Air Bag Design
Do you need proof that driving is a dangerous activity? More Americans have died in car crashes over the past 100 years than in all the wars the U.S. has ever fought combined. More than 40,000 Americans die each year on the nation's highways, most as the result of high-speed collisions. In this video segment adapted from NOVA, learn how engineers developed the air bag, an important automobile-safety device now found in most cars.
Recommended for: Grades 3-12
"A Sweepstakes Attracts Attention": Corporate Executives Defend Sweepstakes Promotions
In the 1960s, lottery-like contests designed to publicize products through sweepstakes competitions spread rapidly. In the 19th century, every state banned lotteries--defined as competitions in which chances to win prizes were sold÷to protect citizens. In 1868, Congress prohibited the distribution of lottery materials through the mail. The mid-20th century sweepstakes, however, did not require contestants to purchase tickets or products to win prizes and were thus considered legal. In 1966, the
"A Square Deal?": The Michigan CIO Debates the No-Strike Pledge
In a total war like World War II, the question "Was everyone doing his or her 'part'?" inevitably arose. Immediately following Pearl Harbor, the labor movement made an "unconditional no-strike pledge" to help win the war. In turn, labor won some important concessions from the federal government. Some who believed that labor had given up too much responded with "wildcat" (unauthorized) strikes. Others moved to reconsider the no-strike pledge. In 1942 members of the Michigan CIO endorsed the no-st
A Quaker Abolitionist Travels Through Maryland and Virginia: The Journal of John Woolman, 1757
In both Britain and the United States, Quakers were among the first to denounce slavery in the 18th century. This was due to the efforts of Quaker abolitionist leaders such as John Woolman. Born in New Jersey in 1720, Woolman was a tailor and shopkeeper. Continual encounters with slavery in his own neighborhood--notably an incident in which his employer asked him to write out a bill of sale for a slave--convinced him that he could not, in good conscience, continue to have anything more to do wit
"A Severe and Proud Dame She Was": Mary Rowlandson Lives Among the Indians, 1675
Metacom, or King Philip as he was called by the English, led a confederation of Indian groups in 1675 in a military effort to roll back the encroaching English settlements of southern New England. For several months the Indians led raids and secured victories against the English, who found it difficult to combat the Indian style of warfare. Mary Rowlandson, a minister's wife, was captured along with several of her children in one of those raids on the frontier outpost of Lancaster, Massachusetts
A German Radical Emigrates to America in 1885
Labor organizer and newspaper editor Oscar Ameringer the "Mark Twain of American Socialism," as he was often called, was born in Bavaria in 1870 to a cabinetmaker father and a freethinking mother. In this excerpt from his autobiography, If You Don't Weaken, published in 1940, he discussed his decision to emigrate to America in 1885 as a fifteen-year-old "hellion." In America, Ameringer ultimately carved out a remarkable and colorful career as a musician, labor organizer, and especially, an edito
Global Development Policies and Social Injustice
The Sixth Goal of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) is: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases such as tuberculosis. In Bolivia, a country with a population of over 8,000,000 people, it was claimed in 2006 that there were 2366 confirmed cases of HIV. According to the World Health Organization, Bolivia is considered to be a country with a low incidence of the virus affecting 0.10% of the adult population. In contrast, it has been estimated that 50% of the population is infected
Brandeis chaplains fast for divestment
Christy George reports on the end of a two-week fast by chaplains at Brandeis University. George notes that the chaplains fasted to protest the university's investments in South Africa. George's report includes footage from a gathering of apartheid protesters on the Brandeis campus. Father Maurice Loiselle, Rabbi Albert Axelrad and Reverend Diane Moore discuss their fast and the university's policy regarding South Africa. The protesters sing and hold hands at the gathering. George reports that t
Mobile
technologies: prospects for their use in learning in informal science
settings
Recent developments in mobile technologies have offered the potential to support learners
studying a variety of subjects. In this paper we explore the possibilities related to science
learners and in particular focus on science learners in informal settings and reflect on a
number of recent projects in order to consider the prospects for such work. The debate on
informal learning acknowledges the complexity of the area and the difficulty of defining
informal learning. One view is to consider the
Analyse et prise en compte des contraintes didactiques et informatiques dans la conception et le dé
This paper shows the didactical and computational constraints in the design of software for mathematical proof in geometry: Cabri-Euclide. The earliest constraint is to produce software for mathematical proof without has the previous solutions concerning the problem. Cabri-Euclide is a microworld, Thus, the essential is that the system have to verify a local coherence, and not to designate a global automatic deduction.
