JUST WHAT DOES A SCIENTIST DO? Susan Tidemann

JUST WHAT DOES A SCIENTIST DO? Susan Tidemann This project focuses on expanding students’ attitudes, perceptions, and opinions of what scientists do a...
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JUST WHAT DOES A SCIENTIST DO? Susan Tidemann This project focuses on expanding students’ attitudes, perceptions, and opinions of what scientists do and how scientists spend their time. The project can be connected to any area of study so that students have the opportunity to learn scientific information related to the on-going course of study, while at the same time, develop a personal connection to the visiting research or applied scientist. The project includes a pre/post summative assessment questionnaire, and a compare/contrast/personal response formative assessment organizer to process each visit with a scientist.

Funded by the National Science Foundation and the University of Nebraska

PART I: Participants and Setting School Lefler Middle School 1100 S. 48th Street Lincoln, NE 68510 Lead Teacher & Contact Information Susan Tidemann 4446 Birch Hollow Lincoln, NE 68516 H: 402-421-3774 W: 402-4361215 Email: [email protected] Resident Scientists & Contact Information Tim Perrin UNL Project Fulcrum [email protected]

PART II: Activity Name of Activity Just What Does a Scientist Do? Activity Timeframe 9 weeks – one quarter (I taught two science classes, each for a 40-minute period each day) Science/Math Standard 8.1 Unifying Concepts and Processes Unifying concepts and processes to help student think about and integrate a range of basic ideas which builds an understanding of the natural world. 8.8.1 By the end of eighth grade, students will develop an understand of science as a human endeavor.

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Activity Description (equipment used, activity steps, time required, etc.) This project was interwoven with the Human Body unit. It can be adapted to fit into any unit of study. a. The first week of the unit students were given a pre-assessment questionnaire that listed each body system to be studied (skeletal, muscular, digestive, excretory, and nervous) and asked students to name scientists or science careers that fit each category and then explain what the scientist does. (Attached) On the back were questions about scientists and research. Students were asked to list what kinds of things scientists research and how scientists know what to research. The final question asked students if they would, or would not like to be a scientist and the reason for their choice. b. During the next weeks, scientists and those with applied science careers were invited to speak to the students. Individuals were chosen that could present a topic “connected” with each body system we studied and represent diversity in age, gender, and ethnicity. c. Following each presentation, students completed a Venn diagram and personal response organizer. (Attached) The diagram asked students to compare and contrast themselves to each scientist, and the response section was a way to assess the student’s thoughts and impressions of scientists. Another section on the form asked them to list the body system to which they felt the scientist’s work best connected and the reason for their choice. d. The last week of the unit, students were given the same pre-assessment questionnaire as the first week. Responses were compared to evaluate the impact on students’ perceptions of scientists and interest in science careers. Scientists that made presentations to my science classes: Cory Ross Biologist research on behavior of monkeys Kevin Williams Structural Engineer roller coaster design Christine DeVries Chemist nanotechnology Tom Harmon Physical Therapist physical therapy practice in Lincoln Tim Perrin Computer Scientist inside a computer/machine learning (Dr. Angela Williams, Geneticist, observation and curiosity- Dr. Williams, a professor at Nebraska Wesleyan, was unable to visit because of a scheduling conflict) Activity Design Rationale (Include pre-assessment and data) The pre-assessment questionnaire was designed to evaluate the connectedness of students with scientists or those with applied science careers, perceptions of their jobs, and interest in science related careers. The data was collected from 44 students in both science classes to determine patterns or trends. Results are listed below. Response frequency is ranked from most frequent to less frequent. More frequent (MF) responses represent at least four tallies. Less frequent (LF) responses represent no more than two or three tallies. Students could write multiple answers, therefore totals will not be consistent.

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Scientist/Science Career - Body Systems Chart MF LF

Male Responses doctor/dentist/chiropractor 40 paleontologist/archaeologist 3 veterinarian 2 nutritionist 2

MF LF

Female Responses doctor/dentist/chiropractor 33 teacher/professor 2 paleontologist/archaeologist 2 workout/exercise specialist 2

Males also listed pharmacist, psychologist, mapmaker, mathematician, chemist, nuclear scientist, counselor, astronaut, EMT, and Bill Nye with one tally each. Females also listed psychologist, nutritionist, counselor, veterinarian, and the “Spyware” people with one tally each. Males listed more diverse scientists and science careers than did females. Engineers, or computer related careers were mentioned only once by either gender. Only females mentioned teaching science. What Scientist Does – Body Systems Chart MF

