here seems to be flying by.  While fishing around I found a blog I would highly recommend to any math teacher of any grade.  Here is the link:

http://blog.mrmeyer.com/

The author of the blog has also done a presentation on TED.  Here is the link if you want to check that out as well:

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/dan_meyer_math_curriculum_makeover.html

WEEK 2

“Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

This quote by Mark Twain is a wonderful description for week 2.

Explore:

Week 2 was full of exploration for me.  It started with a group discussion about one of the readings my mentor, Andrew had given me when I first met him last week.  It was neat to see how many different views and ideas can come from a reading.  This exercise was a wonderful reminder of how important it is to teach collaboration and discussion skills in the classroom.

I was also able to explore the equipment I will be using in the experiments.

This is the car simulation. As you car see there are screens in front of the car. This is where the streets would be displayed if I were doing a driving experiment.

The eye trackers are the main piece of equipment I will be using;

This is a close up of the eye tracker, the device that will be measuring the diameter of the pupils.

however there is an intricate series of steps to accurate data collection.  Oskar, the research engineer, was very helpful in explaining each step in the process to me.  We were able to collect some data from the eye tracker,

load it into Excel (as I am not familiar with MATLAB, the program commonly used for this), and plot the data.

Can’t see?? Click on picture for a closer view

Can’t see…Click on picture for a closer view!

Dream:

No I am not going to tell you I had a wonderful nap at work.  However, I did, with guidance from my mentor as well as some of the papers I have read plan (dream) the experiment I will hopefully be performing next week.  I decided to label it draft as I am sure there will be much to add and/or change, but it was important for me to get it down on paper.  Now I have a starting point and can start concentrating on the details.

Draft 1 – My plan (Dream)

Discover:

Through this project I am discovering new things every day.  Some have to do with how I perform as a student/learner, some have to do with the research, and some have to do with curriculum.  Many times I feel like the discoveries I make as a student/learner are the most eye opening.  It has been a long time since I have been in the shoes of the student.  I am very excited to see what discoveries I will be making next week!

My first week

Project:

Have you ever been to the eye doctors and had them dilate your eyes?  If you have, did you look into the mirror to see how big your pupils (the black part in the middle of your eye) were?  Researchers have found that your pupils also dilate as you think hard.  This summer I have an amazing opportunity to work with a professor at UNH, Andrew Kun, to experience what it is like to be involved in a research project.  Andrew’s research interest is in car user interfaces.  I believe this to basically mean, ways to make things such as cell phones and gps, which are helpful to the driver less distracting and in turn causing less accidents.  This week as I was introduced to the project I have been able to drive twice in the driving simulator they have!  All I could think of when I was in there is how much my students would love to experience that.  And you will be glad to know I only went off the road once!  I was able to collect some data from that as well as learn how to calibrate the eye tracker (The device that is able to measure the diameter of your pupils).  I have a lot to learn still, however  I am exhilarated to be involved in an experience which displays applications of math which can not only be fun, but could save someone’s life.

This is the building where the research lab is. I will be spending a lot of time here this summer!

Teaching:

The first week of this program the teachers involved in the program met every morning to discuss inquiry and how we use it in our classroom.  We had very rich discussion about some of the challenges as well as different levels of inquiry involved in the classroom.  At the end of the RETE program we are expected to create or modify a lesson plan that utilizes our research this summer.  I am extremely motivated to bring some of the ideas I have learned this summer back to the classroom!

Welcome to UNH!!

A couple of side notes:

• During one of the meetings I had with my mentor, Andrew, this week we got on the topic of women in engineering   particularly, but also science and math.  If you are interested please check out this link:

http://cacm.acm.org/blogs/blog-cacm/149681-us-women-in-computing-why-isnt-it-getting-better/fulltext

• I am sure I will learn many things during my seven weeks in this program, I have already learned so much!  However, I think one of the most important things I will experience took place on Tuesday, when I first met my mentor Andrew.  I was very anxious, nervous, and generally feeling uncomfortable previous to our meeting.  I certainly felt out of my element, like the expression a fish out of water.  When I met my mentor he was very welcoming and excited to have me there.  He explained things to me in a way I could understand and when I admitted I did not understand or was unfamiliar with a term he was never degrading, never made me feel inferior.  I walked away from that experience thinking about my students.  Some of my students feel uncomfortable or out of their element in a math class and some even as they enter school.  I only hope that I make my students feel as welcomed and comforted when they enter my classroom, as I had that afternoon.