The audience for Colonel Geoffrey Ling’s presentation had a treat yesterday. Ling, who is program manager for the Defense Science Office at Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), said that this conference was “the first national meeting” in which an “amazing breakthrough” would be announced. That breakthrough is a prosthetic arm that a person can control using his or her own brain—a miracle for our troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan and for others with injuries or disabilities.
Ling said DARPA was founded in the 1950s in response to Sputnik and was “set free” to work on “high-risk, high-payoff projects.” He asked teachers to share some great ideas for future science innovations, and each one they called out—such as teleportation and flying cars—may someday be possible, according to Ling, because of the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) that creates an “enabling technology. The enabling technology starts the process.”
He pointed out that many young children don’t know the meaning of “it can’t be done–in their own minds, it can be done.” Only when they grow up do they become “jaded” and closed to the possibilities. Ling says teachers need to be mindful of this and find ways to get students to expand their imaginations. “The brain is very adaptable..That’s like what teachers do [help young brains adapt].”
He also stressed the importance of student teamwork: “Always start with teams. It’s always a team [of scientists and engineers that create these innovations].” He said more than 200 scientists, engineers, physical therapists, and other experts worked on the prosthetic arm, “all inspired by [the] teachers” who taught them STEM.
Ling walked us through all of the steps taken to develop the prosthetic arm. Much of the work was accomplished using monkeys and studying their movements. The monkeys even assisted during the testing of the “remote control” of the arm. They learned how to control it by thinking about what they wanted it to do: Get it to grasp a food treat, then bring the treat to their mouths. Ling forsees that “30 years from now,” humans will drive a car by using their brains to control it. He also predicts “visual prosthetics are around the corner,” and artificial exoskeletons will enable elderly persons to regain movement. “Grandma can ski again!,” he exclaimed.
During the Q&A portion that followed, educators asked Ling about other possible STEM innovations. For each one, Ling assured them it could be done—and DARPA was working on it. The audience’s amazement and delight was palpable.
To see videos of some of the amazing work of DARPA and its partners, go to

• www.jhuapl.edu
• www.darpa.mil

I talked to one enthusiastic attendee about what he appreciated about Ling’s talk.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnUcL4NUVj8[/youtube]

The NSTA Science Store at the conferences is a popular meeting spot where teachers can browse new teaching resources and NSTA gear while catching up with colleagues. A few of the popular books at the Store in New Orleans include Science the “Write” Way, Picture-Perfect Science Lessons, 2nd Edition; Celebrating Cultural Diversity: Science for All; Companion Classroom Activities for Stop Faking It! Force and Motion; and STEM Student Research Handbook. Authors like John Eichinger, the guru of Activities Linking Science With Math, K–4, and 5–8, also stop by to visit and talk about their books after sessions conclude. It’s fun to see science teachers sporting NSTA gear items like “I Love Science” hoodies and t-shirts while rushing to their next workshop session.  A cool new item debuting at the New Orleans Store, inspired by Sarah Young’s Gourmet Lab book, is an apron declaring “My Other Lab Is My Kitchen.” All the books displayed at the Store and many of the gear items are available through the online Science Store, too.

Stephen Pruitt, vice president for content, research, and development for Achieve, Inc., gave teachers an engaging preview of the Next Generation Science Standards during his talk this afternoon. “We have incredible teachers in this country…that’s the reason [the NGSS] will go forward,” he maintains. He also emphasized that the NGSS are “for all students” because all students are “born investigators,” and noted that some Nobel prize winners are working on the committee to develop the new standards.
The new standards will emphasize that understanding builds over time, and they “don’t stop at just memorizing details,” but will require students to understand “the evidence of how something works,” such as cell division. He referred to the NGSS as “inquiry unpacked,” a term he said he’s not crazy about but admits is important because not all educators have a cohesive understanding of what inquiry is.
The NGSS will reflect that “math is part of the language of science” and will indicate to teachers “here’s where math is appropriate,” Pruitt explained. Cross-cutting concepts are key in the NGSS because “shouldn’t energy be the same regardless of which class you’re sitting in?”
He suggests teachers think about the NGSS outside of their classroom and school and “come together for what will be good for the students, not what will be good for me…I’m going to ask that you have an open mind.” He reminded everyone, “When was the last time that we got better by doing less?” He urged teachers to read the framework, if they haven’t yet done so, because the framework serves as a preview to what will be in the new standards.
When teachers in the audience expressed concerns about how the NGSS will be implemented in their states, Pruitt responded, “Make sure people are informed about this and build a base…You can lead from your classroom just like any policy leader can.”
Here’s what Terri Jones of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, had to say about this session.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY3epUjmeaY[/youtube]