Rocco Cieri - Teacher, Medford High School
Content Area(s): Biology
Background / Bio / Educational Philosophy: I teach Biology in the Boston Area. I enjoy learning about innovative practices that will get my students to be creative and interested in furthering their own knowledge in STEAM. When not in the classroom, I divide my time between coaching youth soccer and baseball in my home town and advising the National Honor Society at my school.
CAPSULE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN: Biology and Engineering will be connected through a multidisciplinary, hands-on unit embedded project. Students will be introduced to the Engineering Design Process in the first unit of the year, The Chemistry of Life. As they learn about Organic Molecules and Enzymes, students will carry out an engineering-based learning project where the will “design a gut”. Then, students will engage in a multi-disciplinary, team-based engineering challenge where they will design a multi-purpose helmet. Students will be introduced to the project, they will experience a field trip, guest speakers, and learn to use new tools for the design and construction of a prototype. Then, they will finalize their solution and present it to a panel of judges.
DESIGN A HELMET Description : What do a NASCAR driver, a fireman, a construction worker, a football player, and a snowboarder have in common? If you guessed a helmet, you’d be right! All of these individuals need a safe system of protecting what is beneath the helmet - their head. Have you ever thought of increasing the functions of a helmet (to see infrared light or check your health?), or why they have a particular design (could they have a different shape or be lighter)? If you have, then you are starting to think like an innovator.
Background / Bio / Educational Philosophy: I teach Biology in the Boston Area. I enjoy learning about innovative practices that will get my students to be creative and interested in furthering their own knowledge in STEAM. When not in the classroom, I divide my time between coaching youth soccer and baseball in my home town and advising the National Honor Society at my school.
CAPSULE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN: Biology and Engineering will be connected through a multidisciplinary, hands-on unit embedded project. Students will be introduced to the Engineering Design Process in the first unit of the year, The Chemistry of Life. As they learn about Organic Molecules and Enzymes, students will carry out an engineering-based learning project where the will “design a gut”. Then, students will engage in a multi-disciplinary, team-based engineering challenge where they will design a multi-purpose helmet. Students will be introduced to the project, they will experience a field trip, guest speakers, and learn to use new tools for the design and construction of a prototype. Then, they will finalize their solution and present it to a panel of judges.
DESIGN A HELMET Description : What do a NASCAR driver, a fireman, a construction worker, a football player, and a snowboarder have in common? If you guessed a helmet, you’d be right! All of these individuals need a safe system of protecting what is beneath the helmet - their head. Have you ever thought of increasing the functions of a helmet (to see infrared light or check your health?), or why they have a particular design (could they have a different shape or be lighter)? If you have, then you are starting to think like an innovator.
Download copies of my implementation plan, classroom activities, EBL strategies, or related curricula below.