Summary
NASA’s Digital Learning Network at the Goddard Space Center presented a series of challenges in a project called Destination: Mars. The students were challenged by astronauts to design and build a Crew Exploration Vehicle and pinpoint the safest and best location for a Mars landing. In order to complete the primary challenge, students conducted several smaller challenges. The first was centered around the concepts of navigation and trajectory, as students plotted the path a spacecraft might take to Mars and back. In a following lesson on propulsion and aerodynamics, students designed a vehicle powered by wind. To reinforce the concepts of force, motion, and energy, students designed an original roller coaster. Finally, they applied what they learned about physics by designing a container that would keep an egg safe when dropped from the school roof. As a conclusion to the project, the students created an iMovie presentation that would be shared via Skype with the NASA’s Digital Learning Network.
TIPC Ratings
Throughout the project the students were actively engaged in research. They were required to assemble and synthesize the information collected in order to accurately apply it to the creation and design their rovers and landing sites. Information was powerfully displayed by the students’ iMovie presentations. The teacher was continually observing, facilitating, and challenging the students from beginning to end to task risks with their research.
Collaboration was a huge component of this project. The students worked together to research, design, and communicate ideas in order to reach a common goal. The professional from NASA (Erin McKinley – Goddard Space Center) was always available to the students to answer questions by email. Our Skype sessions were an essential part of the communication, collaboration, and learning process. The students continued to reflect and use rubrics as a self-assessment and guide throughout the project. Furthermore, students completed a feedback and reflection form.
Each section of this project required enormous amounts of critical thinking and problem solving. The whole design process centered around the students’ abilities to analyze and problem solve with real life application. Throughout the entire project, the students were continually asked, “What could you do differently next time?”, “How could you make this better?”, “What did you learn that you could apply to the next project?”, “What kinds of modifications could you make?”
The students were challenged to take what they learned from their research and connect it to their own prior knowledge in order to come up with something new and innovative with their capsule and rover designs.
Student Artifact
Pretty Purple Ponies from Regina Schwab on Vimeo.
