MAYIM BIALIK PHOTO © JAMES BANASIAK

5-E CLASSROOM STEM ACTIVITY: MEDIA AS A STEM TOOL Christine Milanese COVER STORY // MEDIA

MAYIM BIALIK

Mayim Bialik: The Making Mediaof a

By Ellen Egley MayimMogul Bialik grew up on screen as the lead in the television show “Blossom” in the first half of the 90s. Throughout the show’s five seasons, viewers related to her character’s spunk, intelligence, and confidence as she dealt with coming-of-age issues with humor and sincerity. Now Mayim is best known for her role as Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler on the sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.” In addition to her successful acting career, Mayim earned three degrees, including a doctorate degree in neuroscience. She also published a book on parenting in 2012, a vegan cookbook in 2014, and her newest book, “Girling Up,” is slated to be released in May. STEM Jobs had an opportunity to talk with Mayim about her incredible career, passion for STEM, and advice for students trying to find their way.

18 LATE SPRING 2017 // STEMJOBS.COM PHOTOS © JAMES BANASIAK STEMJOBS.COM // LATE SPRING 2017 19 MAYIM BIALIK

STEM JOBS: You had a role taken on a life of its own in the movie “Beaches” and I have my own website at the age of 12. What I write for, GrokNation.com, sparked your interest in and in addition to my second acting at such a young age? book on plant-based eating, MAYIM BIALIK: I now have this book about I enjoyed being on stage in the science of growing elementary school. I grew up female! up in a traditional Jewish home where ‘performance’ SJ: What was the catalyst was part of weekly Shabbat for your newest book, services, Passover meals, “Girling Up?” and in training for my Jewish MB: My editor, Jill studies classes. Acting felt Santolopolo, read a piece comfortable and exciting and I wrote for GrokNation I loved making people laugh. about being a late bloomer and playing one on TV. She SJ: Many children wondered if that kind of and teens dream about perspective was something I being on stage or screen. wanted to share. I proposed What do you think would that we share not only on surprise students most that topic, but that she allow about theentertainment me to write an entire treatise business? on being female from the MB: It is a real business! It’s perspective of being open to a lot of meetings and politics all experiences, from puberty and contracts and lawyers to dating to learning to how and decision-making and we cope with hard stuff in planning and organization. life to how we build a life Being creative and talented that is meaningful - all with is a small part of what makes a scientific and anecdotal the business run! twist. She went for it and here we have this book which SJ: Your third book is was such a labor of love. about to be published. What inspired you to SJ: You mention start writing books? incorporating a scientific MB: I’ve always loved perspective in “Girling creative writing; my father Up.” How did you go from was a writer and both of playing Blossom to earning my parents were English a doctorate degree teachers so I had a love of in neuroscience? reading and writing inspired MB: I had a biology tutor by them. When blogging first when I was 15 who was started happening on the the first woman who ever internet, I was looking for worked with me one on ways to make money (I was one in science. She was in college at the time), and inspired, inspiring, brave, MAYIM BIALIK a friend of mine, Matthue hilarious, and passionate. DEGREES: BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN NEUROSCIENCE AND Roth, told me to share my She loved biology the way I HEBREW AND JEWISH STUDIES, stories with a friend of his thought you could only love PH.D. IN NEUROSCIENCE; who was starting a website art or poetry. She gave me PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY called Kveller. I wrote for the skillset and confidence SPECIALTY, CLEC (CERTIFIED LACTATION them for years and it was to believe I could pursue EDUCATOR/COUNSELOR) those experiences learning life as a scientist. At the STEM TYPE: INTEGRATOR to hone my voice that time she was a dental inspired me to write my student at UCLA; now she first book on parenting. My is a dental surgeon. I am career as a writer has sort of indebted to her.

20 LATE SPRING 2017 // STEMJOBS.COM I came late “to the world of science, since before 15, I avoided it like the plague.”

