The Blind Men and the Elephant

Who says 7th graders don't like story time?

We are just finishing our first week back.  Teachers started on Monday and our new 7th graders started on Wednesday.  Our goals for this week were straight forward:

1. Creating an welcoming, safe and inquisitive atmosphere
2. Let the students know our expectations and how to take care of their needs
3. Establish lab safety rules
4. Introduce our students to the subject of Life Science
5. Encourage curiosity through scientific inquiry

We are already getting to apply our summer expedition in Thailand to our teaching.   I have shown the video Connie made to hook kids into the cool places science can lead you.  (I described our Earthwatch expedition as "Summer camp for grown ups".). After the video I briefly told them about our vision for the year and how they will get to choose a species that interest them to advocate for throughout the year.  What I love is that a bunch of kids have already started to research endangered species and are talking to me about what they want to do, or what the looked up last night.  Ladies and gentlemen 7th graders volunteering to do homework that was not assigned on the first night of school is an unheard of thing.  A great thing, but not something I expected. 

Today I also got unexpected results.  See, when I wrote the grant to Fund for Teachers, I referenced the Indonesian fable The Blind and the Elephant.  The story is about how each of the six blind men try to understand an elephant by only touching one part of it.  As a result they end up thinking an elephant is like a wall, a snake, a spear, a tree, a fan or a rope.  They each feel they are right in their perception but are puzzled about how they each touched the same animal but came to such different conclusions.  Eventually the prince explains that an elephant is very big and in order to really know what an elephant is like, you must put all of the parts together.  In my writing of the grant I talked about the disconnect science education and science professionals often feel.  

Today, though, I got to read the fable to my new students.  Not only did the listen with rapt attention, they actually applauded at the end of the story time.  When I finished I asked them "why do you think I chose to read you this right after I explained the scientific method?"  

Their answers were profound:

"To remind us to not only look closely at our work, but also to make sure we are paying attention to the big picture" 

"There are many different ways to observe things, not only our sight."

"The men followed the scientific method to learn more about the elephant, but not always in order" 

"Sometimes people argue when they analyze the data, and outside help is needed". 

"It is possible for there to be many correct answers that are still not right". 

"The men showed curiosity and persistence because they were interested in something" 

Lots of great thought, profound discoveries, and a nice way to see how my students minds work.   

Fun with Movie Maker

Connie, as older kids, and is much more tech savvy than I am.  She made this fun video clip about our jorney that we can share with other teachers and our students .  Enjoy

Here comes the school year, so now what?

 

One of the few distinct lessons I can remember from my 7^th grade health teacher was about goal setting.  I can remember him comparing goals to shooting a bow and arrow at a target.  He stated simply, “you will never get the bull’s-eye if you don’t have a target.”  Makes sense to me.  If we don’t have a vision of how we are going to apply what we learned this summer in Thailand to our classes and our teaching, then we don’t have a chance of accomplishing it.  So, here is the vision that we are starting off the 2014-2015 year with for how we will apply what we learned this summer in Thailand. 

The Big Idea:  We want our student to choose a threatened or endangered keystone species to adopt and advocate for throughout the year.  At the end of the year, during their ecology unit, students will create a PR campaign using their research to develop a plan to protect and save their species from extinction.

Why:   One of the more profound things I heard Dr. Plotnick  http://earthwatch.org/scientific-research/our-scientists/joshua-plotnik   (the founder of Think Elephants International) http://thinkelephants.org/pages/who_we_are.html say was, “We are very likely to fail at saving wild Asian Elephants because we started too late.  I am still hopeful about our work though, because I feel that our model of using species specific science research to guide our conservation and education efforts has the ability to save many other species from the same fate.  Other species that are not even on our radar now, are going to benifit from this work.” 

Starting with the Science:  Our 7^th grade science students have a lot to learn about the living world.  We are planning on using what we learned on our expedition about elephants to teach about many of the basic principles of life science throughout the year.  We will teach the concept; then show how it applies to elephants, then our students will build a book about their species adding a page/section a unit, of how the information applies to their adopted species. 

What will be in their book?  (This is the dream before the year starts)

·         Introduction/about the author:  This will be a letter about the author (the student) explaining who they are, what species are they choosing to adopt and advocate for, and why did they choose it.  http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/vanishing.htm

·         Eight Characteristics of life:  Students will create a section of their book explaining how their species meets each of the eight characteristics of life. 

·         Classification/taxonomy:  What is the scientific name of your animal and how is it classified all the way from Kingdom to Species.  They will need to explain how their species qualifies for each taxa level. 

