Entry 12 - Science Behind Bass Fishing

One of my favorite hobbies is fishing. I'm sure when the first fish was caught, that individual didn't know what, when, or where each type of fish would bite consistently. With one click of a mouse, there are videos and websites with an abundance of information for every fish imaginable. I’ve listed below some ways that Science can relate to fishing.

Observing - characteristics, properties, differences, similarities, and changes of each type of fish caught (small mouth bass's upper jaw does not extend beyond back of the eye, and a large mouth bass's upper jaw extends far beyond the back of the eye)

Classifying - grouping or ordering objects or events according to differences or similarities (graphing or listing characteristics of different kinds of fish)

Measuring - Comparing and recording (weight and length of different fishes )

Inferring - Interpreting or explaining the findings of the observations (certain fish bites when weather is hot, and not when it's cold based on experience fishing in different temperatures)

Predicting - Form an idea of an expected result based on findings of observations, classifying, measuring, and inferring. (predicting due to a certain bait, weather conditions, and time of day, that a certain fish can be caught)

Communicating - Using written and spoken work to transmit information and ideas to others. (gathering information from other fisherman to maximize data and ideas)

Using Number Relationships - Apply mathematical relationships to make decisions. (after observing, classifying, measuring, inferring, predicting, and communicating all ideas and data, mathematical number relationships will form and can be recorded)

Can Bass Remember Lures?

More than 40 years ago, two studies attributed the declining catch rates of largemouth bass in small ponds to their ability to learn. More recent research has found that fishing quickly affects the trout catch rate, too. However, is it possible for a creature with a brain the size of a No. 22 dry fly to outsmart an angler? A University of Florida study published in 2012 seems to have actually measured the bass learning curve. Graduate students began their investigation by first electro-shocking and tagging 347 bass measuring more than 10 inches. Then they went fishing, plying the waters of a 26-acre lake for 12 days over a four-week period, using only lipless crankbaits and soft stickbaits.

The catch rate with the crankbait quickly fell from 2.5 to 0.5 bass per angler hour after only three days of fishing. The catch rate on the stickbait also declined, but much more slowly—from 1.8 bass per angler hour at the start of the experiment to 1 bass per hour after 12 fishing hours. Not only did the bass appear to learn to avoid capture, but they learned to ignore the stimulus-rich rattling crankbait faster than the subtle and silent stickbait. Yes, fishing gets expensive if you want to keep up with the bass learning curve.

http://www.outdoorlife.com/articles/2015/03/fishing-findings-new-science-might-help-you-catch-more%E2%80%94and-bigger%E2%80%94fish

Entry 10 - Murmuration

We were standing in the front yard of the home we are in the process of buying, and hundreds of black birds came and landed on trees in the back yard. After several minutes of searching for food and singing, which would almost make your ears ring, they flew off. The owner told us this happens from time to time. I mentioned to him and my wife, that this would be a great blog topic. I'm pretty sure I witnessed murmuration for the first time, but don't think it will be the last according to the owner. He did say to make sure you wash your car following the visit from the birds :) I've attached a YouTube video (above) of a murmuration in Memphis, TN in 2013, and a picture (below).

Entry 11 - Supermoon Eclipse

A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth.

It just so happens that this phenomenon occurred while taking my first grad school class, teaching science. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to see it live, but I've posted a really good illustration below and a link to more pictures across the world. If anyone took photos of the supermoon, please feel free to post them in the comments section.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/supermoon-eclipse-in-pictures/ss-AAeS4AG?ocid=iehp#image=5

Entry 9 - Gum

Our hypothesis was that sugared  Gum would stretch farther than sugar free gum because of the ingredients in a piece of sugared gum. After collaborating on a few different variables, we chose to weigh each piece of gum at .1 ounces, and chew 1 minute before stretching. We set the tape measure and stretched five pieces of sugared gum, and 5 pieces of sugar free gum. All data was collected and recorded on a bar graph. It became quite apparent that on average, the sugared gum did indeed stretch farther than the sugar free gum. This was a great lesson that I intend on referencing when choosing a science fair topic!

Entry 8 - Can we Believe our Eyes?

Dr. Mangione let us choose a video to watch, Can we Believe our Eyes or Lessons from Thin Air. I chose Can we Believe our Eyes. Below are some notes and thoughts on what I took from this video. I'm glad I chose this video for many reasons. I've listed some key points that stood out to me while watching this video.