SJ: What was the most challenging/rewarding have also been nominated for a SAG award and I won a part of pursuing your degree? Critic’s Choice Award two years ago, which is the first MB: I came late to the world of science, since before 15, I thing I have ever won. Although it’s not all about awards, avoided it like the plague. I had to do a lot of catch up and it is a big deal to be nominated and I am proud of that. never was a ‘natural’ in classes even through graduate school. I had to constantly work at my hardest and accept SJ: What are your professional goals for the future? that I wasn’t going to be an A student or win any grants. I MB: My website GrokNation has grown so much in its was diligent and persistent, but it was difficult the entire first year and we raised about $12,000 for a charity that time. The most rewarding part was finishing! I had one provides support and help for those living with mental mentor who wouldn’t let me finish until she believed I had illness. I hope the website can continue to grow and be completed the best thesis I could; she pushed me really a platform for more charity work in the future. I’d love hard and was very hard on me. I couldn’t see it at the time to do feature films, of course, but a lot of that is up to my but she was caring for me and my thesis very tenderly. I representatives to try to make happen! am so grateful for her. SJ: What advice do you have for middle and high school SJ: You play neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler students who are still trying to figure out what they on “The Big Bang Theory.” Is your background want to do after graduation? in neuroscience helpful in this role? MB: Well, gap year programs are a terrific option for some MB: Our writers are pretty smart, and they typically need to give you more time and life experience to figure it out. no help from me! But sometimes if we need me to be Getting a broad and varied education is my best advice, doing something in my lab, our director, Mark Cendrowski, as is deciding what kind of life you want. If you want a life will ask me for help in figuring out props for me to be that involves a lot of travel and free time, for example, using. For the most part, I just show up and say the lines! being a doctor isn’t the way to get that life. Find people But I admit that it’s sometimes easier for me to memorize who seem happy and content and ask what they did to things because I roughly know what the words mean! get there; that’s what I’ve done since college. If you’re a woman and you want to be a mom, ask professional SJ: What professional accomplishments women how they juggled it all, since some careers are you most proud of? lend themselves to being a parent more than others. MB: Earning my Ph.D. was a big one for me. In terms of Ultimately, know that money isn’t the only thing that acting, being nominated for an Emmy (four times) is the matters; living a life that is meaningful and allows you to highest honor for an actor so that’s a big deal for sure. I have time to enjoy the world and all it has to offer is.

STEMJOBS.COM // LATE SPRING 2017 21 5-E CLASSROOM STEM ACTIVITY: MEDIA AS A STEM TOOL

Here are some ideas for how high school teachers could use this story as a launching point for integrated STEM learning. Our activities follow the 5-E Learning Cycle Model.

Background for Teacher: Too often we think of STEM subjects as being separate from language arts, but clear communication is absolutely key for every STEM professional. Imagine the scientist who spends eight years of her life researching a cure for cancer, but can’t clearly communicate her process and findings so they can be replicated. She might as well have spent those eight years binging Netflix as no one is able to benefit from her research and breakthroughs due to a lack of communication.

There are many opportunities to integrate STEM and language arts, and this lesson plan is intended to create some of those opportunities in your classroom and serve as a springboard for future integrations. This lesson plan is also intended to build students’ critical thinking, analysis, and reasoning skills. Best of all, this lesson plan can be tailored to any concept currently being taught in your classroom.

Part 1: Engage

1 Teacher will discuss/brainstorm with students: a. What comes to mind when you think of media? b. What are some types of media available today? 2 Have students read “Mayim Bialik-The Making of a Media Mogul” in STEM Jobs magazine. 3 In what ways do media and math overlap? How is the way media portrays math and other STEM subjects beneficial or harmful to viewers? a. Show students the very brief article and video about Teen Talk Barbie that can be found at edu.STEMjobs.com/teacher-resources. Discuss with students why people were upset about her saying “Math class is tough!” and how it reinforces stereotypes about girls and STEM as well as STEM in general. What other examples like this have students encountered in their own lives? b. Discuss with students the ways media uses math to convey facts, statistics, and trends. There are many examples of media misusing figures. Sometimes this is due to a genuine lack of understanding, while other times representations are intentionally altered to support a specific viewpoint. Share the short article that can be found at edu.STEMjobs.com/teacher-resources to highlight some egregious misuses of statistics and statistical displays. If possible, have students look for additional examples in current news and media outlets. Discuss with students whether each example is intentionally misleading and who benefits from the deception. Explore with students how the sum of these misuses reinforces the societal misconception that math is “tricky” or “hard” and has no true uses in real life. c. Now that students have explored some of the ways math is portrayed in media such as news and advertising, have them brainstorm ways that media could be used to make a positive change in society’s perception of math.

Part 2: Explore Break students into groups of three. Each group will use media to promote the importance and usefulness of your subject by researching, designing, and creating a video to be shared with the class (not online). Assign each group a specific concept or skill that is either currently being taught in your class or about to be introduced as the focus of their video. Each member will select or be assigned a role as described below:

