Cristina Veresan
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CHICAGO (POLAR) BEARS: NSTA PRESENTATION!

3/15/2015

 
The (Cold and) Windy City
Chicago's famous football team, the Bears, was not named for the polar variety, but I came to this city to share about my Arctic expedition— a story of polar bears and sea ice!  I was selected to deliver a workshop at the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) conference along with two other Grosvenor Teacher Fellows, Mrs. Bugg from North Carolina and Mr. Szymanski from right here in Chicago. We wanted to let teachers know about this amazing National Geographic/Lindblad Expeditions fellowship that brings teachers on voyages of discovery all over the world. 
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Lake Michigan with the Chicago skyline
I took a long red eye flight out of Honolulu all the way to the 'Windy City' of Chicago. In fact, tens of thousands of science teachers from all over the country descended upon Chicago to attend the conference. The purpose of this huge gathering of science teachers is to learn about new classroom resources, enrich our knowledge of science, and gain new teaching strategies. I am grateful that Star of the Sea School supported my attendance at this worthwhile learning experience.  
After my long flight and check in at the hotel in downtown Chicago, I needed to go for a walk. It was just over 30 degrees out— good thing I brought my Arctic parka! I bundled up, grabbed a coffee, and headed out to explore. Chicago is a big city; in fact, it is the third most populous US city, after New York City and Los Angeles. The city is situated on one of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan. I made my way down to the lake and walked along a path that followed the shoreline. The blue water, though shining bright in the mid day sun, was dotted with ice floes. I took in the Chicago skyline and, of course, I also found some snow to play in! 
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Yes, there was snow on the ground!
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NSTA Chicago!
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Keynote speaker Neil Shubin
Keynote Speaker
In addition to hundreds of presentations by teachers and exhibitors, the conference also has a featured keynote speaker. I was so happy to find out that scientist and author Dr. Neil Shubin would deliver a keynote address this year. Dr. Shubin wrote on of my favorite books, Your Inner Fish, which has now also been turned into a three-part PBS television series. The book traces back the organs and limbs of the human body back millions of years in evolutionary history to our fish ancestors. 
In Dr. Shubin's talk, and Your Inner Fish, he also tells the story of his research team's 2004 discovery in the Canadian Arctic of Tiktaalik roseae, a 375 million year old fossil fish that has both fish and amphibian traits. Thus, Tiktaalik is an important transitional fossil between fish and tetrapods (creatures walking on land). In delivering his address, Dr. Shubin emphasized that science is a collaborative endeavor; that is, scientists work together to conduct investigations and solve problems. Though now based at the University of Chicago, Dr. Shubin had also served as Provost of Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History. I planned to visit this museum before I left Chicago.
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NSTA Conference= Science teacher central!
Each day of the conference, there was a thick program that detailed all the available sessions. Most sessions were an hour long, so you could attend about seven a day. Every hour, there were so many great options, it was hard to choose. I went to workshops addressing a wide variety of topics: designing effective STEM programs, implementing middle school engineering projects, partnering with local science institutions to conduct field labs, and many more! In the convention center, there was also an enormous exhibit hall where all sorts of science related textbooks, technologies, and specimens were out on display from various companies and organizations.
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Miss V checking out the program!
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The exhibit hall was bustling
Our Presentation
This morning, about 30 teachers attended our session, and they were a very enthusiastic audience! Our talk was entitled "Exploring Global Regions and Resources with National Geographic." Mrs. Bugg, Mr. Szymanski, and I had all taken different voyages aboard the National Geographic Explorer through our fellowship: Mrs. Bugg journeyed through the Canadian Maritimes, Mr. Syzmanski got to explore Antarctica, and I, of course, was cruising through Arctic Svalbard. 

