APAEP Conceptual Integrated Science
Lecture 01: Course Introduction and Introduction to Science

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Instructor Bio (optional):

Hi, I’m Aubrey

• I’m teacher/researcher (Assistant Professor) at The University of Alabama in Huntsville
• I teach electronics and applied math courses (called signals and systems/nonlinear dynamics)
• My research involves electronics and chaos
• Born and raised (mostly) in Alabama
• Scottsboro High School (I was 100% interested in music and almost nothing else)
• I studied music at The University of North Alabama
• I became more interested in physics, math, and electronics related to music
  • After visiting studios in Muscle Shoals and Nashville
  • I still love making music
• My transition to STEM took a lot of effort
• I’m excited to learn and keep growing in STEM
• I’m really excited about how art, music, science, and engineering overlap

I’m here because I like science and I like students.

• I was eager to teach in graduate school and teaching in prisons with APAEP was my very first opportunity
• I became quick friends with Kyes Stevens who started this program
• I found many good, interested students to share STEM excitement with
  • Attended a poetry class with Kyes at Easterling in 2013
  • Taught Vocational Electronics at Easterling in Clio, AL in 2013
  • Afterward, Auburn’s Electrical Engineering Department allowed me to teach Electronics in 2013
  • Taught a science course at Staton in Elmore, AL in 2014
  • Taught Auburn’s Electronics course in 2014
• Outcomes with all the cards on the table:
  • Through teaching I grow and learn a lot
  • I enjoy learning with other people (students)
  • Science courses are not in my lane at UAH, but I have some inertia with them at APAEP
  • My activities with APAEP bring a lot of positive feedback (APAEP students, UAH, mentors, friends)
  • Service commitments as part of my professor appointment from the State of Alabama
    • I chair conference sessions
    • Work with students
    • Some activities are kind of like parking committees :)
    • APAEP feels like a much more productive fit for my service role as a state employee
    • I do get a stipend to be here that is ~27% of a UAH course/other service, i.e. its not for the money :)

I. Who am I? Why am I here?

Hi, I’m Aubrey

• I’m teacher/researcher (Assistant Professor) at The University of Alabama in Huntsville
• I teach electronics and applied math courses (called signals and systems/nonlinear dynamics)
• My research involves electronics and chaos
• I’m really excited about how art, music, science, and engineering overlap

I’m here because I like science and I like students.

I’m still learning about Science. Everyone is if they are being honest.

This is a good way to learn about Science. I forget a lot of this material. My relationship with Science feels like learning, forgetting, re-learning these topics. (Thought credited to Leonard Susskind from his lecture on Statistical Mechanics.)

Some things that I’ve learned that seem amazing:

• Life exists … and some of it glows! (Bioluminescence), Fireflies, plankton (in the dark), lichen (UV backyard)
• Fossils on the ground
• Scale on carpet
• Balloon in a car while turning
• Magnets in general
• Move water with charge on a plastic comb
• The planets are in a line and you can take pictures of them yourself
• Plants communicate via fungi networks in the ground
• Medicine found by accident and derived from mold … doctors can see inside bodies
• without surgery (MRI)
• You can calculate the circumference of the earth with two stick
• No one can predict the weather for longer than a few days at best
• Ants form insanely complex structures to solve problems as a group but they are actually really simple individually
• You can measure the charge/mass ratio of an electron with an old TV
• Vikings were in Canada long before (~1000 AD) Christopher Columbus and we know the date with precision!
• Whales came from a tiny deer-like creatures (as well as other small mammals)???
• People use AI and other technology to talk to whales…in WHALE LANGUAGE!
• Some whales are so old they have artifacts (1800s) in their skin from hunters
• The search for extra terrestrial life can be scientific (if done carefully)
• Crows can do arithmetic…and are generally so surprisingly smart

Some places that I’ve improved: (Aubrey’s blunder years are still happening)

• accidentally removed monkey grass from the yard trying to power my car with Hydrogen
• almost blew up my friend’s kitchen trying to make “magic sand”
• accidentally cut a brand new Si wafer dicing table with itself (expensive mistake)
• had to review for years to work up to taking the Calculus sequence (I was a music major :) )

