Phillip Moore - Teacher, Fitchburg High Schol
Content Area(s): Science
Background / Bio / Educational Philosophy:
CAPSULE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN: We chose to work on a single project for the first term as our focus for all of the 10th grade physics students. The project was to make a mouse trap powered car that could go 10 meters. We envisioned kids in the hall ways testing their work while some one passing by would stop and ask them what they were doing. The planners hoped that the positive attention would create a synergy and excitement within the school community as the student’s creativity and achievement was noticed by their peers. It was clear that there would need to be a lot of scaffolding in place to help the students keep track and completing the project goals. One of the first steps for us was to create a calendar for the students that connected the class room objectives with the project deliverables. We then created the project report and labs that would be assigned for their engineering note book. Included in that book was a journal format page and an outline of what was expected from the students. We knew that the students would need to have a solid background in what the EDP was and how it was applied to problem solving. We started with a brief lesson on the EDP process followed by a directed brain storming activity that guided their immersion into the design process focusing on design considerations and concerns.(1) We created several lessons involving a group “think-pair-share” using their design considerations from the directed brain storming activity. That work resulted in a thorough analysis of the design and limited material concerns for the creation of any car that would succeed. It also forced the students to think critically about the strengths and weaknesses of the building materials and team members. Teachers provided technical assistance, encouragement and some counseling to groups when they encountered adversities or setbacks in achieving the goal. It was important for the teachers to discuss and model conflict resolution strategies and team building vocabulary and skills. The teachers also had to instruct students on the use of basic tools and building methods to ensure safety within the classroom.
The Building Phase
We provided the students milestones to reach along their journey. Those milestones measured their progress towards achieving the 10 meter goal and completion of their engineering notebook. They also forced students to think reflectively on their own work and the science guiding their design. A major hurdle for many of our students was limited insight and experience in building models and the use of building materials. Students demonstrated a disconnect with the functionality of the car parts as it related to the car’s performance. The teachers guided students through the problem solving process. We helped students connect performance issues with student observations of their car in action. This allowed the student to augment their deficits to achieving their goals. By focusing on improvements to their cars as it relates to the physics curriculum, improvements in performance were observed. The opportunity to build and design needed to be tempered with daily lessons on the application of related concepts within the curriculum. Their work with the cars was focused through that lens to make clear connections between design, product, performance and the curriculum. As a result, all most all of the students were able to reach the first milestone of having their car roll 5 meters off a shallow ramp and without the aid of a mouse trap. This ensured that the students had a working chassis with axles designed to harness the power of the mouse trap. It gave the students hands-on experience and understanding of the concept of inertia and friction as an outside force that impedes motion. This was followed by a larger reflective writing assignment that required students to explain how they used the EDP process to change their design to achieve the first milestone.
Background / Bio / Educational Philosophy:
CAPSULE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN: We chose to work on a single project for the first term as our focus for all of the 10th grade physics students. The project was to make a mouse trap powered car that could go 10 meters. We envisioned kids in the hall ways testing their work while some one passing by would stop and ask them what they were doing. The planners hoped that the positive attention would create a synergy and excitement within the school community as the student’s creativity and achievement was noticed by their peers. It was clear that there would need to be a lot of scaffolding in place to help the students keep track and completing the project goals. One of the first steps for us was to create a calendar for the students that connected the class room objectives with the project deliverables. We then created the project report and labs that would be assigned for their engineering note book. Included in that book was a journal format page and an outline of what was expected from the students. We knew that the students would need to have a solid background in what the EDP was and how it was applied to problem solving. We started with a brief lesson on the EDP process followed by a directed brain storming activity that guided their immersion into the design process focusing on design considerations and concerns.(1) We created several lessons involving a group “think-pair-share” using their design considerations from the directed brain storming activity. That work resulted in a thorough analysis of the design and limited material concerns for the creation of any car that would succeed. It also forced the students to think critically about the strengths and weaknesses of the building materials and team members. Teachers provided technical assistance, encouragement and some counseling to groups when they encountered adversities or setbacks in achieving the goal. It was important for the teachers to discuss and model conflict resolution strategies and team building vocabulary and skills. The teachers also had to instruct students on the use of basic tools and building methods to ensure safety within the classroom.
The Building Phase
We provided the students milestones to reach along their journey. Those milestones measured their progress towards achieving the 10 meter goal and completion of their engineering notebook. They also forced students to think reflectively on their own work and the science guiding their design. A major hurdle for many of our students was limited insight and experience in building models and the use of building materials. Students demonstrated a disconnect with the functionality of the car parts as it related to the car’s performance. The teachers guided students through the problem solving process. We helped students connect performance issues with student observations of their car in action. This allowed the student to augment their deficits to achieving their goals. By focusing on improvements to their cars as it relates to the physics curriculum, improvements in performance were observed. The opportunity to build and design needed to be tempered with daily lessons on the application of related concepts within the curriculum. Their work with the cars was focused through that lens to make clear connections between design, product, performance and the curriculum. As a result, all most all of the students were able to reach the first milestone of having their car roll 5 meters off a shallow ramp and without the aid of a mouse trap. This ensured that the students had a working chassis with axles designed to harness the power of the mouse trap. It gave the students hands-on experience and understanding of the concept of inertia and friction as an outside force that impedes motion. This was followed by a larger reflective writing assignment that required students to explain how they used the EDP process to change their design to achieve the first milestone.
Download copies of my implementation plan, classroom activities, EBL strategies, or related curricula below.
Mouse Trap Car Lesson Plan | |
File Size: | 39 kb |
File Type: | docx |
ASME Engineering - Based Learning in the Classroom (2012) | |
File Size: | 11836 kb |
File Type: | docx |