NOTES

*Science and technology are moving faster than we can keep up.
*If one can't fundamentally light a light bulb with a battery then everything built upon those ideas won't be understood.
*Teach students not only hands on, but heads on.
*Our minds reject things that don't make sense.
*Learn to listen to others' reasoning.
*Students spend less time learning in the classroom than life.
*Letting go of beliefs is hard because it is emotionally taxing to learn a new idea.
*Be very purposeful in what you're doing, it may seem open ended, but working towards a goal.
*Highly intellectual students get frustrated when the answer is not black and white.
*It's important for students to take ownership and responsibility of their learning.
*Key role of a teacher is to express ideas, test ideas, and understand which ideas are most powerful. Then scientific ideas will rise to ultimately give students a better understanding.

THOUGHTS

*Engage in discussion and reasoning and end with experiment to get evidence
*Trying wrong way is important
*Put students in the teacher's shoes and have them teach you what they learned
*Don't teach by telling
*Let students talk themselves into answer
*Taught and learned are different

https://www.learner.org/vod/vod_window.html?pid=76

Entry 7 - Math/Science night

This was my first experience teaching multiple students. I spent three Sundays in a row trying to make my idea come together. My goal was to show how magnets repel and attract, and convert inches to feet using fourth grade math and science standards. A big thanks to Jeremy Sample for giving me some feedback on my board via email. Also, giving me great advice to not be nervous and just have fun with then kids. 

I began my activity with asking the kids what they know about magnets. Everyone of them said something to the effect that they stick together. I said, "that's great, and yes they do, but sometimes magnets don't stick and we're going to figure out why." They held one horseshoe and I held the other. Each of the horseshoes were labeled with north and south. When we touched south to north, (opposites) they attracted or stuck together. My favorite part of the night was their faces and grins when they touched two like poles together and felt them repel. At this point they learned the basic concept of how and why magnets repel and attract. We then moved on to the fishing activity. The goal of this game was to learn how to convert inches to feet. The students would take a fishing pole made of a stick in the yard, fishing line, and a magnet. They would then catch a fish by touching the magnet against the paperclip. On the back of the fish would be the total average length of a Tennessee state fish. They would then use the conversion chart and ruler located on the board to successfully figure out what fish they caught and place it on a magnet directly under the fish.

I spoke with a retired elementary school teacher that gave me some great advice and words of encouragement. She liked my board and gave some ideas on how to expand on it and incorporate it in the classroom. She also told me to be careful when I start teaching to not even raise an eyebrow at students. She said they will sense danger and be intimidated of me because of being a tall male. However, she said once I establish a good reputation that the children would eat out of the palm of my hand. 

Entry 6 - Debris in Lakes

Notice anything in this picture that may relate to something we've done in class? There is a plastic water bottle floating near the bank. An activity we did at Bonnie's house during a Project Wet lesson comes to mind for me. Passing our trash down the table until the person at the end was holding a pile of everyone's trash. There isn't necessarily a pile of trash here, but I'm sure if I walked up and down the bank, a substantial amount would've been seen. I've posted a link below from kids national geographic that states, recycling just one plastic water bottled can save enough energy to light one 60 watt light bulb for 6 hours.

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/spacescience/water-bottle-pollution/

Entry 5 - 811



I will now never forget to dial 811 or what to do when I smell something funky in my house. This actually reminded me of something I did with my little brother at Kirkpatrick Elementary School. My little brother wanted to learn about the presidents last year, so we read many books and learned that President Taft got stuck in the bath tub. Every time I saw him, I would ask, “which president got stuck in the bath tub?” He could never remember, but finally started naming the president towards the end of the year. The first time I saw him this year, I asked him the same question, and he said, “President Taft!” He then proceeded to take me down the hallway to a book display, and said, “look, President Taft is stuck in the tub!” President Taft was on the cover of the book and stuck in the bath tub. Mr. Cliff Swoape was absolutely amazing! This was a very memorable experience, and one that I would love for my students to witness one day!

Entry 4 - Bring back the sun! Or did it go anywhere?

So.........it's that time of year again. My days of coming home from work and washing my car in t-shirt and shorts, hanging by the pool, or just going for a long outdoors walk are going to be on pause for a while. It's staying darker longer and will be getting colder and colder. Don't worry, put another log on the fire and listen to the youtube link below and you'll feel chipper again!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxoijqbnqoA

 

Is it working for you? Ahhhh, well I gave it a shot. But, why does it have to get cold?! Well, being where we are in the Northern Hemisphere, we are tilted away from the sun, therefore, the bitter temperatures come until we rotate back on our axis and no longer have our back to the sun. I've listed a few illustrations below, some for educational purposes, and some to illustrate how I personally feel in the winter. I think the one with the purple aliens would be fantastic for elementary students. It keeps the whole complexity of this very simple, and who doesn't think aliens are cool? I found it surprising that the earth is actally closer to the sun, but we don't feel that warmth because we are tilted away. This 23 degree tilt also effects the length of daylight in the northern and southern hemispheres.