·         Cells:  A detailed drawing of a somatic cell for animals and information about specialized cells present in their species.

·         Genetics:  How many chromosomes does the species have?  What are the main acquired and inherited traits observed in the species?  Presence of genetic disorders?  Is the population wild, captive or domesticated? 

·         Natural Selection/Species Variation:  Closest living relatives, ancient relatives.  How has this species changed over time and why?  How does it need to change to survive the current threats to its population? What are the different varieties of your species and where do they exist and why?

·         Human Body Systems and Tissues:  Compare and contrast a system of your choosing between humans and your species and a section on your species reproductive system.  Does the way they reproduce contribute to their endangered status? Why or why not?

·         Plants:  Why types of vegetation is your species dependent on for food or shelter?  Are any of these plants threatened or endangered?  If so, what needs to be done to keep the plant population healthy?

·         Trophic Levels and Food Webs:  The students will create detailed food web and trophic level diagrams for their species along with an explanation for the weak links in the system and the effects of loss of levels in the food web. 

 

Culminating Capstone Project:  As teachers, we will discuss how Think Elephants International is combining science, conservation and education in an effort to save Asian and African Elephants from extinction.  Students will then work to decide on how it would be best to protect their species.  They will then design and implement a public relations campaign.  Project can take on many forms including:

·         Facebook page with daily advocacy information shared https://www.facebook.com/#!/thinkelephants 

·         Pintrest board with links to all sorts of inspiring information about why protection is needed

http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=Think%20Elephants%20International 

·         Conservation policy planning

http://www.elephantconservation.org/programs/asia-programs/

·         Proposal of legislation to protect land or purchase key habitat

http://www.amnh.org/explore/science-bulletins/bio/documentaries/wild-at-heart-the-plight-of-elephants-in-thailand/asian-elephants-threats-and-solutions

·         A blog http://thinkelephants.blogspot.com/

•   A website http://thinkelephants.org/pages/who_we_are.html

·         A children’s book http://www.ifaw.org/sites/default/files/education-publications/intl/aaw11_my_elephant_neighbour_guide_us.pdf

·         A lesson plan for younger kids (and teach it) http://thinkelephants.org/pages/teaching_kids.html

·         An app http://iberianature.com/wildworld/nature-and-wildlife-apps-for-iphone/

·         And probably lots more that I haven’t even thought of yet. 

So, this is where we are starting the year.  With a plan, a dream, and a leap.  I am sure some parts will go really well, and some not so great.  But, I know one thing, we will all learn a lot.  We will keep the blog up chronicling student work, adding useful links, assignments and what is working/not working. 

So What Did the Elephants Teach Us?

As soon as we were awarded the grant and decided to chronicle our journey and the teaching surrounding the experience, I knew the name of the blog needed to be Elephants Teaching Teachers. Now that we are back home, over jet lag, and I (Karon) have returned from my big family vacation I have started to reflect on the initial concept of elephants teaching us something.

One resounding concept or theme keeps coming back to me.  See, in order to teach or learn from an elephant, a researcher, mahout, or neighbor, must first understand how an elephant perceives the world around them.  This makes me think of our new students coming in, and reminds me that this is my first job as a teacher.  I need to figure out each student's learning style, their preferences for seating, who they work well with, and who is a distraction to them?  Do they feel more confident with their back to a wall, or up front so they don't have to watch the students in front of them?  Do loud noises scare or excite them?  What motivates them?  These are all questions that apply to people and elephants.

Another part of elephant research is to teach elephants the rules of the "game" without having a common language.  I must say I have found myself applying this lesson with my sons a lot this summer as one of my sons is hearing impaired, and thus, language is not an effective way to explain anything.  One common way the researchers teach elephants the rules is through positive rewards.  For clear ethical reasons, negative consequences are not used to tell an elephant they have made the wrong choice.  It is clear though that the elephant is curious about why a reward is not given when it makes a wrong choice, and it is pleased when it gets a reward for the right choice.  What I also saw was that this takes a long time, to teach a concept through positive rewards for correct choices, but there was no aggression either on the part of the elephant.

Through all of this I learned that each animal is as smart as it needs to be given its circumstances.  Every creature is driven by their desire to survive.  What an elephant needs to know is different than what an ant needs to know and even different from what a whale needs to know.  In addition, the skills of an Asian elephant are going to be different than the skills of an African grassland elephant.  Yes, elephants are smart, because their world demands it of them.  Yes, humans are great problem solvers and thinkers, because our world demands it of us.  My job as a teacher is to help discover each student's intelligence and relate it to the world around them.  My job is also to recognize that, although my students come from the same geographic region, their worlds are different, and thus the form of their intelligence will also be varied.  This is not good or bad, it is what creates a world filled with many gifts waiting to be discovered.