Exciting science follies (it’s okay to be wrong and is actually part of the process):

• Part of science is being wrong…
• Mr. Green (Scottsboro Jr. High)
  • put a chunk of lithium in a bucket of water and it messed up his hair
  • filled a balloon with Hydrogen and lost his eyebrows
• Unicorn was proposed to exist (Magdeburg Unicorn 1663) by Otto von Guericke
  • was a Woolly Rhino and Narwhal
  • partially endorsed in 1686 by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz visited the cave and wrote a report about it mentioning the local trade with unicorn artifacts
  • fossilized bones (thought to be from unicorns) were ground and used for making medicine
• Aristotle (invented formal logic) insisted that the Earth occupies the center of the universe
  • He applied the seemingly circular/nonsensical logic that “Earth must be in the middle because earth (the element) always sought to move toward its “natural place,” the center of the cosmos”
• Dr. Baginski had to get his fingernails removed due to HF acid exposure
• Humoral theory: four fluids make up the body and must maintain balance for good health
  • blood, choler (yellow bile), phlegm and black bile
  • each had a temperament with characteristics that reflected someone’s personality
• Phlogiston Theory (theory of combustible substances that was incorrect but led to the discovery of Oxygen)
• Spontaneous creation (a theory that life generated from rotten meat … more on this later)

For me, science and math:

• are continually humbling (I often feel smart and clueless at the same time)
• are continually surprising
• help me learn about the world
• help me learn about myself and others
• help me feel deeply connected and always growing
• help me find students do share the process of these things with :)

INSERT BILL BRYSON AUDIO BOOK CLIP (6 Minutes)

The following is inspired/borrowed from

Bryson, Bill. (2004). A short history of nearly everything. Crown.

Note taking example from the audio clip:

Can you imagine a picture in a magazine, textbook, tv show, movie (etc.) that was incredible?

A cutaway diagram of the Earth’s interior showing a quarter of it removed

The core is iron and nickel as hot as the surface of the sun

“How do they know that?!?!?!?!?”

This is kind of like arcane/privileged information (you can get a second opinion, but always from a specialist)

- Surgeon
- Plumber
- Mechanic

Thousands of miles below us, no eyes, no measurements, no x-rays

Seems like a miracle to know what it is made of and its properties

HOWEVER! Reading the textbook was not exciting or even comprehensible

Didn’t answer any immediate questions that come to mind

• How is there a sun-hot, molten ball in the middle of our planet?
• Why isn’t the ground beneath our feet hot/fixing to melt?
• How was any of this figured out in the first place?

The author of these books seem like the keep “they keep the good stuff secret” and have their own secret language

“(Jokingly) There seemed to be a mystifying, universal conspiracy among textbook authors to make certain that the material they dealt with never strayed too near the realm of the mildly interesting and was always, at least, a long distance phone call from the frankly interesting.”

“…written by men (they were always men), who held the interesting notion that everything became clear when expressed as a formula, and the amusingly diluted belief that the children of America would appreciate having chapters end with a section of questions they could mull over in their own time. So I grew up convinced that science was supremely dull, but suspecting that it needn’t be. "

“…to see if it isn’t possible to understand and appreciate, marvel at, enjoy even the wonder and accomplishments of Science at a level that isn’t too technical or demanding, but isn’t entirely superficial either. "

Open Question: How do you teach science, math, and laboratory skills that is accessible to everyone?

I don’t exactly know. In fact, no one does. I really like the spirit of Bill Bryson.

“Science at a level that isn’t too technical or demanding, but isn’t entirely superficial either. " Can this be taught as a course? Supplemented with popular science communications and reinforced with university-level treatment after the fact?

This course aims to educate all of us (including me) about science, but also aims to answer this question in the process.

For me, this is an important question that I hope I can help answer. What we all learn here not only applies in our classroom, but also applies in a lot of other places with the potential to become great classrooms.

GOAL: Create a space with Science vibes every week where we can ask questions and learn together.