LF

Male Responses studies about… 15 helps with… 7 helps fix… 4 knows… 4 digs… 2 looks at… 2

MF LF

Female Responses studies/learns… 14 helps… 10 makes sure…7 explains/teaches… 3 examines… 2

Males also mentioned finds…, checks…, tries…,and examines… with one tally each. Females also mentioned digs…, tests…, looks…, knows…, works with…, builds…, to see…, and researches… with one tally each. Both males and females described scientists’ behavior as that of “studying” or “helping to fix or do something”. Females mentioned that scientists were there to “make sure” something was right or correct. Males used the term “knows” to describe expertise in their subject area. Both genders primarily viewed scientists as intellectuals or a knowledgeable person to help them when they had a problem. What kinds of things do scientists research? MF LF

Male Responses diseases/cures 6 human body 5 animals 2

MF LF

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Female Responses diseases/cures 8 human body 6 bones/fossils 6 electricity 3 animals 2

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Males listed machines, air, plants, dinosaurs, chemicals, rocks, and electricity one tally each. Females listed plants, rocks, and space one tally each. Both genders appeared to mention finding cures for diseases and the human body most frequently as subjects of scientific research. Bones and fossils were mentioned frequently by females and not at all by males. Since we were studying the Human Body unit, results were probably skewed toward this topic resulting in a high frequency of medical and human body responses. It did appear that students mentioned many subjects that they had studied in elementary school science units. The diversity of single responses might suggest that students mentioned areas of personal interest. How do scientists know what to research? MF LF

Male Responses books/studying 5 someone tells them 3 find problems to solve 2 just chose an area 2 what interested in 2 asking questions 2

MF LF

Female Responses studying in college 4 people tell them 4 what they can’t figure out 2 medicine 2

Males also listed ‘fix or repair a body part’ and ‘make life better’ with one tally each. Females listed ‘what interests them’, ‘make life better’, and ‘questions’. Both genders thought college, books, and studying determined what a scientists research, or someone told them what to do. Would you like to be a scientist or have a career in science? Why or why not? Male Responses Yes 10 Maybe 1 No 13

Female Responses Yes 4 Maybe 0 No 16

Males appeared to be more interested in considering science as a career, however, females overwhelmingly responded with a negative response. Reasons for yes responses from males and females generally were: science is easy for me, I want to invent stuff, it is interesting, and I like to discover stuff. Males’ reasons for negative responses were: I want to do sports, it is dangerous, I don’t like science, and I don’t have patience. Females’ negative response reasons generally were: I have another career choice, I don’t like science, it’s too complicated, and I don’t have patience.

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Sample of Expected Student Experience(s)

Name _________________________ Date__________ 1. Think about each body system we study. List as many scientists or science careers that relate to each system. In the second column tell what kinds of things the scientists you listed would do. Body System

Scientist/Science Career

What Scientist Does

Skeletal System

Muscular System

Digestive System

Excretory System

Nervous System

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(Back side of chart) 2. Many scientists do research. What kinds of things do they research?

How do they know what to research?

3. Would you like to be a scientist or have a career in science? Yes…..Why?

No……Why not?

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Body System: _________________ Reason: _____________________________ Your Name: Today’s Date:

Scientist Name: Scientist Title: Research Topic:

_______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Body System: _________________ Reason: _____________________________ Your Name: Today’s Date:

Scientist Name: Scientist Title: Research Topic:

