Fish, Minds and Mars

SOMETHING'S FISHY:  Heard from the fam down south this morning.  They were on the grounds of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's Willamette Fish Hatchery, in Oakridge, Ore.

On the grounds, there are ponds with fish, including some big ol' white sturgeon. They are 5 to 8 feet long, and 20 to 50 years old. There are also a bunch of rainbow trout and spring Chinook salmon.  When Christian was on the phone with me, they were buying food to feed the fishies.

In an odd but welcome development, there was also a mini mini-golf course on site.  Not sure what the fish-putt-putt connection is?  Well the 9-hole course shows the lifecycle of a salmon.  Fun and educational!

There are trails around the park, and check out this cool, oversized map that's also a work of art!

The photos above are all from the Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife's Web site.  Hopefully the MPA crew took some shots of their own.

ALMOST ANNIVERSARY:  Can you believe it's been nearly a year since the Mars Science Laboratory landed on the Red Planet?  Do you remember those two minutes of terror as it descended last Aug. 5 (Pacific Coast time/day)?  I sure do!

NASA has put together a two-minute retrospective of MSL's first 12 months in this video (shot from the rover's perspective).http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Alq08Poqb0&feature=youtu.be

MATH MATTERS: I've been playing catch up this week in my class, "How to Learn Math" via Stanford and edX.

Most of the lectures I've been watching this week have talked about the importance of mistakes. Historically, the standard definition of a mistake (especially in math!) is that it's a failure and something to be avoided at all costs.

Turns out that's not the case.

Professor Jo Boaler has used many examples, anecdotes and scientific studies to illustrate the value in making mistakes in math class. She's talked about how they lead to new pathways and synapses begin formed in our brains. That's right - mistakes make your brain grow! Isn't that an empowering thought? She's also spent a fair amount of time talking about the differences between a 'fixed mindset,' people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits, and a 'growth mindset,' people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work, when it comes to learning.

For more on mindsets, check out the Web site for the book all about it, by Stanford University psychologist Carol Dwick:  http://mindsetonline.com/index.html.  And There's a great article in Scientific American that talks about the fixed/growth topic here: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/literally-psyched/2012/02/18/hamlet-and-the-power-of-beliefs-to-shape-reality/

One of our assignments today was to create a classroom poster that would let students know that mistakes are to be valued. Here's what I came up with after a little noodling and messing around in Photoshop.  I used educational clip art from http://schools.clipart.com/