II. Course Syllabus and Expectations

Conceptual Integrated Science

A Course of the Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project

For all correspondence outside of class, contact:

Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project, 1061 Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum, Auburn University, AL 36849

Program Director: Kyes Stevens

Instructor: Aubrey Beal

Course Description: The goal of this course is to provide an introduction to natural sciences i.e. physics, chemistry, biology, earth science and astronomy. This wide range of material will be covered using a conceptual approach that focuses on accessibility of the integrated sciences. This conceptual approach personally and directly relates science to everyday life with a de-emphasis on jargon and vocabulary. Emphasis will lie in central ideas rather than details, which often lead to information overload. Because of this shifted emphasis, these concepts will hold a higher priority than computation no prior mathematics or pre-requisites will be required. Equations will be used to clarify concepts rather than academic, mathematical exercises. A general aim is to introduce an excitement for science. Related mathematics will be built upon in curiosity driven manner with great historical context.

Material Covered: This course will rely on unifying scientific concepts to organize a treatment of a wealth of natural science disciplines: physics, chemistry, biology, earth science and astronomy.

Course Objectives:

• ​ Introduce basic scientific concepts in natural sciences
• ​ Provide foundation and encouragement for scientific observation
• ​ Illustrate coherency between scientific topics via unifying concepts
• ​ Encourage and refine creative problem solving skills
• ​ Expose students to college-level course work

Prerequisites:

No prerequisites are required.

Class Format (Flexible as needed): Each lecture may take a different form, but will generally be divided into blocks that shift focus between student-led discussions, group problem solving, mathematical recitation, and university-style lectures. I think that it is important to remain flexible with our time. We may need/wish to focus our efforts on specific topics. There will be no order that is ‘set in stone,’ but generally, a class meeting may look like:

1. 30 min - Introductory Reading and Discussion: This portion of the class meeting is designed to allow students time to join the classroom and prepare to engage the material. Please, be punctual. Often, an assigned reading, problem set, or activity will be given. Afterwards, there will be a general discussion reflecting on this introductory material.
2. 15 min - Assignment Questions & Solutions: There will be a dedicated portion of the in-class meeting devoted to working previously assigned problems, reviewing solution methods, and illustrating alternative problem-solving strategies.
3. 45 min - Lecture: When business concerning the previous class material concludes, a new concept will be introduced through either a demonstration or discussion. Group discussions are encouraged to explain phenomena. Using descriptions to form empirical evidence, the class will collectively use the scientific method to come to conclusions about each topic. These conclusions will be contrasted and compared as a lecture on relevant material proceeds. Each class meeting will have a traditional, university-style lecture on a topic from our textbook. If time and interest permits, I will share what I have prepared. Students are encouraged to take notes, ask questions, and engage the lecture as long as we stay on topic. Participation is highly encouraged. If participation lengthens this lecture period, a cushion of 30 minutes is provided at the end of each class meeting. For example, if the lecture runs too long, then the end of class discussion and problem solving will shorten.
4. 15 min - Problem Solving Approaches & Example Problems: Often in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) courses, the concepts are reinforced by examples, hypothetical scenarios, and analogy. Examples pertaining to the primary lecture of each class meeting will be worked and discussed during this dedicated time period.
5. 15 min - Math Foundations/Mathematical Supplement: Everyone is always growing in their mathematical journey. Many example problems and general concepts will rely on various mathematical foundations. This portion of the class meeting is reserved to reinforce, and appreciate the underlying mathematics as well as deeper implications therein. This time may take the form of 1) mathematical review at any level, 2) a historical perspective of mathematics, 3) broad considerations of the mathematics introduced/reviewed, or 4) any student directed/oriented focus as needed.
6. 30 min - Discussion/Recitation: I can work the assignment with you if there is time at the end of class. The final portion of each class meeting is loosely designed to buffer for delays due to class participation or other events. This class time may be used as a student-led, overarching discussion of the lecture, our course, some of our personal experiences with STEM in our everyday lives, deeper questions, and student-instructor feedback. In some cases, students may wish to forgo this discussion to allow for an instructor-led recitation of the topic’s assignments.
7. A few minutes - Conclusion: Each class will conclude with a weekly assignment consisting of problems, assessments, activities and puzzles. Note that this format may be dynamic depending on student participation and interest.
8. Ad hoc: As many as three mental ‘breaks’ may be designed into our class meetings. These breaks are not free time. These breaks are meant to be a significant change in pace involving hopefully, interesting allegory, history or fact. Relevant media will be provided when appropriate (videos, reading material, problem solving exercises, podcast clips, etc.).