_______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 8

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PART III: Assessment Description of Assessment Used Following each presentation by the visiting scientist, students were given a formative assessment organizer. (Attached) This assessment asked students to complete a Venn diagram that compared themselves to the scientist, write a personal response, and determine into what body system category they would place the scientist and why. These response sheets helped me determined what interested the students, and the impact each scientist had on individual opinions about the image of scientists, or science. It was also a way to assess how well they connected real-life experiences with what was being studied in our science unit. At the end of the project, students were again given the pre-assessment questionnaire as a summative post-assessment. To determine the impact of the project, responses on both questionnaires were analyzed and compared for individual students. Overall Evaluation of Activity After the first speaker, students filled out the formative assessment comparison organizer and personal response sheet. We used the overhead to model as the students filled out their responses. Students were asked to remember personal things about the scientist, then write them on the Venn diagram in the “scientist” or “both of us” sections. Students then filled other things unique to themselves in the “you” section. After modeling the acitivity once, the students looked forward to filling out the sheets and need little assistance. Discussing the scientist as a large group activity was a way to process the scientists’ visit, clarify information for students, and give them a visual of what they had heard. Using the overhead made it easy for all students to follow, even those resource students who find writing difficult. For the personal response section, students were asked to write about the presentation, something they learned, questions they might have, or a general reaction to the scientist. They were instructed they must explain a reason for their opinion, something from “the heart”. All students were eager to share an opinion. Many wrote with enthusiasm and insight. Some responses were: “…she teached us a lot…and tell us about her what she does and show us if you are scientist you can have your own life and not boring at all” (ELL student, science was not taught in the school in her native country) “…she was funny and excited about her job and is a good describer” “…I liked how she is determined to make nanotechnology work” “…interesting because of the arm he brought and R. saying where he broke his arm” “…learned that some scientist think differently about how many muscles we have” “…loves work and one day will make a difference in the world” “…I never thought of them as a scientist, I guess” “…get paid to do awesome stuff” “…I might design something else”

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“...I didn’t think scientists did this kind of stuff” “…we both like scifi books and the outdoors” “…I want him to come back” “…we both ask a lot of questions” “…I also work at a summer job every year” “…being a scientist might be hard, but it can be fun!” It was interesting how responses changed from one scientist to another. Students were very honest, if they did not relate to the scientist, they mentioned specific reasons such as don’t want to work inside or outside, don’t like animals or roller coasters, however, most of the time this response was followed with the comment “They do cool things” or “I think they like their job”. Some students listed alternatives in the same area such as, “don’t like monkeys, but I want to study sea-life.” This informal and rather spontaneous assessment was valuable because it helped me know my students better, their feelings and interest, and how each scientist shaped their attitude toward science and scientists. The students were to also decide which body system they felt this scientist connected and the reason for their choice. Some of the more descriptive responses were: muscular system – “she expands her research”, “jump a lot”, “builds back their muscles”, “decides what messages they send to each other” nervous system – “studies how they react”, “because she is very smart”’ “is always writing notes and sending them to her supervisor” skeletal system – “put stuff together so it fits”, “collects notes to make a solution”, “studies support” digestive system – “how body produces energy” excretory system – “takes a problem with AI and tries to get rid of it”, “studies how to fix other people’s mistakes” This part of the assessment showed what students really knew about each body system. Understanding was shown by the detail and comparison in their responses. Instead of saying “muscular system because he studies muscles”, the responses were “works with disabilities” or “contract and shorten causing monkeys able to move” for example. The pre-assess questionnaire was given as a summative post-assessment. Results of the post-assessment responses are listed below. Response frequency is ranked from most frequent to less frequent. More frequent (MF) responses represent at least four tallies. Less frequent (LF) responses represent no more than two or three tallies. Students could write multiple answers, therefore totals will not be consistent. Scientist/Science Career – Body Systems Chart MF

Male Responses Named all the scientists that visited our classroom by first and last name

MF

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Female Responses Named all the scientists that visited our classroom by first and last name

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It was interesting to note that in the pre-assessment, only one student listed any of the scientists or doctors by name. They used generic terms. For the post-assessment, almost all students wanted to know the name of the person who visited and listed it on their questionnaire. They did not just write computer engineer, instead they could connect to a real person, ones they preferred to list by name. What Scientist Does – Body Systems Chart Male Responses Female Responses MF works with… 10 MF studies… 10 studies… 3 helps… 6 builds… 3 LF works with… 2 helps… 3 builds…2 LF engineers… 2 finds out… 2 fixes… 2 researches… 2 Males also listed tests…, thinks…, collects…, observes…, explores…, observes…, and designs…, one time each. Females also mentioned researches…, designs…, watches…, finds out…., and uses…. Males overwhelmingly viewed scientists as studying and helping to fix problems in the pre-assessment. After having scientists in our classroom, most of the verbs changed to ones of more physical action. They saw scientists involved in doing something rather that just thinking about it or helping someone else. The verb “knows” was not mentioned in the post-assessment. Females still used “studies” and “helps” as the most common verbs in the post-assessment, but less frequently. “Makes sure” was eliminated. In place of those responses, more action verbs were listed. It was interesting that after scientists visited our classroom, they were no longer characterized as experts that often solve problems. What kinds of things do scientists research? MF

