This article was taken from the July 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.
Two pupils, Margo and Pim, recently sent instructions to their school's satellite to collect data on greenhouse gases across China, the US and Europe. A week later, they received an email confirming their time on the satelliteand a set of sample data, including simulated results from seven days of observations. The spectro-meter and IR camera each collected 10,000 observation points that were visualised to compare with other environmental conditions. The data will form the backbone of the class presentation, comparing the results with historical information from Nasa satellites to show the impact of different environmental policies in China, the US and Europe.
This is not science fiction: it is happening today. Margo and Pim are part of a pioneering group of students in the Netherlands taking advantage of access to miniaturised satellites called CubeSats. This is what science education should be: hands-on, multidisciplinary and related to real-world problems. This is not a question of scores but of engagement. In the US, for instance, only 12 per cent of eighth-grade students are interested in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and only two per cent will go on to graduate with a STEM degree. Here in the UK, the picture is just as bleak -- between 1984 and 2005, the number of students taking maths classes fell 40 per cent, but demand for STEM graduates increased.
Despite the scary numbers, we do know how to get students excited about science and maths. The answer is project-based learning, and programmes such as FIRST Robotics have shown us that students will happily spend time solving technical challenges when the problem is hands-on and team based. From small beginnings in a school gym, the competition had more than 350,000 participants last year. The teams raise large sums of money and make a commitment over several months. The research literature bears out the popularity of programmes such as FIRST, and the effectiveness of engagement through project-based learning.
Elsewhere, online universities such as Udacity and Coursera are the global heavyweights leveraging online learning. In the UK, Open University's FutureLearn, although not as well known or comprehensive, is still clearly a step in the right direction.
However, this only solves the access-to-content problem, not necessarily the engagement and inspiration challenges we face in how STEM fields are traditionally taught. For example, ArduSat, an open-source programme, launches nanosatellites and opens them up to secondary-school students for a whole new medium of learning.
Projects can focus on maths - say, calculating locations through Sun-sensor readings - or involve the collaboration of student teams across countries that combine observations from their respective geographies to create a crowdsourced portrait of Earth. Similar programmes such as UrtheCast in Canada and Astrofactum in Germany are planning to use the inspiration of space and the reduced cost of accessing it to create engaging STEM education models focused on projects and sharing of experiences, rather than rote memorisation.
There are now cheap and accessible ways for students of all ages to interact with the world around them, collect data and experiment for immediate feedback. Textbooks, lectures and blackboards, although still useful for educating, are not sufficient for igniting wonder and curiosity. Affordable robotics and nanosatellites, free online courses and the growing capabilities of cheap sensors that drive the internet of things, however, are the tools to do just that.
Peter Platzer is CEO of NanoSatisfi, which aims to provide affordable access to satellites.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
