Workshop
8 -- Intellectual Development
Download Workshop 8 in
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In this workshop,
you will have an opportunity to investigate various aspects of the
Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) other than
the test scores themselves. William Schmidt will present differences
in curricula, textbooks, and teaching practices around the world,
and a group of community members will discuss how the TIMSS results
reflect societal and cultural values.
William
H. Schmidt
University Distinguished
Professor of Applied Statistics in the Department of Educational Psychology
at Michigan State University, William Schmidt is the national research
coordinator and executive director of the center that oversees the
participation of the United States in the Third International Mathematics
and Science Study (TIMSS).
Workshop 8 Timeline
Getting Ready
30 minutes
-- In the News
You were asked
to bring with you an article about education outside of the United
States. Briefly share the topics of your articles. What kinds of issues
do the articles focus on? How might you categorize the issues? Do
these categorizations reflect education issues in the United States?
What are the similarities? The differences?
Watch the Workshop
Video -- 60 Minutes
Going Further
-- 30 Minutes
15 minutes
-- Revisit Moon Charts
Take a few moments
to consider the changes and additions that you have made to the Moon
Chart over the course of this workshop series. Discuss the following:
- What were your major findings about the behavior of the Moon?
- What discoveries surprised you the most?
- Which of your prior beliefs were supported/challenged by your
observations?
Creating the
Moon Chart in Workshop 1 and updating it throughout the series allowed
you to keep track of what you learned and how your beliefs changed
as you observed the Moon and kept your Moon Journal. How do you (or
could you) provide an opportunity for your students to follow their
own learning about a topic?
15 minutes--How
Far You've Come
Take out the
teaching or learning concept map that you made in Workshop 3. Look
at the Moon Chart and the Learning Chart that you and your colleagues
made. How has your thinking about learning changed since this workshop
series began? How will these changes affect your teaching?
Go around the
room and share one thing that you plan to do in your classroom to
apply what you've learned about learning.
Suggested Activity
Moon
Legends
Our scientific
understanding of the Moon and its behavior has not always been what
we currently accept to be true. Throughout history and across cultures,
civilizations have developed what we know of today as legends and
folklore as explanations of Moon observations and its behavior. Legends
were the first scientific explanations. People would observe a phenomenon
and then describe it with a story. People eventually began comparing
different legends of similar phenomenon to find out which were most
helpful in explaining what they saw. The following are stories developed
by early cultures to describe possible reasons for the behavior of
the Moon:
According
to Central Mexican (non-Mayan) cultures, the Moon and the Sun
were created at the same time when the two gods, Tecuciztecatl and
Nanahuatzin threw themselves into the Fires of Creation and turned
into two Suns. But the gods who organized this also threw a rabbit
into the face of Tecuciztecatl, dimming his brightness, making him
the Moon.
The Mayans
believe the Moon Goddess to be a feisty woman. It is said that she
once quarreled with her husband, the Sun, who became so angry that
he poked out one of her eyes. That is why the Moon Goddess is dimmer
than her spouse the Sun.
The Cherokee
tribe of California tells the story of Father Sun and Mother Moon
who lived inside Rock House. Their light did not shine from the sky,
so the world was full of darkness. Coyote thought it would be a fun
trick to dump some fleas on Father Sun and Mother Moon. Coyote got
Gopher to help dig a hole through the soil into Rock House, and Rabbit
to help shake a bag of fleas down the opening. The fleas soon covered
Father Sun and Mother Moon. When they could no longer stand the fleas,
Mother Moon flew out of the house, followed by Father Sun, and they
began to race around the Earth trying to get rid of the fleas. That
is why, to this day, the Sun follows the Moon across the sky.
The Snoqualmie
tribe in Washington tells the story of a time when the sky was
completely dark and there were two brothers, One Who Walks All Over
the Sky, and Walking About Early. One Who Walks was sad to see the
sky always dark so he made a mask out of wood and lit it on fire.
Each day he walks across the sky wearing his fiery mask. At night
he sleeps below the horizon and when he snores sparks fly from his
mask and make stars. The other brother became jealous. He smeared
fat and charcoal on his face, and makes his own path across the sky.
The Zunipu
tribe of New Mexico and Arizona tells a story of a time when it
was always dark, and always summer. Coyote and Eagle were hunting
and they came across a tribe that had the Sun and the Moon in a box.
After the people of the tribe had gone to sleep, the two animals stole
the box. At first Eagle carried the box, but soon Coyote convinced
Eagle to let him carry it. Coyote, being curious, opened the box and
the Sun and the Moon escaped and flew up into the sky. This gave light
to the land, but it also took away heat, which is why we now have
winter.
Questions
- What kinds
of Moon behavior do the legends try to explain?
- What descriptive
features of the Moon or Moonlight, visible to the naked eye, are
explained by the legends?
- How are these
legends related to the culture of the people who developed them
and maintained them over the centuries?
- Find out something
about the people who developed the legends and relate these ideas
to the reasons for the importance of each legend.