NEVER BE AFRAID TO ASK A QUESTION! Discussions which arise from student questions are much more interesting than a Ben Stein-like lecture. You’ve heard before the saying “There are no stupid questions.” So if something is unclear, bring it up for discussion. In general, the class motto is

*“Everyone you meet knows something that you don’t.” -Bill Nye

After group discussions, recitations, or the presentations of solutions, please share any alternate or creative techniques used in your approach or understanding of the material. Always be proud of the ability to solve a problem in more than one way (no matter how trivial this seems).

Discussion Policy: Discussion is STRONGLY encouraged, however, there are a few guidelines. Please, help enforce the restriction of only one discussion at a time. Take notes to help keep your thoughts and wait your turn. Discussions must stay positive, inclusive, and respectful. Do not create distractions. Remember that questions are welcomed during the lecture at any time. It is important that all students remain comfortable and included. This is best for everyone’s learning and creativity.

Required Texts and Materials:

• ​ Paper (for notes)
• ​ Pencil
• ​ Folder (for handouts)

The required text is graciously provided by APAEP, but MUST be returned at the end of the course in order to receive a certificate.

Conceptual Integrated Science; Hewitt, Lyons, Suchocki, Yeh; Pearson Addison Wesly; San Fransico, CA; IBSN-10: 0321818504

Attendance and Tardiness Policy: The most essential key to success in this class in to just show up. If you miss a class, just show up next time. The showing up part is the key. However, if you are not well, please don’t attend class. Keep in mind you will be held responsible to make up any missed assignments. Come to class and be on time to best of your ability.

If you miss a class, its fine. Please, come to the next one. Don’t be discouraged from joining us. :)

Credit and Certification: Certificate of completion will be earned by students who successfully meet all course requirements.

Certificate of participation will be earned by students who do not meet all the course requirements, but are present for at least half of the cumulative class sessions.

You must attend almost all classes (you can miss one) —no exceptions—and complete all assigned work in order to receive a CEU from Auburn University. While the CEU is not a college credit, it can go a long way toward parole, resume building, and future employment.

Course Requirements: General course requirements include attendance, class participation in group discussions, completion of weekly assignments (graded for effort and not correctness) and a positive, respectful attitude. Note that a completely valid assignment submission can simply be a piece of paper that says “I showed up.”

Class Schedule: This schedule is subject to change based on class interest. Changes that affect due dates will be given at least one week notice. Daily activities may change without notice. A loose suggestion to our topics follows this notion:

Lecture 01 - Course Introduction / Introduction to Science

Lecture 02 - The Scientific Method and Measurement

Lecture 03 - Physics: Forces, Motion, Inertia, and Problem Solving

Lecture 04 - Physics: Newtons Laws

Lecture 05 - Physics: Momentum, Heat & Energy

Lecture 06 - Physics: Electricity, Magnetism & Waves

Lecture 07 - Chemistry: The Atom

Lecture 08 - Chemistry: Investigating & Organizing Matter

Lecture 09 - Chemistry: Chemical Bonds

Lecture 10 - Chemistry: Chemical Reactions & Organic Chemistry

Lecture 11 - Biology: The Cell, Genetics, Evolution & Diversity

Lecture 12 - Biology: Human Biology, Ecosystems & Environment

Lecture 13 - Earth Science: Plate Tectonics, Rocks & Minerals, Earth’s Surface, Weather

Lecture 14 - Astronomy: The Solar System & The Universe

Lecture 15 - Computer Science & Engineering Overview

III. Introduction to Science

INSERT BIG HISTORY VIDEO (~18min)

A few observations that we might take for granted:

The arrow of time moves forward due to possibilities and entropy

• Why can’t you un-crack an egg? Un-shatter a plate?