Conservation Lesson with Thai Children

This is the Thai "school bus" that brought our kiddos to the elephant camp this morning for our conservation lesson.   Can you imagine this happening in the US?  We had an incredible time with these wonderful students!  

The Touchy-Feely Side of Elephants

Reading the profiles of the Earth-watchers, Thais and Think Elephant staff, it might be easy to think that only one kind of person out there would find a service learning science research expedition to be their ideal vacation. Yet, the next profile goes to show that a woman with loads of compassion for animals and a sense of adventure is a fantastic match for this expedition.

Who? Cheryle DeLandre (married to Stuart who we featured earlier)
From? Winding, Australia (2 hours south of Sydney along the coast)
Occupation: Sales manager and trainer for Michael Hill Jewelers
Q: How did you first learn about Earthwatch?
A: Stuart, my husband, participated in a couple of other Earthwatch programs, so I knew about Earthwatch through his experiences.
Q: Why did you decide to participate in the Thinking Like an Elephant expedition?
A: We both have always said we wanted to get to do a lot more volunteering when we retired. I knew I wanted to do something involved with animals and Stuart knew he wanted to do something with kids. When we got the Earthwatch Catalog and saw that this program combined both animals and education, we knew it was going to work.

Q: Now that you are coming to the end of your first service learning vacation, how do you feel that this experience has shaped you and your view of the world?
A: I now have a new knowledge of Asian elephants and how important they are to their ecosystem. Back home I assumed that they were safe and had plenty of space to live in. I now have a lot of respect for elephants, their Mahouts, and the community of Earthwatch Volunteers. It has made my heart full to be part of it all. I really want to give more to this cause and find new ways to help these elephants and other species.

I am new to scientific research, but it is clear to me the importance of all parts of the work Think Elephants is doing with research, education and concervation.

Q: What advice would you give to those considering doing a similar expedition or service learning?
A: I have gotten so much out of this experience. I would say that you should just start with something small that you are passionate about. Once you start, if you are like me, you won't be able to stop. I am already starting to look for the next program I can get involved with as well as how I can share what I have learned with others.

I have gotten to see such beauty in the human-animal connections here and the stories of the mahouts and their elephants, and the personal stories of each of the elephants. I say, go out there to see that, and then share it.

Q: What do you plan on doing next?
A: I have already started organizing a presentation for my company. We are an international company and I can't wait to tell the story and hardship of the Asian Elephants.
We have also started to think about the next Earthwatch expedition we would like to do. Right now we are thinking about doing something in Afrca.

The Art of Teaching

As teachers, we are a trick audience. Yes, we love to learn and our entire profession is centered around transferring content and skills to our students. While that sounds simple, anyone who has ever tried to teach a group of youth knows that it is an art to truly educate someone. During this program, I have learned loads about elephants, biology, animal behavior, research skills, conservation efforts and domestication vs. captivating. AND... I can't help but notice the art of teaching by the Think Elephant International staff. They all have a variety of strengths and skills coupled with an intense passion to thwart the impending extinction of wild Asian Elephants.
So, because I am a science teacher, I feel it is important to feature another one of my teachers this week.

Who? Lisa Barrett
From? Pottstown, PA (suburb of Philadelphia)
Undergraduate Degree: University of Michigan
Degree: Evolutionary Anthropology
Additional education: Semester abroad in London
Q: How did you learn about TEI and why did you decide to move to Thailand to work with them?
A: I heard about TEI from a psychology lab instructor who had done some work with Dr. Plotnick at another university. Josh sent an e-mail to her asking if she knew of any students who might be interesting in working for TEI and she passed the information on to me.
I decided to take the job because of the combination of the work with elephants (one of my favorite animals) and my dream was to research animal cognition. I also liked the education component. In college, I worked at an after-school program and I really liked working with kids.
Q: What personal and professional goals did you hope to gain/ have you gained from working with TEI?
A: I really wanted the opportunity to work through the research process from start to finish, redesign and retrial. I also wanted to work in a university research  setting in orderb to gain skills in publication.
My biggest surprise has been getting to work with Earthwatch Volunteers.
I have learned a ton about research, but mostly I have developed my ability to interact with many different types of people. Living in Thailand has also taught me a lot about going with the flow, being patient and understanding people, culture and elephants.