Our talk introduced the Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship and described our particular voyages using expedition photos. We emphasized the importance of imparting geo-literacy to students; that is, an awareness of global interactions, interconnections, and implications. So, we tried to describe how our adventures enriched our own geo-literacy of the regions we explored and how it impacted our teaching. Expeditionary learning can be incredibly powerful!
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Our program listing...
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Our presentation was well attended!
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The Field Museum of Natural History
The Field Museum
The conference sessions kept me really busy, but this afternoon I finally had a chance to visit the Field Museum! The Field Museum of Natural History contains over 26 million biological specimens and cultural artifacts, but one of the most famous ones is Sue, the largest, best-preserved, and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossil ever found. Sue is 90% complete and measures 42 feet long from snout to tail and 13 feet tall at the hip and has a huge skull with 58 teeth. That T. rex is a really impressive fossil!
I love natural history museums, and this one of the best in the world. They had a special Viking exhibit with tools, jewelry, and other artifacts. The Hall of Gems had sparkling mineral samples from all over the world. The Evolving Planet hall was an interactive journey through the history of life, and it was complemented by the high-tech DNA Discovery Center. They even had a model Tiktaalik! I most enjoyed touring the Traveling the Pacific hall, especially the Aotearoa exhibit's Maori Meeting House and, of course, the Hawai'i exhibit. 
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A model of Tiktaalik—and Dr. Shubin's photo!
Soon I would be actually traveling back to Hawai'i. I have learned a lot, but I am anxious to get back home to the warm weather and my wonderful Star of the Sea 'ohana. Aloha Chicago!
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Goodbye Sue! Hope to see you again sometime!

Girls in STEM

3/3/2015

 
Encouraging all STEM Learners
Early this fall, I was contacted by one of the organizers of the Science Symposium for Girls here in Honolulu. She had seen me on the local news talking about my Arctic expedition as a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow, and she asked if I would be willing to present about the Arctic at this year's symposium. I could not pass up the opportunity to work with 5th-8th grade girls from island schools in the 2015 Science Symposium for Girls. The symposium, now in its 21st year, is presented by Sacred Hearts Academy in partnership with Bank of Hawaii Foundation. 

Females are often discouraged from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) subjects in school and are still underrepresented in potentially lucrative STEM careers. But why? While inherent gender differences have been ruled out by science, multiple environmental and social barriers influence the complex issue of female participation and achievement in STEM subjects. According to current research, these factors include persistent gender-bias about traditional male and female fields, a fixed mindset rather than a growth mindset for intelligence, lack of spatial skills training for girls, and a lack of confidence and feeling of isolation for girls in STEM subjects. 
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Students worked in pairs on the ice inquiry.
My Symposium Workshop
I believe events like the symposium can not only boost girls' confidence in STEM but also help them develop relevant skills. Moreover, girls interested in STEM gain a sense of community through collaborative work. If we are going to increase our nation’s STEM participation and achievement, we need to support all learners!  Therefore, I was honored to be invited to participate in today's symposium. As a featured presenter, I delivered a workshop to two different groups of 20 girls.

For my workshops, I decided to focus on sharing about my Arctic expedition with a Prezi for the first half of the session and use to second half for an ice inquiry investigation. First, I introduced how I was able to travel to the Arctic through a teacher fellowship through National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions. Next, I defined the Arctic region and pointed out some facts about Svalbard, the land of the Ice Bears. I shared the Arctic scenery and wildlife through my expedition photos.
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Sea Ice...Don't "Let it Go!"
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Students making detailed observations
In my talk, I told the story of how the polar bear depends on sea ice for survival. These top predators rely on the sea ice in order to hunt seals. However, I explained to the girls that like the polar bear, our planet also depends on sea ice. One reason we need sea ice is critical habitat for Arctic wildlife, from crustaceans to seabirds to walrus to the iconic polar bear. Also, our ice-covered polar regions reflect much of the incoming solar radiation, regulating global climate. In addition, sea ice plays an important role in the ocean conveyor belt, the global transport of seawater. 

Next came the hands-on part of the session! The ice inquiry allowed the girls to practice making predictions and then collecting data while investigating if an ice cube (dyed with blue food coloring so water is easier to observe) melts faster in fresh or salt water. We then discussed how temperature and salinity each affect density and related the concepts to the ocean conveyor belt. The girls in each session asked a lot of thoughtful questions about the Arctic and were really engaged in the lab portion as well. It was an awesome day of learning!
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Science is FUN!!!
Meeting Miss America
The Science Symposium's keynote speaker was Nina Davuluri, who was Miss America 2014. In fact, she gained international acclaim by becoming the first contestant of Indian descent to win the title. Ms. Davuluri, a University of Michigan graduate, has always excelled in science and her platform was improving STEM education across the nation. In her keynote address, she shared her experience as Miss America and compelled the educators and families in the audience to support girls in STEM. Later in the afternoon, I could not pass up the opportunity for a quick chat (and a selfie) with an actual Miss America! 
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Selfie with Nina Davuluri, Miss America 2014

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    This blog contains occasional dispatches from my science classroom and professional learning experiences. Thank you for reading!

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Cristina Veresan
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Science Educator
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