Some time ago, I gave a short presentation about the use of sound in engineering for the college of Medicine of Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
In this presentation, you find a brief overview of how we take sound into account when we design (buildings as well as pavements), and then I go deeper into the use of sound in bridge engineering. Sound is used for the inspection of bridges (non-destructive techniques) as well as for measurements during proofloading. I used the case of the Ruytenschildt bridge which we tested in The Netherlands last summer to illustrate how acoustic emission measurements work for proofloading.
As part of the MIT Medialab Course on Learning Creative Learning, I followed the YouTube lecture on Powerful Ideas.
The interesting idea here comes in around the 27 min mark, in which Alan Kay argues that we shouldn't speak of STEM, but instead of TEMS.
Now, let me take one step back. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math, and while spreading the love for my field, I consider myself a STEM ambassador.
An interesting discussion is why STEM courses of study are not that popular, and certainly not popular among women - but I'll leave that topic to those who research the problem.
By all accounts, I think that every young person should have the liberty to study something he/she finds interesting, and not something that would ensure them of a good job, or because someone has pushed them into that direction.
I also think all fields of study are equally interesting and important in society, and get a little nauseous when the Loud Voices of Industry start yelling that social sciences are unnecessary.
With that said, let's look again at the acronym STEM itself. Alan Kay would like to turn it into TEMS, and I fully understand his reasons for this. Technology should be replaced by Tinkering, and this is the oldest discipline. From Tinkering, mankind rolled into Engineering. You don't need to know all the principles at work to actually do Engineering work. When things get a little more complicated, you need Math. And Science itself has only been around for the last 400 years.
TEMS instead of STEM is thus a more chronological approach of ordering the letters of the field in the acronym, and with its 4 letters, gives us an insight into the history.
Teaching science, especially to teenagers, should be an opportunity to share our love for science with curious and young people. But too often teachers simply end up boring their students to death. (I, too, dreaded the science classes in school and just rolled into engineering because I enjoyed solving math riddles).
But in his TED talk, Tyler DeWitt shows us how to teach science, and make it fun. From his short presentation, there are four lessons for all of us that love science and want to share this love with possible future scientists.
1. Avoid jargon.
you should avoid jargon at all times when you talk about your research or interests to friends, family or students. I'd even say that you'd better avoid as much jargon as possible when you talk to other experts, because we all have very narrow and deeply defined fields of research.
2. Science is fun.
We know that science is fun. Now it's our turn not to keep that little secret to ourselves. Nature is beautiful and filled with smart hacks. Our inventions can go beyond our imagination. Asking "What if?", drawing connections and simply playing in the sandbox are all vital parts of science. That's the story we should tell young children.
3. Show your enthusiasm.
If you are passionate and enthusiastic about your field of expertise, then it's completely OK to overflow and express this feeling to others. One of the brilliant parts of Tyler DeWitt's talk is the absolute joy he seems to find in talking about bacteria and viruses. If I'd have had someone with so much zeal in front of me in school, I would have listened.
4. Tell a story.
It's OK to simplify an explanation, as long as the gist of the idea is crystal-clear to the audience and learners. Telling a story, creating analogies and relating concepts from science to situations from everyday life are all different ways to grab the attention, to build eagerness to learn and to foster curiosity.
5. Display visual information.
Another brilliant part in Tyler's story are the simple, yet clear drawings that he uses. These drawings tell students so much more than a few lines of text. Visuals bring our stories to life, and that is exactly one of our goals in the classroom.
After reading some thoughts on the upcoming reforms in the Belgian/Flemish secondary school system, I was particularly upset by reading that Latin has to be replaced by technical courses. And more technical courses are required because our society requires more engineers.
I'm an engineer but I studied Latin - Mathematics in secondary school. I'm as much interested in history, philosophy and poetry as I'm interested in concrete and bridges. Every now and then I need to rant about how we are more and more pushed towards narrow-mindedness by society.
I won't go into rant-mode today, but I will sum up a few benefits I enjoyed from studying Latin, despite my choice for technical studies later on.
1. Develop analytical skills
To understand a Latin text, it is necessary to analyze the sentence in detail before its meaning is clear. Most sentences need to be broken down, and then analyzed from its core to all extra parts. In fact, studying Latin seems to me a great way to develop general analytical skills, which are necessary also in technical studies.
2. Learn to pay attention to details
When reading Latin poetry, the metric in which it is written (eg. the dactylic hexameter for the Aeneid) determines the poetry. The consequence of long and short syllables is fixed when the metric scheme is chosen. I've spent hours marking the short and long syllables in Virgil's Aeneid, and it helped me to focus and pay close attention to details.
3. Personal growth
Secondary school is the time when your personality is developed. I think that general courses, which allow time for discussion, such as history, Latin and other language courses are key to developing your own ideas. I clearly remember how I learned to form a point of view and then argument it in class discussions in these "cultural" courses.
4. Develop writing skills
Latin brings your awareness to every single word, every single syllable. In Latin courses, elements of style are also often discusses. Having a background in this material surely helps developing general writing skills.
5. Learn other languages faster
This is the most commonly cited benefit of studying Latin. I also experience that Latin helps me to understand other languages. It helped me to develop a very basic level of Spanish.
Some time ago, I gave a short presentation about the use of sound in engineering for the college of Medicine of Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
