And only on CBS 12 News we take you inside a unique class at FAU called
Human Mission To Mars.
We know the perfect person to send to this, of course, our meteorologist
Lauren Olesky to go check it out.
So Lauren what did you learn?
It was really cool. So last week I told you about that class.
Again it's called Human Mission to Mars.
And it's way different than any course I've ever taken and I'm sure many of you have ever taken
in college, but now I want to dive into just how really really how different this class is.
The psychological aspects of going to Mars, Robin Vallacher is the professor
who will be talking about the different psychological traits that you'd like to select
for when you pick astronauts going Mars.
The class has already covered topics like why we should go to Mars,
strategy for a sustainable mission and how to create fuel for a return-trip.
Effects of spaceflight on the human body and now the psychology of it.
How will traveling to a deserted planet
impact our conscious?
How can groups of people handle conflict when there really isn't any escape?
Mars is you know
at a minimum of 40 million miles away.
There's no panic button on Mars.
So just walking away really isn't an option if conflicts arise in space.
There isn't any way to get out.
So studying group dynamics is crucial.
In order to get things done,
people have to agree, make decisions, and deal with all the issues.
we just talked about today.
How they handle conflicts, how they handle stress,
how they determine who's the most effective leader and so forth.
Those are critical issues and if you can't do that
nothing else matters.
And working in groups for this course is exactly how students get things done.
So being able to work with group members and everybody has a turn as being a leader
definitely gets everyone to build those leadership skills
at the same time being a good team player.
And keeping class size down makes
collaboration even more effective.
So the classroom environment is a very intimate environment
so there's a lot of learning there isn't a lot of
issues with trying to actually
collaborate between students.
Learning in groups together to help them with anything they want to do.
What I am looking forward to taking away from this is honestly, I know it sounds a little corny,
but I like thinking outside the box...
So that they can solve any problem
they come across.
If they learn nothing about Mars, what I want them to take away from the class is how you solve problems
in a systematic way and the right questions to ask.
Love it. It's just really cool.
I mean you usually you think of college courses in
these big lecture halls, and a small teacher at the way bottom writing on the board
but you know, the class involves every student.
They have to present at the end of every class, their final exams gonna be you know
similar to the way the class is set up.
They have to give a presentation at the end, you know a poster presentation learning how to solve problems.
I was gonna say it's almost feels a little bit like a trick
like if I don't know how many people or kids are signing up
Interpersonal dynamics 101, you know, but Mission to Mars,
yeah, I want to take that class. And they wind up learning something no matter what you do.
Exactly!
And I think that's really cool.
It's more, you know, the mission to Mars is kind of the basis of the class
but they're using that kind of as the tool to
teach them life skills.
Like problem solving.
Thanks Lauren.