Entry 3 - Annotated Bibliographies

Sea Horses are born by males?

Issac Newton discovered theory of gravity by an apple falling from an apple tree onto his head?

Butterflies hatch from a chrysalis and not a cacoon?

I didn't realize how much general knowledge of Science I've lost over the years, along with a few misconceptions I'm still holding onto. I've seen many butterflies since elementary school and jumped up and down, but never thought about a chrysalis or gravity. I finished my tenth annotated bibliography today and now feel like I could win on the show, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? Well, on second thought, maybe I need to finish the next fifteen, and go from there. However, I am fascinated with all the wonders of the world. Solar system, grasshoppers, bogs, and dinosaurs are just a few of the really neat things I've read about. Yes, these books are mostly pictures, and range from 25-50 pages, but they can be wonderful introductory books for a variety of topics. I like having to think about how I would incorporate each book into my lesson plan. Some of them have great opportunities for a semester long experiment, like watching a caterpillar grow to a butterfly. Others, such as all the wonders of the ocean, could be illustrated with a beautiful drawing, or maybe making a colorful coral reef using play doh. I'm very excited to continue doing these annotated bibliographies, and thinking of ways to incorporate the books and activities into future lesson plans.

Entry 1 - Literature Circles

As an elementary school student, I was very shy and timid. I never raised my hand or spoke unless called upon. I believe this delayed my social skills and educational development. I remember my parents having birthday parties at our house and all the kids from school coming over. I was much more at ease in my element, running, playing, and socializing with the other kids. My classmates would comment that I was a totally different person. I was much more outspoken when in my comfort zone. As I grew older I became involved in sports, which became where I felt most comfortable and developed communication skills, team work, and leadership qualities. In the first literature circle, I had the role of discussion director. This was very intimidating for me, but it forced me out of my comfort zone. Speech classes, or anything involving solo presentations, have always been a challenge for me. I believe literature circles are an excellent way to get students like me to push through their boundaries while developing skills that can enhance learning in later grades, college, and out in the work force.

Entry 2 - Big Brothers Big Sisters

As a clerk in a dependency, neglect, and delinquent courtroom, I constantly see the negative impact on the physical, mental, emotional, and educational development of children that results from a lack of guidance and active positive mentors. I have always had a soft spot for children, and since I began working at the Juvenile Court, my interest in volunteering in the community to help children has grown. I was given an opportunity to do just that when the Mayor's office released an initiative that allowed employees to volunteer for an hour a week with one of several non-profit organizations geared towards mentoring children. I chose to work with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.  I felt like my time would be most most useful in one on one time with an elementary school student. I remember walking in to the school on the first day being extremely nervous to meet the third grader. Once I met my little brother, the conversation quickly turned to sports, fishing, and battleship. We expanded our conversation throughout the year into family, friends, and things that make us happy and sad. I've enjoyed teaching my little brother about presidents, multiplication, and the importance of being a leader in the classroom. This has been a very rewarding experience, and it inspired me to want to be a leader and teacher to more children. I recently began my second year with my little brother, and I look forward to mentoring him for many years to come.

A little bit about me...

My name is Jeremy Medley. I was born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama with two younger brothers and a older sister. My childhood was spent having pecan wars, playing sports, riding bicycles, and developing lifelong friendships with the neighborhood kids. I had a great experience in high school, in large part due to coaches and teachers that were incredible mentors. Sports became a passion of mine, particularly baseball. This ultimately led to getting scholarships to two junior colleges in Alabama. After my stint of being an aspiring major league baseball player was over, I came back to Huntsville in search of employment. I worked many jobs in the manufacturing, corporate, and retail fields, and landed at UPS long-term. During that time, I began slowly but surely chipping away at my bachelor's degree with a major in Social Science and a minor in Secondary Education. When I had been employed with UPS for five years, full-time management spots were becoming available. Those positions required a four year degree, so I changed my major to Liberal Studies to quickly graduate and seek full-time employment with UPS. Nearly ten years after graduating high school, I was walking across the stage as a college graduate from the University of Athens State. Shortly after that, I met a lovely lady that lived in Nashville, Tennessee. Long story short, after a year burning up Interstate 65, I made the move to Nashville, and got married shortly after. I landed a job with Metro Government of Davidson County working for the Davidson County Juvenile Court Clerk. After a few short months, I was moved to the courtroom to be a courtroom clerk in a dependency, neglect and delinquent courtroom. After becoming involved with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program in October of 2014, I began considering going back to school to do something to help make an impact in children's lives full time. This led me to MTSU and I'm very excited for the journey that is ahead of me!