CURRICULUM: Science and Pro Football NFL + NBC

[Frank W. Baker]

When I read this post, I was sure it was a commercial, but anyway here it is:

What do you get when you mix the National Science Foundation with the National Football League? Well, if you mix in a dash of NBC News, apparently you get an unusual chance to learn about vectors, projectile motion, and hydration, among other topics. The news network's educational arm, NBC Learn, is teaming up with the NSF and NFL to release the "Science of NFL Football," a 10-part video series designed for teachers and students.

[Ryan Goble]

Frank, so glad you caught this one! I was going to past the NYTimes article about the curriculum as well - Teaching Science With Football. As you know I love college football, but ever since I started reading features about brain injuries and the sport (like this Malcolm Gladwell article - OFFENSIVE PLAY How different are dogfighting and football?) I've been struggling with that and the fact that these athletes bring in bazillions of dollars for universities but see minimal compensation. I'm just guessing - and they could prove us wrong - but I would guess they don't address the science of brain injuries. That said, I haven't run away from the sport yet.

I hope they release the videos on DVD.

RRG:)

[Frank W. Baker]

I am always pleased when educators see the advantages of using popular culture (e.g. sports) to make the connection to the curriculum...which reminds me that Ken Burns has produced another episode in his "Baseball" series. It is entitled "The Tenth Inning," and it will be broadcast on PBS on September 28-29. I believe this new episode will deal with the steroid era as well as other issues. (When he first produced this series, I was working at the public school system in Orlando and I produced a professional development session on using Baseball in the classroom. The content of the workshop touched on English, Math, Science and more.) PBS is seeking additional content from teachers about using Baseball in the classroom, so if you have ideas, please send them to Anne Harrington:
[e-mail].

[Joshua Zucker]

"the fact that these athletes bring in bazillions of dollars for universities but see minimal compensation." -- I'd like to see some data on that! I would be surprised if that's true in general. Football teams are expensive! I suspect that there's a handful of top schools that sell a lot of high-priced tickets and television rights that make money on their football programs, but for a significant fraction (maybe even a majority?) of D-I schools, football is a money loser. And of course there's all the D-II and D-III and ...

[Ryan Goble]

JZ,

This is a great point - I guess I'm thinking more about the big programs where they sell a bazillion (rough estimate, of course) jerseys for star player x. Two interesting articles from the Times that give numbers for some big programs - As Colleges Compete, Major Money Flows to Minor Sports and $226 million renovation and expansion of Michigan Stadium and - so yeah, I was a bit too hyperbolic but case by case - you know - tricky math :)

[sara henze]

Thanks for the info. re: NBC Learn. I will have to review the videos and see how they fit into life (the football/life science connection)!