Male Responses research of the visiting scientists

MF

Female Responses research of the visiting scientists

Both males and females listed computer science, monkeys, roller coasters, chemistry, and physical therapy as the most frequent response. Males also mentioned engineering, bones, computers, medicines, animals, and physics. Females’ lists included computers, electricity, biology, physiology, and the body. As with the pre-assessment, the students mentioned things that they had studied in school or were a personal favorite. It is notable that computers were not mentioned by either gender in the pre-assessment as something a scientist would research, but were

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mentioned often in the post-assessment after having a computer scientist visit the classroom. One student wrote that she never thought of a physical therapist as doing science. Student’s perceptions are based on the role models and experiences we can provide for students in our classrooms. How do scientists know what to research? MF LF

Male Responses choose what interests them 7 have a question 5 books 2

MF LF

Female Responses pick their own topic 8 find new things/needs 2 ideas/questions 2 school 2

Males also listed “look on computer”, “find out something that has never been done before”, and “research what they are told” once each. There was a dramatic shift from the pre to post-assessment responses for this question. Both genders had believed colleges, or someone, told scientists what to study. After scientists shared their research or careers with the science students, the majority of responses reflected the belief that scientists pick a topic that interests them, something that they enjoy. One student mentioned it might even be a hobby you once had. Males especially mentioned questioning or curiosity more frequently in the post-assessment. Would you like to be a scientist or have a career in science? Why or why not? Male Responses Yes 13 Maybe 0 No 11

Female Responses Yes 7 Maybe 1 No 12

During the post-assessment, more students responded positively to this question than the pre-assessment. The female response of four, doubled to eight, and three more males chose yes. Of those that changed responses the reasons went from “I want to work in the arts” to “I don’t know what I want to do”, “I don’t like science experiments” to I could show people all about science”, “too complicated” to “I want to be a marine biologist”, “don’t like science” to “I like experimenting and taking things apart”, “don’t like to look a bodies” to “looks fun and interesting”, “dangerous” to “I’m going to be a computer game creator”, and “don’t like science” to “get to do lots of things”. As a result of this project, more students were willing to consider science in their future, especially females. None of the students who responded yes on the pre-assessment changed their minds, but some changed their reasoning. Responses went from “interesting” to “I could make new medicines or invent things”, “science is easy for me” to “would pay off in the end”, “like science” to “like computers”, “like to teach it” to “want to do forensics”, and “invent something” to “want to help animals”. These responses

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reflect that scientists in our classroom were not just researching “science”, but working on something they liked or were passionate about. This project was successful in changing attitudes about science, stereotypes of scientists, and interesting students in considering science as a career. Students found it surprising that the scientists loved their work. That fact was mentioned many times on the personal response sheets students filled out after each presentation. The scientists' enthusiasm was contagious. JUST WHAT DOES A SCIENTISTS DO? One student’s post-assessment comment said it best – “From what I’ve seen, I could be any type of scientist I want and study what makes me curious. I could choose what to research from what I love to do.” Collected Student Data (include representative examples of student work that supports the evaluation) Student #1 Pre and Post Assessments Side One-Pre Assessment

Side One-Post Assessment

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Side Two-Pre Assessment

Side Two-Post Assessment

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Formative Assessment Results Student #1

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Student #2

What would you do differently if you were to repeat this activity? I would have tried to find more diverse scientists, especially minority females. Using UNL and Project Fulcrum was an invaluable resource. I also would prefer to do this project at the beginning of the year. I believe it would energize my students and get them more interested in science right away. There were many times during the year that I referred to, or used as an example, something one of our visiting scientists had shown or discussed. It would be good to talk about the attitudes, stereotypes, and love of science from day one.

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I will probably revise the questionnaire for next year. I would like to include a place for a drawing. It would be interesting to see how perceptions change and allow for another mode of expression. Use of time is probably the biggest concern for this unit next year. The formative assessment diagrams and responses were best when written the next day after the visit of the scientist. That did not always happen this year, and is something that must be deliberately scheduled. It was difficult for students to remember details over a weekend. How can the activity be extended to increase the amount of inquiry? Students could prepare interview questions that they may want to ask the scientists, or write follow-up questions that they would like the scientist to answer. Questions could be done by email, or the scientist could plan a return visit. Other comments This project was the most powerful tool used all year to change attitudes, perceptions, and interest in science among students in my classroom. Reading about scientists in the textbook, and in Language Arts, became more engaging to students when they had the personal connections to similar experiences in our science classroom.

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