ENGAGE - European Project on Responsible Research and Innovation in Science Education SITE FOR DOWNLOADING: engagingscience.eu

1. For more, visit EngagingScience.eu
What does the fox say?
Equipping the Next Generation for Active Engagement in Science

2. 2
Objectives
To use what you know about sound
waves in a new context.
To decide whether there is enough
evidence to show that a device can
interpret dog barks.

3. 3STARTER
A-oo-oo-oo-ooo!
A funny video with a serious questionA funny video with a serious question

4. 4STARTER
Can science tell us what
animals are saying…and
interpret their emotions?

5. 5
The Bow-lingual dog translator
contact me my account testimonials checkoutsupportitems
http://www.japantrendshop.com
What is your
dog trying to
say? Our new
device reveals
all…
5
Buy yours
today!
STARTER

6. 6
The Bow-lingual dog translator
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Sound travels
as waves.
We can convert sound
waves to pictures.
6CORE TASK
How
it
works
1

7. 7
The Bow-lingual dog translator
contact me my account testimonials checkoutsupportitems
7
The bigger the amplitude, the louder the sound.
time
amplitude
loud quiet
Wave amplitude
determines loudness.
CORE TASK
How
it
works
2

8. 8
The Bow-lingual dog translator
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The higher the frequency, the higher the pitch.
time
frequency
low pitch higher pitch Loud (light colour) Quiet (dark colour)
This is a
spectrogram.
8CORE TASK
Wave frequency
determines pitch.
How
it
works
3

9. 9
The Bow-lingual dog translator
contact me my account testimonials checkoutsupportitems
Dog translator
Which spectrogram
represents which sound?
51342
EDCBA
CORE 9
How
it
works
4

10. 10
Does the
evidence
support the
claim that
Bow-lingual
identifies
emotions
from barks?
PLENARY 10

11. 11
The reviews are
bad. They are laughing at
Bow-lingual. This will
damage sales.
We need help.
gadgetreview.com
I just bought Bow-lingual. I was
shocked to learn how much my
dog hates me. Every time he barks he
mocks me. He makes fun of my clothes,
my cooking and my weight. I did not
know a dog could swear like that!
My dog hates me!
SS2–3
Bow-lingual:
the boss
11
Read Recognising Emotions
Is the science sound?
 Study the Report.
Was the research done well?
Then use science to explain how
we know that Bow-lingual works.
EXTENSIO

12. 12
Bristol University scientists
used spectrograms to
analyse sounds from 585
foxes. They identified 20
call types, and suggested
meanings for them.
What did the fox say?
Can science tell us?
12PLENARY

13. Get students talking and thinking

14. For more, visit EngagingScience.eu
Student sheets
What does the fox say?
Sheet no. Title Notes
SS1 Fox translator Reusable. Print in colour.
SS2 Recognising emotions Reusable. Cut each A4 sheet in
half to obtain 2 identical sheets.
SS3 Report: Can people identify dog
emotions?
Reusable

15. 15
SS1
Dog Translator
For all spectrograms, time is on the x-axis and
frequency on the y-axis.
1
5
4
32
Listen to the sounds. Decide which
spectrogram represents which sound.

16. Recognising
emotions
It chooses a phrase linked to the
emotion, and a voice synthesiser says it
aloud.
frustrated on-guardsad
happy self-assertiveneedy
SS2
Bow-Lingual detects
a sound.1
It converts the
sound waves to
a spectrogram.2
It compares the spectrogram to spectrograms in its
memory to identify the dog emotion.3
4 Don’t leave
me!
Recognising
emotions
It chooses a phrase linked to the
emotion, and a voice synthesiser says it
aloud.
frustrated on-guardsad
happy self-assertiveneedy
SS2
Bow-Lingual detects
a sound.1
It converts the
sound waves to
a spectrogram.2
It compares the spectrogram to spectrograms in its
memory to identify the dog emotion.3
4 Don’t leave
me!

17. 17
Scientists: Péter Pongrácz, Csaba Molnár, Ádám
Miklósi, Vilmos Csányi of Hungary
The owners recognised dog emotions
linked to different situations. They did
better than you would expect if they
just guessed.
People recognised dog emotions with
similar accuracy, whatever their
experience of dogs.
Every happy bark makes a similar
spectrogram pattern. This is the same
for each emotion tested.
Report: Can people identify dog emotions?
Journal of Comparative
Psychology, 2005
SS3
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
mudi owners owners of
other dog
breeds
non dog
owners
Percentageofhumanswho
correctlyrecognisedsituationsfrom
recordeddogbarks
Results
Question
Conclusions
Record Hungarian sheepdog
(mudi) barks
in different situations:
 stranger
 walk
 alone
 ball
 play
Method – part A
“Are barks Important in
dog-human
communication?”
We think people can
recognise emotions in
dog barks. Why?
Either
or
Hypothesis
1 people have
learned this skill
2 all species
communicate
using similar rules.
Method – part B
12 non dog
owners
12 mudi
owners
12
owners
of other
breeds
Listen to recorded
barks. Identify the dog emotion
in each bark:

18. Get students talking and thinking

19. Equipping the Next Generation for Active Engagement in Science