The 5 Habits Framework

1) Evidence (How do I know what's true?)

2) Perspective (Who might think differently?)

3) Connections (What other areas of knowledge are connected?)

4) Supposition (How might it be different if..?)

5) Significance (Is this important?)

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Man's Job is to Take Selfies

Record-Breaking 1800 Selfies Taken in 1 Hour

Bhanu Prakash of Hyderabad, India.
 (Bhanu Prakash)

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Hyderabad-boy-eyes-new-record-by-clicking-1800-selfies-in-one-hour/articleshow/48845060.cms

1)  What are the parameters of the competition?  Are they valid?  Is this something worth competing for?  What evidence is most compelling in training for this activity?

2)  Why might his parents feel differently than his former teachers?  His current or future partner/s?  The relatives of George Eastman?
  
3)  In what ways is this more connected to chemistry than to psychology?  To what degree is this connected to math?  

4)  How might the reporting of this story be different if it was about a teenage girl?  An American?

5)  What are the basic assumptions about people who take selfies?  What are the basic assumptions of those who share selfies about their followers/friends?

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can chart the rate of posted selfies of their friends and compare them to those of celebrities'.

2)  Students can research the use of selfies within different social networks and predict future trends.

AoK:  Human Sciences

WoK:  Imagination


Tuesday, September 22, 2015

6 Humans Step Into One-Year Isolation Dome

Mars Isolation Experiment Begins

The 36-foot-wide, 20-foot-tall Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation dome.
(NASA)

http://phys.org/news/2015-08-year-mars-isolation.html


1)  What collected data could be the most useful for NASA?  In what ways could the experiment prove to be useless?  

2)  Why might a former astronaut think about this differently than a junior high school student?  In what ways might Buzz Aldrin and Chris Hadfield think similarly about this experiment?

3)  In which class would this topic be most appropriate?  In what ways is this experiment more about physical health than psychology?  

4)  What if the participants all spoke different languages?  Were related?  The length of time was shortened to 1 month?  Extended to 3 years?

5)  In what ways is this experiment significant?  What are the long term consequences on the participants?  What are the short term consequences for NASA?  What are the basic assumptions tested in this experiment?

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can research the effects of extreme isolation on humans ("feral" children, solitary confinement, etc.) and write a story from the perspective of someone who is recruited by NASA because of their previous experience.

2)  Students can write a journal in the voice of a future astronaut from different points in time, considering time traveled and their eventual return.  

AoK:  Human Sciences

WoK:  Intuition

Monday, September 14, 2015

Tongue-Rolling Myth Totally 'Debunked'

Classic Genetic Myth is Wrong


Photo by Dorling Kindersley / Getty Images

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/genetic-myth-textbooks-get-wrong/

1)  In what ways is wisdom 'conventional'?  To what degree should science textbooks be believed?  What confers expertise in genetics?    

2)  Why might an American child feel differently about this than their grandparent?  In what ways would a 7th grade science teacher think about this differently than a student?  

3)  How might this be connected to psychology?  Math?

4)  In what ways would this story be different if it was about another classic example (i.e. widow's peak, ear lobe)?  How would this story be different if it was about genetics more than certainty?    

5)  What are some under lying assumptions about science in this article?  About belief?  In what ways is this significant for educational institutions?  

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can create a list of debunked artifacts of conventional wisdom and compare them to those in a country of their choice.

2)  Students can create a Top Ten list of the most widely believed debunked conventional wisdom in an area of their choice (history, science, nutrition) and survey their classmates.  Students can then analyze the results and offer prescriptive advice on combating them when they are encountered again.

AoK:  Human Sciences
 WoK:  Reason

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Tallest Mountain in North America Now Officially Denali

Obama Administration Changes Name of Mt. McKinley


This Aug. 19, 2011 file photo shows Mount McKinley in Denali National Park, Alaska.
(AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/31/us/mount-mckinley-will-be-renamed-denali.html?_r=0

1)  What evidence is used in this article?  How do we know the Athabascans were indigenous to the area?          

2)  Whose perspectives are being represented in this issue?  Whose are left out?  Why might a teenager in Ohio feel differently about this than a teenager in Hawaii?

3)  To what degree does the President's political party affect the public's reaction to this issue?  Is this more of a religious issue or a political one?  

4)  What if a Republican president had changed the name?  What if the name was changed to someone living?  To what degree would this story be different if it was Mt. Everest?

5)  What are the short term consequences?  Long term?  What are the basic assumptions about ownership of land?  

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can develop different headlines for the story to evoke emotional responses from different readers.

2)  Students can research natural monuments and propose name changes for some with indigenous names and defend another.


AoK:  History

WoK:  Language