• There are more disordered possibilities than ordered ones
• Matter seems to move from organized states to disorganized states
• It takes energy and some rule set (natural laws/differential equations) to organize matter
• The universe doesn’t tend to travel from disorganized matter to organized matter. Why?
• This is related to the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
• **BIG QUESTION: ** How does the universe generate organization and complexity?

Complexity and structure seem to arise in fragile pockets with stringent conditions

Image-NOAA

• Order and complexity arise as amorphous drops of water crystallize and form snow flakes
• Is every snowflake really different?
• At a first pass, temperature needs to be below freezing
• A closer look
  • A water droplet attaches to a particle (impurity)
  • If that mixture freezes (temp below a threshold) then crystal structures can form (due to various forces)
  • The ice crystal falls to the ground and more water vapor freezes onto the primary crystal
  • This tends to build new crystals – with six arms…**WHY? **(Kepler asked this question)
    • A hexagon ends up being an efficient use of space
    • 400 years later, his theory was proven

INSERT BRIAN GREENE VIDEO ON SNOWFLAKES (~4 minutes)

• More detail
  • These ice crystals are symmetrical (or patterned)
  • They reflect the internal order of the crystal’s water molecules
  • They arrange themselves in predetermined spaces (known as “crystallization”)
  • The shape of water molecules tends to make an important angle as they freeze (crystal lattice)
    • Water in gas phase has an angle (~105 degrees)
    • Water in an ice lattice has an angle (~109.5 degrees)
  • They bend/squish (I guess) to form a hexagon-like shape
    • Circle (1 equal sided figure) has 360 degrees
    • I can’t think of a 2 equal sided figure at the moment … can you?
    • Equilateral triangle (3 equal sided figure) has 60 degrees per corner (interior angle)
    • Square (4 equal sided figure) has 90 degrees per corner (interior angle)
    • Pentagon (5 equal sided figure) has 108 degrees per corner (interior angle)
    • Hexagon (6 equal sided figure) has 120 degrees per corner (interior angle)
    • Is there a pattern here?
  • Ultimately, temperature forms the crystal
  • To a lesser extent the humidity of the air forms the crystal
  • Long needle-like crystals at 23 degrees F and very flat plate-like crystals at 5 degrees F …WHY?
  • The intricate shape of a single crystal
    • determined by the atmospheric conditions experienced by entire ice crystal as it falls
    • might begin to grow arms in one manner at first
    • minutes or even seconds later, slight changes in the surrounding temperature or humidity causes the crystal to grow in another way
    • the six-sided shape is always maintained, the ice crystal (and its six arms) may branch off in new directions
    • BUT WHY DON’T ALL THE BRANCHES LOOK THE SAME? Because each arm experiences the same atmospheric conditions, the arms look identical.
  • So are all snowflakes really that different/unique?
    • Yes. Individual snowflakes all follow slightly different paths from the sky to the ground
    • They encounter slightly different atmospheric conditions along the way
    • They all tend to look unique, resembling everything from prisms and needles to the familiar lacy pattern
  • This means that even when a snow storm presents a seeming infinity of snow fall
    • There are even more possibilities for each snow flake’s trajectories
    • This is kind of like once a box of cards is open and used once
      • There are many possibilities to the arrangement of cards
      • The total number is 52! = 8.0658175e+67 (branch of math called Combinatorics)
      • about 80,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
      • In a similar way we can guarantee that no two decks of cards will have the same configuration if they are shuffled at least once.
      • No two decks of used cards on the planet (or that have ever existed) will have the same configuration
• This is what Science feels like. We start with observations and form questions. As we answer those questions we are often surprised by the answers and then even more questions and surprises keep popping up.
  • What are some of the questions that we are satisfied with?
  • What are some questions that are still unanswered?
  • What new questions do we have?

Classroom questions:

• What are some of example of how modern technology is built on science? Medicine, Space Travel, Other Examples

• What questions do we have? (I didn’t know why the sky is blue until I watched a children’s show…)

• What do we want to learn?

• What is our experience with Science thus far?

