University Students Become Superheroes To Teach STEM Education 55
New submitter sjdupont writes "A trio of University of South Florida (USF) engineering graduate students have decided to make a change in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in an unusual and exciting way: by creating their own superhero personas and dressing in costumes as members of the Scientific League of Superheroes. Focused on elementary education, they have created a unique education program called the Superhero Training Network, a curriculum-based video series designed for the classroom which focuses on teaching STEM topics while engaging students in a fun way. Fifth grade classrooms in Hillsborough County (Florida) pilot tested the series during the 2011-2012 school year and enjoyed visits from the scientific superheroes to experience scientific demonstrations and participate in hands-on activities."
Ooh, you know what else they should do? (Score:2)
They should do a series of rap songs, too. That rap is hip these days and the kids really like it. Nothing reaches young people like adults dressing up like characters and rapping! This won't turn young people off out of sheer repulsion at being patronized at all!
Re:Ooh, you know what else they should do? (Score:5, Funny)
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It has amazing sticking power:
The LHC-b sees where the antimatter's gone,
Alice looks at collisions of lead ions,
The CMS and Atlas are two of a kind,
They're looking for whatever particles they can find.
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Oh yeah, and put up some YouTube videos of it!
Which one will become.... (Score:5, Funny)
j/k
Does anyone else automatically cringe (Score:5, Insightful)
When they read "engaging students in a fun way."
You don't need gimmicks, people! You need interesting experiments that kids can connect with.
It's hands-on science experiments. Let the kids blow stuff up, get dirty, smash something, or shock each other and they'll be interested. The gimmicks don't matter.
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I think STEM is broad enough that it's difficult to make general statements.
CS is generally considered STEM. My wife and I had no problems finding jobs to put us in the top 10% of our area and pay off the college debt in a couple years. We're doing much better at this point in time than our friends with medical degrees (although I'm sure they will catch up).
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Nearly every study I've seen shows STEM fields as some of the most consistent returns on investment for a college degree. Essentially only MBA's, Lawyers, and Doctors do better, and those are either a much higher up front cost, or are a strong tournament system (with the top people making out, and lots of people failing at the bottom).
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No, you need actual job prospects for these STEM graduate students
"What do the career prospects of a STEM Ph.D. look like? The typical career path is increasingly two post-docs following a Ph.D. before entering the labor market. That is, following a bachelor's degree and another four or five years of intensive study and low-wage labor in a professor's lab, the typical STEM Ph.D. can look forward to yet another six or eight years working at an average salary of $50,000 before they can compete for a regular j
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Because every time I hear that buzzword, I expect to see a middle aged man in a bad super-hero costume trying to rap about particle physics...
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Wrong approach (Score:3)
Basically, the way to get kids to remember stuff and want to learn stuff is to make it relevant to their real life. For example, to teach algebra, focus on personal finance, because most kids who are bored to death by "let's study exponential growth" are far more interested in "here's how to make more money". To teach physics or chemistry, a few controlled and safe explosions go a long way towards making kids interested.
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"Exponential growth" sounds more like a sex ed topic than math...
Back story flaw? (Score:5, Insightful)
A lab accident that transformed them from normal scientists to super-powered members of The Scientific League of Superheroes.
Super heroes: We're here to teach you about lab safety! ...
Students: How did you become super heroes?!
Super heroes: A lab accident...
Students:
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Hey kids, want to hear how Cancer Man got bitten by a radioactive spider?
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Hey kids, want to hear how Cancer Man got bitten by a radioactive spider?
I thought Cancer Man was burned by a pissed-off dragon...
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Tickling_the_Dragons_Tail [wikimedia.org]
I like their nemesis (Score:4, Interesting)
Smart money is on the evil Dr. Entropy. :-)
It's a bird! It's a plane! (Score:3)
"Would you like fries with that, citizen?"
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It super college loan man.
PAY UP OR I BRAKE your legs!
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PAY UP OR I BRAKE your legs!
You're going to make them run a little slower?
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that what a cast does and don't get them wet
Wrong audience (Score:2)
The kids who are into comic books are most likely already interested in science.
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The kids who are into comic books are most likely already interested in science.
My experience is that the converse might be (mostly) true, but this direction isn't true...
The Equalizer (Score:2)
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I thought it was about a sound engineer for concerts?
Outrage (Score:2)
"These videos are designed for evaluation..." (Score:2)
"These videos are designed for evaluation purposes. Duplication and distribution of these videos is not permitted."
Because, you know, someone might get educated for free or something, and then where would we be?
Still voting for http://www.khanacademy.org/ [khanacademy.org] ...
-- Terry
i have a similar program (Score:2)
Back in the day... (Score:2)
I had someone that did something quite similar when I was in K-12, but we didn't call him a "superhero", we called them teachers, and they taught me many principles of science, in areas like Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Earth Science.
What the hell are teachers doing in the classroom that someone coming in and essentially doing their job for them is considered "newsworthy"?
Jesus is the only REAL super-hero! (Score:1)