MSM 634: The Stable of Instructional Support
Summary:
Shawn and Troy talk about AI, technology, algorithms, and more. Dave addresses trustworthy science.
Jokes:
How many optometrists does it take to change a light bulb? 1 or 2? 1… or 2?
I went to the store to pick up eight cans of sprite… when I got home I realized I’d only picked seven up
There’s not really any training for garbagemen.
- They just pick things up as they go.
Why did the barber win the race?
- He took a short cut.
A worm is a pretty lousy prize for getting up early if you ask me.
What happens when you anger a brain surgeon?
– They will give you a piece of your mind.
Middle School Science Minute
by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
K12Science Podcast: Trustworthy Scientific Information
I was recently reading the July-August 2024 issue of Science Scope, a journal published by the National Science Teaching Association, for middle school teachers.
In this issue, I read the “Commentary” section. In the section was an article entitled, “Finding Instructional Resources for Teaching About Scientific Misinformation,” written by Andy Zucker.
The nonprofit Media Literacy Now has developed a first-of-its-kind online database where teachers can find and access instructional materials to help student resists false and misleading information. To access the database, please visit:
https://medialiteracynow.org/science-resources
http://k12science.net/trustworthy-scientific-information/
Reports from the Front Lines
- Welcome Back To School
- Teachers Returned
- Kids next week
- Teachers Return Next Week
- Students after Labor Day
- Phones in classrooms
- Portfolios
- Shawn’s Stable of Instructional Support
- PCT, Pharmacology, Additional Social Studies Courses & adding teachers to that course.
The Social Web
Time for another clarion call for ‘hurkle-durkling’ (18th-century Scots): lounging in bed long after it’s time to get up. Word of the day is ‘overmused’: to be weary from excess thinking.
Matt Magnuson @MattMagnuson@flipboard.com
5 free AI tools for school that students, teachers, and parents can use, too
https://www.zdnet.com/article/5-free-ai-tools-for-school-that-students-teachers-and-parents-can-use-too/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Posted into For Youth: What Will They Need? @for-youth-what-will-they-need-MattMagnuson
Strategies:
Gamification: Pros and Some Cons, According to Research
Gamification has become a popular educational approach, having demonstrated solid potential as a learning tool. However, it’s not always clear exactly which gamified elements are helping, and in some instances, it can foster counterproductive competition and enhance extrinsic motivation rather than the more effective intrinsic motivation.
Overall, gamification should earn an achievement badge. found the intervention had small but significant positive effects on cognitive, motivational, and behavioral outcomes.
https://www.techlearning.com/how-to/gamification-pros-and-some-cons-according-to-research
Resources:
AXIS The Culture Translator
“Very Mindful, Very Demure”
What it is: If you’ve heard an uptick in your teen’s use of the word “demure,” you’re not alone. A new TikTok trend has exploded in popularity, and it’s got teens commenting on all things demure, all things mindful.
Where it comes from: Women are using the term to describe anything that demonstrates the qualities of patience, passivity, and mindfulness. The trend is not necessarily about leaning into these things as virtues, but about presenting yourself as reserved when it’s to your advantage.
ChatGP Cheat
What it is: Although chatbots like ChatGPT are mostly trained on news and encyclopedias, data suggests that they’re used most often for help on homework and for writing erotic fiction.
When Schools Want to Ban Cellphones—But Parents Stand in the Way
Web Spotlight:
Bored? Scientists say mindless scrolling through online videos makes it worse
Scrolling through videos on TikTok or YouTube to avert boredom may have a decidedly unintended consequence: It can make people feel more bored, according to the paradoxical findings of a recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
In experiments with more than 1,200 participants, many of them university students, Tam systematically showed that people switched to new videos when they were bored, believing the ability to switch would alleviate boredom but becoming more bored when they did.
Erin C. Westgate, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Florida who studies boredom and was not involved in the new research, said one of her thresholds when reading a new study is whether she would change her behavior based on the findings. In this case, she said, the answer is “a very chagrined yes.”
It turned out that when it came to articles, the effect was different than for videos: Boredom was similar between people who read one longer article compared with those able to skip between shorter ones.
The new results add to a growing body of scientific evidence that boredom is on the rise, despite — or perhaps because of — a world teeming with content that people can access at all times of day. People who are bored often turn to their phones, but then report being more bored, some studies have found. Scrolling on the social media platform X was linked to increases in boredom.
“When you’re immersed, you don’t feel bored. When your attention is spread, you’re almost by definition not satisfied,” Inzlicht said
Boredom is an uncomfortable emotion that serves a purpose, signaling that there is something more pleasurable to do, which can motivate people to explore their environment and stop investing time in an activity that has little to offer. But people seem increasingly intolerant of it, and Inzlicht has a counterintuitive tip for avoiding boredom: Lean into it. Sit with the discomfort of boredom for a bit before flitting to something else.
“If we’re so addicted to escaping boredom, so intolerant of boredom, it would be like a foraging animal going tree to tree, but never searching long enough to see if it bears fruit,” Inzlicht said. “Eventually, that animal will die.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2024/08/23/boredom-video-tiktok-youtube
How Khan Academy (And Others) Fudged Their Research
Always check the data. Always.
Computer tutoring is the hot thing, and the big players have all sorts of sexy research numbers to back them up. Are the numbers bunk? They sure are.
Did you notice a key phrase?
“For students who used the program as recommended.”
So how many students is that. Well, Holt checked the footnotes on the Khan Academy study and found the answer–
4.7%
https://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2024/08/how-khan-academy-and-others-fudged.html
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