Leading question: What is Science?

science, noun, sci·ence ˈsī-ən(t)s a: knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method b: such knowledge or such a system of knowledge concerned with the physical world and its phenomena : NATURAL SCIENCE

-from Merriam-Webster Dictionary

• 1. An organized body of knowledge about nature 2. Our knowledge of all the stuff that is in the universe

  • tiniest subatomic particles in a single atom

  • the metal in your computer’s circuits

  • the nuclear reactions that formed the immense ball of gas that is our sun

  • the complex chemical interactions and electrical fluctuations within your own body

• not just a collection of knowledge

  • a reliable process by which we learn about all that stuff in the universe
  • different from many other ways of learning because of the way it is done
  • relies on testing ideas with evidence gathered from the natural world
  • a method to systematically ask questions, make predictions, and solve problems.
  • a product of observations, common sense, rational thinking, and (sometimes) brilliant insights.

• Science is both a body of knowledge and a process.

  • process of discovery
  • allows us to link isolated facts
  • coherent and comprehensive understandings of the natural world

• Science is exciting. Predictive power

  • how things work today

  • how things worked in the past

  • how things are likely to work in the future.

  • Scientists are motivated by the thrill of seeing or figuring out something that no one has before.

    “A pleasure in finding things out” – Richard Feynman

• Science is useful.

  • generates knowledge that is powerful and reliable
  • develops new technologies, treat diseases, and deal with many other sorts of problems.

• Science is ongoing.

  • continually refining and expanding our knowledge of the universe,
  • it leads to new questions for future investigation.
  • Science will never be “finished.” (For example, is Pluto a planet, haha)

• Science is a global human endeavor.

  • Usually done by a community, not just a single person.
  • People all over the world participate in the process of science. And you can too!
  • Over time, it builds a legacy.

Where did Science originate? Built up from thousands of years, early science was based on observations of repeating patterns, like constellations, animal migrations, the weather.

How can Science be used? To discover nature’s order, and learn about ourselves and the world around us.

What is everyday life like without Science? Little prediction or facility of our surroundings.

You are probably a scientist already!

An overhead light fails

• How did that happen?
• Is it plugged in?
• Is the bulb blown?
• Are other lights out?
  • In the house?
  • In the neighborhood
• What made the light come on in the first place?

Cause & Effect Relations

• Find out an event’s cause
  • Classify an event’s result
  • Rational Thought: Using rational thinking draws sensible conclusions from facts, logic and data. In simple words, if your thoughts are based on facts and not emotions, it is called rational thinking.
  • Methodically applied
  • Applied to the natural world: We won’t be using superstition, magic, or pseudoscience (but we may indulge some case studies from time to time)

INSERT MICHIO KAKU VIDEO (~2 minutes)

​ - Over emphasis of memorization (among other things) tends to crush interest in Science

IV. How does Math fit into all this?

Not only are we born as scientists…we are also born with an entirely different intuition for mathematics…

Let’s reintroduce ourselves to mathematics.

Most of our scientific models are built on mathematics

Math education almost ALWAYS leaves complicated feelings or even anxiety about its topics

Let’s start over. :) This is similar to a drawing class where you learn to draw what you see not what you think is there

What is the sense of math that we are born with?

Podcast:

Abumrad, J. (Host), Krulwich, R. (Host). (2009, Nov. 30). Numbers (Season 6 Episode 5) [Audio podcast episode]. In Radiolab. WNYC. https://radiolab.org/podcast/91697-numbers

Book:

Dehaene, Stanislas. (2011). The number sense: How the mind creates mathematics. OUP USA.

Are we born with a blank slate mind?

INSERT RADIOLAB PODCAST CLIP (~ 7min)

Try to think of what experiments were run. Lets describe why or why/not we believe the results?

What is the distance between

• One and two?
• Eight and nine?
• Are they the same? Does one distance seem larger than another? 5 is 3 increments more than 1 as 9 is 3 increments more than 5
• As counting (discrete and ordered)? As a ratio (logarithmically)? 3 is to 1 as 9 is to 3

We are born with logarithmic model for counting…

What is the halfway point between 1 and 9?

