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University Students Become Superheroes To Teach STEM Education
New submitter sjdupont writes "A trio of University of South Florida (USF) engineering graduate students have decided to make a change in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in an unusual and exciting way: by creating their own superhero personas and dressing in costumes as members of the Scientific League of Superheroes. Focused on elementary education, they have created a unique education program called the Superhero Training Network, a curriculum-based video series designed for the classroom which focuses on teaching STEM topics while engaging students in a fun way. Fifth grade classrooms in Hillsborough County (Florida) pilot tested the series during the 2011-2012 school year and enjoyed visits from the scientific superheroes to experience scientific demonstrations and participate in hands-on activities."
They should do a series of rap songs, too. That rap is hip these days and the kids really like it. Nothing reaches young people like adults dressing up like characters and rapping! This won't turn young people off out of sheer repulsion at being patronized at all!
j/k
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
When they read "engaging students in a fun way."
You don't need gimmicks, people! You need interesting experiments that kids can connect with.
It's hands-on science experiments. Let the kids blow stuff up, get dirty, smash something, or shock each other and they'll be interested. The gimmicks don't matter.
Basically, the way to get kids to remember stuff and want to learn stuff is to make it relevant to their real life. For example, to teach algebra, focus on personal finance, because most kids who are bored to death by "let's study exponential growth" are far more interested in "here's how to make more money". To teach physics or chemistry, a few controlled and safe explosions go a long way towards making kids interested.
I am officially gone from
A lab accident that transformed them from normal scientists to super-powered members of The Scientific League of Superheroes.
Super heroes: We're here to teach you about lab safety! ...
Students: How did you become super heroes?!
Super heroes: A lab accident...
Students:
Smart money is on the evil Dr. Entropy. :-)
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
No! It's Underemployed Man!
"Would you like fries with that, citizen?"
If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
The kids who are into comic books are most likely already interested in science.
There was a show by this name, which I never watched. But I imagined a superhero swooping in to help struggling math students.
I eat only the real part of complex carbohydrates.
I wonder how long it'll be before we get confused stories about scientists injecting students with stem cells in experiments to give super powers popping up on various anti-science sites along with a call to arms to stop to such horrific and unnatural practices.
When someone says, "Any fool can see
"These videos are designed for evaluation purposes. Duplication and distribution of these videos is not permitted."
Because, you know, someone might get educated for free or something, and then where would we be?
Still voting for http://www.khanacademy.org/ ...
-- Terry
I do the same kind of thing through my navy job... http://www.sciencebrothers.org/ Whacky Scientists though, not super heroes. I feel its kind of cheap to present STEM in a "fiction" way. Conflict of messages maybe?
I had someone that did something quite similar when I was in K-12, but we didn't call him a "superhero", we called them teachers, and they taught me many principles of science, in areas like Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Earth Science.
What the hell are teachers doing in the classroom that someone coming in and essentially doing their job for them is considered "newsworthy"?
Ken
Yes, I'm trolling.
Sig. Sig. Sputnik
I think STEM is broad enough that it's difficult to make general statements.
CS is generally considered STEM. My wife and I had no problems finding jobs to put us in the top 10% of our area and pay off the college debt in a couple years. We're doing much better at this point in time than our friends with medical degrees (although I'm sure they will catch up).
Nearly every study I've seen shows STEM fields as some of the most consistent returns on investment for a college degree. Essentially only MBA's, Lawyers, and Doctors do better, and those are either a much higher up front cost, or are a strong tournament system (with the top people making out, and lots of people failing at the bottom).