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Observing Beyond our Senses – Career Connections Summarized

Within each OBOS lesson, there are outlines of career-connected activities that can be incorporated into the lesson. These can be located in the Career Connection Tab within each lesson page. In the table below, you will find a compiled list of options for teaching all of the career connected activities for the entire module. For each lesson, we have identified 4 options - choose an activity based on the time you have available. Feel free to modify activities based on your class's needs. You can also mix and match options.  For instance, you can complete the option in Column A for Lesson 1 and then Column D for Lesson 3. Based on which options you choose, these career connections could add ~30 minutes of classtime to the OBOS module overall or as many as 6 additional class periods.

Within this module, we've identified four Systems Thinkers in STEM videos which are particularly relevant to OBOS:

Chris: invention, hardware, and engineering

Dana: open pancreas, communications, sensing and using proxy variables

Monish: data organization and interpretation

Amy: geology and geography education and communication

We made the Systems Thinkers in STEM videos to provide a platform for discussion and reflection. There's a infinite number of ways to structure classroom discussion and build skills. The options below are a few ways that have worked for us.

OBOS Lessons

Parallel Career Connection Activity Options

LESSON 1 – INTRODUCTION TO SALINE ENVIRONMENTS & MICROBIAL HALOPHILES

Environments of differing salinities form on earth. Human activities impact saline environments by altering the salinity and/or introducing pollution. Extremophilic organisms such as Halobacterium salinarum can live in high salinity environments.

 

A homework/

outside of class

B 5-10 minutes in class C half of class period

(~25 minutes)

D entire class period (~50 minutes)
Individual students make list of careers and college majors that could be involved with the Lesson One Powerpoint Whole class discussion using whiteboard or projector: Brainstorm on careers and college majors that could be involved with the Lesson One Powerpoint Brainstorm on careers college majors, and school courses that could be involved with the Lesson One Powerpoint.This can be done in small groups, with those groups reporting out to the entire class. C & Students develop a series of interview questions for one of these careers.Students then make a time-based education flowchart for one of these careers, focusing on the classes they should take in high school (see flowchart example below).

Additional Information:

Example Careers:

Extremophile Biologist, Hydrologist, Mining Engineer, National Park Director, Botanist, Heavy Equipment Operator, Local Historian

Example Majors:

Ecological Restoration, Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Environmental Resource Management, Marine Biology

Interview Tips:

StoryCorps has an excellent 3 minute video on how to conduct an interview.

Time-based education flowchart example:

This flowchart, made with the free online tool: www.draw.io, has an emphasis in the topics: MATH, SCIENCE, COMPUTER SCIENCE, HUMANITIES.

Other topics can include: ART, MUSIC, DRAMA, HISTORY, etc.

LESSON 2 – DESIGN PROCESS-MEASURING WIND SPEED

This introductory activity has students quickly cycle through a complete design procedure centered on a measuring challenge. Specific aspects of a design procedure, such as defining criteria or evaluating trade-offs, will be practiced again in later instrumentation activities.

 

A homework/

outside of class

B 5-10 minutes in class C half of class period (~25 minutes) D entire class period (~50 minutes)
Give handout for students to watch Chris' video and answer questions at home as homework. A + Brainstorm on interview questions for Chris using a whiteboard or projector. A + Have students interview each other about their wind speed project in Lesson 2 (interview 3 minutes), with 1 minute presentation to class summarizing the interview In preparation for interviews, teach students how to interview by reviewing StoryCorps 10 point document with tips on how to conduct a good interview. Then model an interview for the entire class.
Then, B & C

Additional Information:

Example interview questions for Chris:

You started with an interest in mechanical engineering, what made you want to combine fields and also study molecular biology?

What was your process for coming up with new ideas to for solving complex problems?

LESSON 3 – INFERENCES FROM PROXY VARIABLES-MOCK AFM

Observation is the skill of recognizing and noting some fact or occurrence in the natural world. Observation includes the act of measuring. To infer is to arrive at a decision or logical conclusion by reasoning from evidence. Scientists use observations to make inferences.