1 STEMjobs.com Media as a STEM Tool 1. Researcher: The researcher will focus on deep understanding of the concept or skill that has been assigned to the group. How does it work, what are common misconceptions about it, what are its limitations, when is it useful, and how is it applied in the real world are all questions that should be considered. The researcher will share his or her ideas with the other members of the group iteratively to clarify and answer questions until all members have a thorough understanding of the topic. 2. Designer: The designer will work with the researcher to determine the most effective media outlet to teach their skill or concept using a real-world problem. Ideas include, but are not limited to, a scene in a movie or television show, a commercial or advertisement, a news segment, or a documentary. The designer must think about how the skill or concept is relevant to the chosen media type and how it can be integrated organically. For example, it might be hard to work the quadratic formula into a news story or commercial, but a documentary where a stunt coordinator discusses the math behind planning a complex stunt in a movie makes sense and feels authentic. 3. Media Personality: The media personality will be front and center in a student-made video to be presented to the class. The other members of the team will appear/contribute to the video, but the media personality will be the primary focus in presenting the skill or content in an engaging way. The media personality will work with the researcher to ensure a thorough understanding of the concept or skill that will be discussed. S/he will also work with the designer to bring the vision and media connection to life.

Any and all equations and appropriate terminology will need to be included in the research, design, and video.

Part 3: Explain The groups will present their research, vision, and video to the class. Each student in the group will be responsible for contributing to the presentation. The researcher will discuss the research process and the concept or skill that was assigned, including misconceptions and real-world applications. The designer will explain type of media chosen and the rationale behind that choice. The designer should also be prepared to give the solution to the real-world problem posed. The media personality will set up the video by providing a verbal introduction and answer any questions from the class after it is shown. Presentations should be visually appealing. Any and all calculations used must be included.

Part 4: Elaborate

Have students reflect on the presentations within their own groups, then share their ideas with the rest of the class. Remember to review rules for respectful, constructive review and feedback before opening the discussion.

Students should first consider their own project and process. • What was the most difficult part? • What surprised them most? • Did completing this project deepen their understanding of the concept or skill they presented? Why or why not? • Is it true that you need to have a more thorough understanding of something to be able to teach it to someone else? Why or why not? • Does the concept or skill feel more relevant to their lives at the completion of the project than it did before they began? Why or why not? Students should then consider the projects and videos from the other groups. • Which presentation/video was the most effective and why? • Which presentation was the most creative? • Which presentation was the most entertaining? • Was the most creative or entertaining presentation the most effective? Why or why not? • Why is the ability to communicate so important in a STEM field like math or science?

2 STEMjobs.com Media as a STEM Tool Part 5: Evaluate Students will be evaluated for their presentation using the following rubric. Students will be provided a sample of the rubric at the start of the assignment to aid in the completion of the project. Each group will be graded, therefore all students in the group will receive the same score.

Scoring Rubric

_____ /10 Research Was significant research completed? Is there sufficient data to show that research was completed?

_____ /10 Design Does the designed real world problem fit well with the content overedc in the research? Does the design make sense and is the problem accurately solved?

_____ /10 Video Is the video presentation useful and appropriate? Is it creative and visually appealing?

_____ /10 Calculations Were calculations performed and completed accurately?

_____ /10 Presentation Did the presentation cover all areas of the process? Was the presentation clear and easy to understand?

_____ /50 Total

3 STEMjobs.com Media as a STEM Tool Standards Addressed:

*Additional standards pertinent to the specific concepts or skills students are assigned will also be addressed Common Core State Standards – Math CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSA-CED.A.1 Create equations and inequalities in one variable and use them to solve problems. CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSA-CED.A.4 Rearrange formulas to highlight a quantity of interest, using the same reasoning as in solving equations. CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSA-HSN.Q.A.1 Use units as a way to understand problems and to guide the solution of multi-step problems; choose and interpret units consistently in formulas; choose and interpret the scale and the origin in graphs and data displays. CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSS.ID.C.9 Distinguish between correlation and causation. CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSS.IC.B.6 Evaluate reports based on data. Next Generation Science Standards HS-ETS1-2. Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering Cross-Curricular Connections CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.7. Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., quantitative data, video, multimedia) in order to address a question or solve a problem. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10/11-12.1. Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher- led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10/11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills – Math MMA.1.A apply mathematics to problems arising in everyday life, society, and the workplace MMA.1.D communicate mathematical ideas, reasoning, and their implications using multiple representations, including symbols, diagrams, graphs, and language as appropriate AI.4.B compare and contrast association and causation in real-world problems AQR.4.J identify potential misuses of statistics to justify particular conclusions, including assertions of a cause-and-effect relationship rather than an association, and missteps or fallacies in logical reasoning AQR.4.K describe strengths and weaknesses of sampling techniques, data and graphical displays, and interpretations of summary statistics and other results appearing in a study, including reports published in the media Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills – Science P.2.E design and implement investigative procedures, including making observations, asking well-defined questions, formulating testable hypotheses, identifying variables, selecting appropriate equipment and technology, and evaluating numerical answers for reasonableness.

4 STEMjobs.com Media as a STEM Tool