Merge pull request #627 from kaitlinmgili/patch-1

Create 2024_teaching_learning_in_high_schools.md

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+---
+title: Teaching Learning, Teaching Science in High Schools
+author: Kaitlin Gili 
+day: 25
+month: 11
+year: 2024
+tags:
+  - guest post
+  - microgrant
+---
+
+I start out every session with the question, “What does it mean to learn?”. I ask the students to raise their hands if they think they have a good grasp on what learning means. Oftentimes, students respond by timidly glancing over at their peers; perhaps in their minds, this should be an easy question. In the end, only a few tight-angled elbows eventually stretch hands into the air. 
+
+Thanks to the Unitary Fund’s financial support, I have been able to travel to high schools in Florida and Massachusetts over the past few years, giving workshops on the latest scientific developments in machine learning and quantum computing. As a researcher at the intersection of these areas, I enjoy sharing recent advances with young students. The objective of these workshops is to spark curiosity in the students. It’s not to teach them how to code up a machine learning algorithm or how to build a quantum computer; I only get 50 minutes with them - the goal is to get them excited to think about the science. 
+
+![Teaching learning](/images/teaching_learning.jpg)
+
+To achieve this, I ask questions that probe them to make a connection between their everyday experiences and the concepts I’m presenting on. The first concept I emphasize is data - something integral to both machine learning and quantum computing. When I ask them what they think data means, I usually get a textbook definition similar to “information about something that is useful.” That’s a pretty good general definition, but when I ask them to give me examples, there are many blank stares. I then ask, “How many of you select movies to watch on Netflix?”. Hands shoot up. “How many of you get your blood pressure checked when you go to the doctor?” I see all hands up. “How many of you… speak words to each other?” I get chuckles with raised hands. Data is all around them - it’s about helping them become more aware of that. 
+
+We spend time talking about some of the latest learning models from image generation to large-language chatbots, highlighting that these models are good at pattern recognition. I ask the students, “Who can tell me a pattern that exists within our language?” One girl raised her hand and said dubiously, “Every word has a vowel?” I smiled at her, “What a cool answer.” Other students identified patterns that ChatGPT does pick-up on, such as grammar rules and contextual inferences. 
+
+When I started giving these presentations in September of 2022, maybe one or two kids would raise their hands when I asked whether or not they’d heard of generative AI - now it's a common concept.  Because of this, I get to probe their trust in ChatGPT and their general concerns about AI based on what they’ve previously learned. From my observations, students trust that ChatGPT’s accuracy is between 50%-75%. Some have personally witnessed ChatGPT’s hallucinations. For example, ChatGPT’s error in making up character names from Kurt Vonnegut’s short stories when generating an English essay. The student learned a powerful lesson with that one. On average, the students are concerned about how AI is going to impact their future - one student struck me with a really nerve-racking question: “Is there general regulation on how intelligent we make this technology?”
+
+I always end by introducing the idea of a quantum computer - a device that we might be able to use to do better or faster machine learning. This was my PhD area of expertise. Most of the students I engage with are not familiar with a quantum computer, and this leads to some of the most interesting questions! “How do these computers copy data if it goes away when you measure it?” “How exactly do you get an atom to stay still?” “How does a particle store information?” When I show an image of a single atom, I’ve had students jump out of their seats in surprise! 
+
+From all of these visits, I’ve learned a lot about student’s current perception of science, and how this influences their curiosity. 
+
+The first is probably not a surprise anymore - students build their own conceptions of who scientists are based on examples in their everyday lives. I had more than one student tell me that they were just happy to meet a scientist who has a similar background to them (I am both first generation and identify as female) and is passionate about what they do; one girl told me that I was “real life Barbie”. I felt grateful that I could be that example for her. 
+
+The second is that generally students are curious about the world around them, but many don’t associate this curiosity with science. Groups of students informed me that they hate science because they associate it with boring worksheets and imposed science fair projects. Few students overall seemed to have the awareness that the intention of science is actually to describe how everything that exists around them (and inside of them) works. 
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+Lastly, many students feel that science has been solved. They’ve grown up learning about the mechanics of trains and the forces of gravity, and they think there is nothing more to discover. I remind students that these are models, and while they are widely accepted for having lots of evidence, we may still find improvements. As scientists continue to ask questions and learn, our models improve. Our models are always learning too. 
+
+Some theorists are still working on older physics problems: time travel, integrating gravity with quantum mechanics, and the age of the universe. And now, we are teaching quantum particles to learn patterns and observing patterns of cultured neuron cells in the lab. With respect to all that humanity could understand, we right now understand very little. There’s a lot of work to be done. 
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+If anything, I hope these experiences encourage other passionate scientists to visit local K-12 schools and spark some curiosity. Taking an hour to do this can make a huge, meaningful difference for both you and them. Also, I hope others will join me in considering my favorite question: What does it mean to learn? Perhaps in the end, our conclusions will be similar - that learning and doing science are actually one in the same.