• 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

• Is it 5?

• Is it 3?

Using integers, counting/adding makes 5 the middle number…(3 numbers on either side of 5…)

Using multiplication there are equal jumps when you multiply by 3

Takeaways

• We are born with a logarithmic intuition of mathematics (not right or wrong, just different)
• We shed this logarithmic intuition as we learn counting by increments
• Counting by increments is a human construction installed in our brains through modern math education…

… a painter has just awakened from a similar nightmare… I was surprised to find myself in a regular school classroom— no easels, no tubes of paint. “Oh we don’t actually apply paint until high school,” I was told by the students. “In seventh grade we mostly study colors and applicators.” They showed me a worksheet. On one side were swatches of color with blank spaces next to them. They were told to write in the names. “I like painting,” one of them remarked, “they tell me what to do and I do it. It’s easy!”

After class I spoke with the teacher. “So your students don’t actually do any painting?” I asked. “Well, next year they take Pre-Paint-by-Numbers. That prepares them for the main Paint-by-Numbers sequence in high school. So they’ll get to use what they’ve learned here and apply it to real-life painting situations— dipping the brush into paint, wiping it off, stuff like that. Of course we track our students by ability. The really excellent painters— the ones who know their colors and brushes backwards and forwards— they get to the actual painting a little sooner, and some of them even take the Advanced Placement classes for college credit. But mostly we’re just trying to give these kids a good foundation in what painting is all about, so when they get out there in the real world and paint their kitchen they don’t make a total mess of it.”

“Um, these high school classes you mentioned…”

“You mean Paint-by-Numbers? We’re seeing much higher enrollments lately. I think it’s mostly coming from parents wanting to make sure their kid gets into a good college. Nothing looks better than Advanced Paint-by-Numbers on a high school transcript.”

“Why do colleges care if you can fill in numbered regions with the corresponding color?” “Oh, well, you know, it shows clear-headed logical thinking. And of course if a student is planning to major in one of the visual sciences, like fashion or interior decorating, then it’s really a good idea to get your painting requirements out of the way in high school.”

“I see. And when do students get to paint freely, on a blank canvas?”

“You sound like one of my professors! They were always going on about expressing yourself and your feelings and things like that—really way-out-there abstract stuff. I’ve got a degree in Painting myself, but I’ve never really worked much with blank canvasses. I just use the Paint-by-Numbers kits supplied by the school board.”

-Paul Lockhart excerpt from Lockhart, P. (2009). A mathematician’s lament: How school cheats us out of our most fascinating and imaginative art form. Bellevue literary press

It’s no surprise that Lockhart was quoted

“If I had to design a mechanism for the express purpose of destroying a child’s natural curiosity and love of pattern-making, I couldn’t possibly do as good a job as is currently being done-I simply wouldn’t have the imagination to come up with the kind of senseless, soul-crushing ideas that constitute contemporary mathematics education.” -Paul Lockhart (Mathematician)

INSERT PAUL LOCKHART VIDEO (~3 min)

• What does math feel like?
• Finding some deep truth that is surprising (even almost scary)
• Any closed, 4-sided shape will enclose a parallelogram regardless of how you draw the sides…
• WHY?!?!?!?! The logical investigation that follows is an art form
• If you have a triangle in your mind, and I have a triangle in my mind, how do we relate their similarities and differences?

Assignment # 01

Write a few paragraphs to communicate to me:

1. What science topics are you especially excited about?
2. What are your goals for the course? (Science/Math)
3. What is your relationship with math like? (Do you like math? It’s okay if you don’t. Why or why not?)
4. Are Dehaene’s results about testing the tribe from the Amazon believable? Why or why not?
5. Organize some thoughts for a discussion about the article “Evidence for European presence in the Americas in AD 1021.”

References:

[1] Hewitt, P. G., Lyons S., Suchocki J., Yeh, L. (2013). Conceptual integrated science. Pearson Education, Inc. as Addison-Wesley

[2] Shipman, J., Wilson, J. D., & Higgins, C. A. (2012). An introduction to physical science. Cengage Learning.

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