Exploring the secondary transfer of gifted and talented pupils
In my research I am endeavouring to investigate the experiences of academically gifted children transferring from primary to secondary school. This involves examining the policy context of the national, regional and local arenas, the ways in which pupils experience this provision within their classrooms, and the influence of their home environment. One cohort of children will be tracked longitudinally from Year 5 into Year 8 in two contrastive areas, Bristol and Cardiff. An ethnographic case
Toward a social pedagogy of classroom group work
Abstract
In any classroom, pupils will be drawn together for many purposes and we can refer to such
within classroom contexts as ‘groupings’. The teacher often creates these, and the way that
they are set up, and how they are used for particular learning purposes. If the relationships
between grouping size, interaction type and learning tasks in groups are planned strategically
then learning experiences will be more effective. However, research suggests that the
relationships between these e
Evaluating an evidence-based approach to designing and implementing a teaching sequence about plant
Although there is now a significant database of research evidence about students’ learning of biological concepts, there is general scepticism as to whether this research has had any impact on the practice of teachers. A likely reason for the low impact of research is that little is known about what is involved for teachers in drawing upon research findings about learning to improve practice. In this paper we present findings from a study that is investigating the process of transforming resea
Using Stress and Strain to Detect Cancer!
This module was written for a first year accelerated or AP physics class. It is intended to provide hands-on activities to teach the concepts of stress, strain and Hooke’s law. During the unit, students will apply the concepts learned through the lessons to solve the following engineering challenge: Breast cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer related death among women (Papas, 253) and the American Cancer Society has indicated that mammography is the best early-detection tool available.
Environmental Assessment Course
This semester-long project on conducting an environmental audit of a college campus can be done by an individual or by groups of students working in teams. Each group will research a different aspect of campus operations; they will collect data, analyze their findings, and make recommendations for improvements. This SERC Starting Point site includes learning goals, context for use, teaching tips and materials, assessment, and references.
Discovering Important Statistical Concepts Using Spreadsheets (DISCUS)
DISCUS is a set of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets designed for teaching first year undergraduate level statistics. Students can use them on their own and do not need prior knowledge of Excel. Topics include descriptive statistics, probability, binomial distributions, and regression etc. This page has links to more info about each topic, an independent review of DISCUS, and a DISCUS download. It also links to information on the creation of a Spanish version of DISCUS called Tutorial para el Aprendi
Data Plotting and Fitting
This Data Plotting and Fitting page was developed as a third year laboratory for the School of Physics, University of New South Wales. The program will plot data into several different graphs. Graphs include a line graph, linear regression fit, exponential fit, power fit, Gaussian fit and Cos squared fit. The program can also calculate fit for the data if required.
Crossroads in Mathematics: Standards for introductory college mathematics before calculus.
Crossroads in Mathematics: Standards for Introductory College Mathematics Before Calculus has two major goals: to improve mathematics education at two-year colleges and at the lower division of four-year colleges and universities and to encourage more students to study mathematics. The document presents standards that are intended to revitalize the mathematics curriculum preceding calculus and to stimulate changes in instructional methods so that students will be engaged as active learners in wo
Campus Nitrogen Budget
This semester-long project uses the nitrogen budget to link campus operations with local ecology. Students can work independently or in groups to research the inputs, outputs and subsystem transfers of nitrogen on their campus. The data could be used to evaluate the effect of campus sustainability efforts, energy efficiency options, and other campus policies. This SERC Starting Point site includes learning goals, context for use, teaching tips and materials, assessment, and references.
Black Repertory Company
'Blast from the Past' with vocalist Miriam Makeba. Program is divided into two halves: the first consisting of three segments related to African American theater in Boston, the second of newsmagazine-style segments. Harold Stuart, Director of the Boston Black Repertory Company and company actors Mattye 'Mama' Long and Frederick Tyson discuss the differences between 'theater' and 'Black theater,' how Black theater affects members of the community, how talented individuals find the time to act, pr
