Report on ROSE (Remotely Operated Science Experiment) workshop in India. Read more at http://ldt.stanford.edu/~educ39109/POMI/ROSE

1. ROSE
REMOTELY OPERATED SCIENCE EXPERIMENT
Paul Kim
Aaron Sharp
Kevin Bing-Yung Wong
Arafeh Karimi
Kamakshi Duvvuru

2. WHAT IS ROSE?
A plant in a terrarium
that lives at Stanford
Live video is streamed
24 hrs/day, 7 days/week

3. WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH ROSE?
You can turn on/off
the “sun” (a lamp),
the “rain” (a mist maker),
& the “wind” (a fan).
You can monitor online
the temperature,
the humidity,
& the light

4. GOAL OF PROJECT
To bring authentic, meaningful science experimentation
to students in remote areas of developing countries.

5. WHY LABS?
Laboratory experiences “make science come alive"
Clough (2002)
Hands-on experience is at the heart of science learning
Nersessian (1991)

6. WHY NOT JUST USE COMPUTERS?
Real data provide students with the “unexpected
clashes” between theory and practice that are essential
for an understanding of the role of experiments in
science.
Magin & Kanapathipillai (2000)
Students are more motivated when they know they
are working with real equipment.
Cooper (2005)

7. ROSE Study in India
FEBRUARY 2011
Paul Kim
Arafeh Karimi
Kamakshi Duvvuru

8. This study was conducted in Sri Netaji Pilot school
In Nellore, India in Feb 2011
With 16 kids aged 10-12 in a 4th grade primary school class.

9. We introduced ourselves and asked the kids if they
knew where America, Iran or Malaysia were…
They said that they
hadn’t heard of any of
those countries,
so we explained
where we were from.

10. “We heard that
you are the
smartest kids in
the world, so
scientists in the
U.S. sent us here
to get your help.”
“We have a big problem over there,
and we need you to help us solve it.”

11. They were very welcoming and told us,
“Don't worry! We will solve your problem.”

12. PROBLEM SCENARIO
Facilitator: Can you name some planets for us?
Participants named 9 planets.
Facilitator: Have you heard of “Planet ROSE”?
Participants: No!

13. Then we presented the story of Planet ROSE to them:
“There is a planet out there called Planet ROSE
and it is very similar to Earth.
It’s a beautiful planet with happy people.”

14. “This is Rahul’s and Priya’s world.
They played outside every day and were very happy…
But then something bad happened…”

15. “It became a desert!
There was no rain and no food.
There wasn’t enough to eat and
everyone was sad and starving.
Because of this, everyone
on Planet ROSE has died in
the past few years!”

16. “There is only one plant still alive on Planet ROSE.
The plant’s name is ROSE.
Rahul and Priya sent the ROSE to Earth to preserve it.
Scientist are keeping ROSE in a Stanford lab.
And we have to find out what the best climate is in
order to keep ROSE alive!”

17. “We’ve heard that you are the smartest kids in the world!
You are the only ones who can save the ROSE!”

18. “We came all the
way here to see
you and get your
help to solve the
problem.
The scientists in the U.S. don’t
know what to do to keep
ROSE alive.”

19. Then we introduced the concept of Desertification
and showed the students two animations explaining it.
We asked them some questions about the causes of
desertification and about its potential relationship with
climate change
“What temperature,
humidity and light levels
are best for ROSE and
how are these elements
related?”

20. Next we presented ROSE to them.
They were so excited to
see the real plant on
screen in real time!
They weren't expecting
the real plant.
They asked us some question to make sure
the plant was real.
When we later told them that they could
even control the climate around ROSE, the
level of excitement was indescribable!

21. We grouped the participants into groups of 3 and asked
them to discuss the questions we shared with them, and
later to present their findings and arguments.

22. PRE-QUESTIONS:
1. When it rains, what happens to the temperature and why?
2. When it rains, what happens to the humidity and why?
3. When wind starts to blow, what happens to the temperature and
why?
4. Between 6AM in the morning and 3PM in the afternoon, what
happens to the temperature and why?
5. What happens to temperature when humidity and wind speed
change and why?
6. What happens to temperature when humidity and light levels
change and why?
7. What happens to humidity when light level and wind speed change
and why?
8. What happens to humidity when temperature and wind speed
change and why?

23. Students were immersed in
discussion and were seriously
arguing about the answers

24. Each group presented their findings in front of the class.
All the other groups listened to the presentations, actively
commented, and argued over the correct answer.

26. After all groups presented their ideas and everyone
participated in discussion, it was the testing time.
Participants were excited to find out what the correct
answer was and were eager to play with ROSE!

27. We set up the projector and two browser windows to
represent ROSE system.
One window showed streaming video of ROSE and the
other showed the temperature, humidity and light levels.
Participants could interact with the environment by
manipulating the sun, rain and wind.
Remote
Controllers
Sensors
Streaming video

28. We briefly presented how the
controls and system worked.
But we didn’t have much more to do…
Students took charge of the experiment.

29. Participants taught each other how to work with
ROSE and pointed out the changes in the environment.
Students were so
excited about the
experiment that they
couldn’t remain seated
in their chairs.
All of them stood up
near the screen to
better monitor the
changes and participate.

30. First, we gave them some time to figure out the effects
that each element had on ROSE’s conditions:
Questions such as, “If there is more rain, what happens to
humidity?” or “If you turn on the fan, what will happen to
the temperature?”

31. Students realized that
whenever they changed
the sun, the rain, or the
wind, they had to wait a
few seconds before
seeing the changes
from the sensors.
So, they started to
count down from 10 every
time they changed an element.

32. THE MAIN PROCESS WAS:
1. Ask a question
2. Discuss the possible solutions
3. Ask students how many agree vs. disagree
4. Provide time for argument and ask each group to
come to a consensus on one solution
5. Ask one group to use ROSE in order to prove their
findings to the rest of the class
6. Announce the correct answer and congratulate the
winners

33. 1. Ask a question

34. 2. Discuss the possible solutions

35. Observing…

36. Thinking…

37. Scientific argument

38. 3. Ask students how many agree vs. disagree

39. 4. Provide time for argument and ask each group to
come to a consensus on one solution

40. Everyone sharing
their thoughts

41. Collaboration

42. Thinking, arguing,
thinking,….

43. 5. Ask one group to use ROSE in order to prove
their findings to the rest of the class

44. 6. Announce the correct answer and congratulate
the winners

45. Ready?

46. And the
answer is…

47. High five!
Yes!

48. We concluded the session by collecting the surveys,
giving a post test, and a discussing with our happy
participants what they learned.

49. ROSE YOUTUBE VIDEOS
Click here to see an
interview with one
of the students who
participated
Click here to see an
interview with an
entire class that
participated

50. REFERENCES
Clough, M. P. (2002). Using the laboratory to enhance student learning.
In Learning Science and the Science of Learning, R. W. Bybee, Ed.
National Science Teachers Association, Washington, DC, 85–97.
Cooper, Martyn (2005). Remote laboratories in teaching and learning –
issues impinging on widespread adoption in science and engineering
education. International Journal of Online Engineering (iJOE), 1(1), 1-7.
Nersessian, N. J. (1991). Conceptual change in science and in science
education. In History, Philosophy, and Science Teaching, M. R. Matthews,
Ed. OISE Press, Toronto, Canada, 133–148.
Magin, D. J. & Kanapathipillai, S. (2000). Engineering students’
understanding of the role of experimentation. European J. Eng.
Education 25 (4), 351–358.