Engineering through the Seasons

Submitted by: Pat Waters
Collaborators: Karen Hues
School: Springfield Park Elementary

Summary

The students worked collaboratively at research stations to learn about seasons in preparation for a Children’s Engineering activity. The seasons research stations included a student centered Promethean flip chart, Discovery Science assigned content, fiction and non-fiction trade books, and Story Kit on the iPad. After conducting research, students created a 3D person who could stand on it’s own, had at least one moveable part, and was dressed for the season they selected. Following the design process, project groups were provided an opportunity to reflect on their product and process using the video camera on the iPad. These video clips were compiled in DropBox, transformed into an iMovie, and posted on the class blog. As a follow up, students commented and asked questions on the blog to communicate their ideas with their peers. The teacher also posted questions for the students to answer on the blog that required higher order thinking and justification.

TIPC Ratings

This lesson is Ideal/Target for Research & Information Fluency. The teacher had students complete a “What do we know?” sheet about the 4 seasons to access prior knowledge. Students responded to class assignments that prompted analysis of information using the age appropriate material provided by the teacher. Looked through various books to find information on the season they were researching. The students also had to search through a variety of resources on Discovery Science to determine which information would be beneficial to their team. The flip chart was student centered and directed. The teacher acted as a facilitator asking higher order questions as students engaged in research stations. As a reflection on their research, the teacher read “Arnold’s Apple Tree” and the students discussed what they had learned in their research while referring to the picture book.

This lesson is Ideal/Target for Communication & Collaboration. The students worked in small student selected groups to conduct research, sketch out their plan, construct their person, and reflect. They used the video recorder on the iPad to record their explanations of their season & the characters they built. The videos were posted to the class blog where students could ask questions and make comments about each others work.

This lesson is Ideal/Target for Critical Thinking and Problem Solving. Students generated & responded to purposeful questions throughout the planning and building process. They justified their decision making and problem solving practices in their reflection videos. The students used a variety of digital tools to conduct research, plan their design, and reflect.

This lesson is ideal/target for Creativity & Innovation. Students analyzed trends while trying to make their person stand on its own. Each group came up with new solutions to address the authentic task. The students created meaningful, original work by taking risks to create a new product.