 

A homework/

outside of class

B 5-10 minutes in class C half of class period (~25 minutes) D entire class period (~50 minutes)
Give handout for students to watch Dana's video and answer questions at home as homework. A + Brainstorm on interview questions for Dana using a whiteboard or projector. A+ Have students imagine a job like Dana's that works with sensors and proxy variables. Students prepare written explanations of the proxy variable, and the education necessary to do this work. C + Have students prepare a set of interview questions for the person/job they’ve identified or described in C. This could start with students taking 3 minutes on their own, then pair-and-share, then share to class and evaluate questions.

Additional Information:

Example interview questions for Dana:

What skills did you already have when you started this project?

How did you develop the other skills that you did not acquire through the communications major?

LESSON 4 – SIGNAL AND NOISE

In this set of activities, students will attempt to communicate using hand signals or assemble an operational amplifier to play their iPods through a small speaker. The focus of activities will be the concepts of signal and noise and the trade-offs involved in amplifying the signal.

 

A homework/

outside of class

B 5-10 minutes in class C half of class period (~25 minutes) D entire class period (~50 minutes)
Give handout for students to watch Monish's video and answer questions at home as homework. A + Brainstorm on interview questions for Monish using a whiteboard or projector. A + Have students think about the role of data in science. Students interview each other about math, coding, computers (some of the things Monish talked about), and positive experiences they had that enhanced skills in these areas. C + Have students report to the class on their interview results.Then have students write a short letter to a younger sibling or friend about how to succeed and enjoy a tech, science, or math track in school.

Additional Information:

Example questions for Monish:

What are some similarities you found between the skills needed for a pharmacy career path and a computer science career path?

What advice do you have for someone to learn computer science if they do not have a computer science background?

LESSON 5 – INFERRING PROPERTIES AND CALIBRATION

This lesson serves as the conceptual underpinning for understanding how light behavior can be used to measure concentrations with a spectrophotometer. Students should frame their observations around “particles” of light interacting with material in three observable ways: that light can pass through, bounce off, or be taken in by materials.

 

A homework/

outside of class

B 5-10 minutes in class C half of class period (~25 minutes) D entire class period (~50 minutes)
Show students the StoryCorps website. Have students write 5 important tips for interviewers. Role-play as a person who invented the spectrometer you’re using. Have students conduct an interview with you and write a synopsis. We strongly suggest introducing the TOWN HALL & the ELEVATOR SPEECH projects (see Lesson 6), and allotting plenty of time in short blocks for supporting research and development and guidance for these. Invite a guest speaker and prepare students to interview the speaker in advance by reviewing StoryCorps 10 point document with tips on how to conduct a good interview.This experience hopefully will provoke some engaging writing prompts.

Additional Information:

Potential Careers of the guest speaker:

-Hydrologist

-Geologist

-State or local government environmental regulator

-Environmentally-oriented lawyer or litigator

LESSON 6 – DEATH VALLEY MIDDLE BASIN CASE STUDY

Measurements of indicator species can be used to make inferences about environmental conditions. Quantity and resolution of a data collection plan is limited by resources. Mine tailings are point sources of heavy metal pollution.

 

A homework/

outside of class

B 5-10 minutes in class C half of class period (~25 minutes) D entire class period (~50 minutes)
Give handout for students to watch  Amy's video and answer questions at home as homework.

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Post TOWN HALL (see option D) is a great time to ask for a written evaluation of the TOWN HALL experience. Writing prompts are included in the TOWN HALL document.

A + Brainstorm on interview questions for Amy using a whiteboard or projector.

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Students play (if prerecorded) or perform their finished

ELEVATOR SPEECHES.

Idea 1: Students build and present a 3 minute “ELEVATOR SPEECH”: who they are, their current interests, what they're going to do next, and where their path might lead. Emphasis should be placed on how different future experiences support systems thinking.

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Idea 2: Students research roles for TOWN HALL and potentially interview one another in some round robin situations, to get and give feedback on the research they have accumulated.

Conduct the TOWN HALLCommunity Meeting.

We recommend setting aside an entire class period for the meeting itself.

We only recommend doing this meeting IF you’ve prepared students well ahead of time by assigning roles and encouraging research to support those roles.

Additional Information:

If you are having students present an elevator speech, you might consider having students interview one another in some round robin situations, to get and give feedback and what they’re considering including in the speech.