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Have a
question or comment?
Learning is more than transfer of
information:
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It can mean wholeness, empowerment, actualization, liberation
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Children naturally follow their
interests and rhythms
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Consider mistakes as information rather
than something wrong.
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Learning is discovering that something is possible.
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Background:
how do teachers relate the design challenge to the
science they need to teach? |
When we find a design challenge in a story and begin to
develop it, we are doing the 4th strand of the science
framework by utilizing the design process and
tools. But generally we want to explore one of
the other three strands of science in our design process.
- earth and space
- life science
- physics and chemistry
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| What we know |
An engineering design project needs to use many other
disciplines to create a design that provides useful value
for society. Science is a major contributor to most design
projects. The Massachusetts Science Framework provides the
guidance for what science we should be learning based on the
grade level we are at. |
| How does it fit into the
engineering process? What science concepts do I
need to design this item or process? |
The engineering design process as defined in the
framework is a higher order thinking skill that the students
need to follow to create their product or paper design.
In step two(2) we are asked to "Research the problem or
need" where we determine what are the items we need to do to
create our design. It is here where we begin to see
the science that our design challenge is based on. When we
get to step three(3), we start to understand the science to
develop possible solutions. The students will begin to
see the need t learn about the characteristics of the
science to help develop solutions. They will develop the
ideas of creating a hypothesis and design experiments
to use the science. They will need to understand what
a variable is and its effect on the design process. |
| Approach to create science
learning through the design challenges. |
In many stories we sometimes have a common theme for the
design challenge that we can help define the science
about it. As an example, many stories will generate a
design challenge around creating a habit for an animal or
humans. The habit could be varied by making it
stronger, better for the environment or other attributes. We
can generalize about what the science is for this and thus
port it to other appropriate stories. |
| List of generic design
challenges versus the Science Framework |
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Science connections |
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design challenges |
PreK-2 |
Grade 3-5 |
| shelter/ habitat |
Weather, The sun as a source of heat
& light
Living things and their environment |
Rocks, soil and their properties
Forms of energy
Life cycles |
| garment to wear |
Weather, Observable properties,
earths materials |
Form of energy, Properties of matter |
| vehicle |
position and motion of objects |
Motion of objects, Forms of energy |
| carry pouch |
Earth materials, observable
properties, living things & their environment |
Form of energy, Properties of matter, Adaptation
of living things |
| furniture, appliances |
Earth materials, observable
properties, living things & their environment |
Form of energy, Properties of matter, Adaptation
of living things, Alternative energy |
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| Do you have to be an expert
in the science content? |
If the teacher is not already well versed in the science, it
is the authors contention that you as the teacher do not
have to be an expert in the content of the science but
rather an active participant in learning about the science
with your students. You need to understand the
engineering design process and model the value of
skillful questions in learning and seeking resources to
support your learning for the students. You have to model meta-cognitive
reflection and skills in asking your self how did you
arrive at these learning standards. The learning needs to be
in-depth with a clear understanding of how you can describe
the science content.
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