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 The wonder of mathematics is that it can apply to so many different parts of our lives! This is well demonstrated in the new BLOSSOMS lesson, “Fence Your Equation.” A Malaysian farmer buys some sheep and needs to create a fenced-in pen, one side of which is a pre-existing wall. He also buys 25 meters of flexible fence. The farmer challenges his son, who likes math, to figure out how to design the fenced-in area for the sheep so that they will have maximum grass to eat, to stay healthy. This is a lesson in mathematical modeling, geometry, quadratic equations and optimization. It was created jointly by a high school teacher in Kuala Lumpur and by three faculty members at the Universiti Teknologi of Malaysia. MIT professor, Richard Larson, also contributed. Watch it here.
 In this lesson, students will learn about fluid dynamics by studying how the mammalian urinary system evolved for survival. The lesson uses simple hands-on experiments to visualize the urinary system and to help students practice the following skills: 1) Thinking visually and physically to understand how gravity is acting on the fluid in pipes; 2) Manipulating values of physical quantities with different units; 3) Comparing the calculation of fluid flow in real life biological systems. Students will gain experience using Torricelli’s Law, building their own water bottle experiments, and applying their observation to urinary systems inside mammalian bodies. This lesson was created by David Hu, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Biology at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Professor Hu previously created the lesson, “How Mosquitoes Fly in the Rain”. Watch his new lesson here.
 The MIT Women's Technology Program (WTP) is a rigorous four-week summer academic and residential experience where female high school students explore engineering through hands-on classes, labs, and team-based projects in the summer after 11th grade. Read more about it here.
 MIT BLOSSOMS has a new YouTube Channel and over the next few weeks will be exporting all of its lessons to that channel. Visit us there.
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MIT BLOSSOMS will work with eight to ten R.I. middle and high school science teachers to create new video lessons that demonstrate the incorporation of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in classroom teaching. For information contact: blossoms@mit.edu.
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MIT BLOSSOMS has received a financial gift for the purpose of developing a series of video modules designed to provide online Professional Development for middle and high school math and science teachers. These training modules will be based around current and new BLOSSOMS lessons and will demonstrate the incorporation of both Common Core and Next Generations Science Standards in lesson design/presentation. The modules will also present strategies for encouraging active and inquiry-based learning. |
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We congratulate our partners at the Universiti Teknologi of Malaysia on the following honor they received during their participation in the Reimagine Education 2015 Ceremony, awarding innovative higher education pedagogies that enhance global learning and employability.
“Being shortlisted for the 2015 Reimagine Education Awards represents a great achievement for you and your colleagues, given the fierce competition our panel of distinguished international judges presided over this year. Your project was received favourably by our panel across all of our judging criteria, and all recognized its outstanding potential to improve pedagogy and employability in a higher education environment. Given that this year has seen a quantum leap in the number of entries to over 500, and given that the quality of entries is continually increasing, both the Wharton School and QS would like to reiterate our warmest congratulations”. |
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