U Maine Engineering

Open house at University of Maine Engineering in Brunwick

http://umaine.edu/brunswickengineering/

Drive by Daniel Pink

Drive - Book Club Book Overview from tconn314

Choose One!

Here is an interesting site showing some current technological and scientific innovations. There are so many interesting things going on in the world

Can you find one to interest you?

Co.Labs

Rutheford's Experiment

Climate Change included in NGSS Gets Media Feathers Ruffled

Climate Change Hodgepodge

Doing Science- Practice 6. Constructing explanations and designing solutions

Doing Science

Awesome web based lessons that follow the path of a scientist and engineer to design solutions. One lesson notes an "unusual absence" and has students track an outbreak of an infectious disease in a community looking at attendance data and health inspections at a local diner. Great model of inquiry is held in all lessons designed by the National Institute for Health and National Institute of General Medicine.

Every Day Examples in Engineering- Practice 6. Constructing explanations and designing solutions

Every Day Examples in Engineering: ENGAGE
Great resource of ready to go lessons tailor made for creating design solutions for engineering and science topics. Lessons such as "Apples to Oranges" and "Cellular Telephone Design" are focused on how engineers come up with solution based on the results of science.

Go For It! Engineering- Practice 6. Constructing explanations and designing solutions

eGFI Engineering; Go For It!
Great site to start with scenario based lessons that students must design solutions to. The concept of multiple solutions is beneficial.

The Gateway to 21st Century Skills- Practice 5. Using Mathematics and computational thinking

The Gateway to 21st Century Skills
Great searchable resource for all science topics. Probability in genetics, Climate change data and organizing a table of rock and mineral characteristics all showing math application and computational thinking skills.

Math to Power of Interactivate Assessments- Practice 5. Using Mathematics and computational thinking

Interactivate Assessments
Math games on a higher level. Powers of estimation, recognizing patterns all higher order computational thinking rather than rote math learning, this is math thinking. Tons of thinking games to teach whatever you need in high school science to connect to real skills needed in almost any endeavor.

Amazing Space and Statistics- Practice 5. Using Mathematics and computational thinking

Amazing Space
Great NASA haven for all your space science and mathematics needs. Statistics and sampling, probability are always a great way to get math and computation into the science class. Often, all we need is a pile of data. Classroom experiments are slow and produce a small sample, large error in precision and inconclusive data. Use these resources to get with your stats in your class.

Brain Pop Probability- Practice 5. Using Mathematics and computational thinking

Brainpop Spotlight STEM
Brainpop is always a favorite of our students. It is witty and cleverly funny with a kid in mind while the science behind it is always solid and aligned with current focus in science education k-12. Teachers of all levels will find something useful for a STEM focus. Mathematics of basic statistics and probability help students make this math science connection.

National Science Foundation- Practice 4. Analyzing and interpreting data

National Science Foundation
Great place to start for high school engineering resources.

Earth from Space- Practice 4. Analyzing and interpreting data

Earth from Space
Students get to analyze remote sensing data from space. The focus is interpreting data for a change over time. Images are varied by the student by date to see changes in populations, ecosystems, natural resources and environmental changes. Lessons are sorted by grade level and topic.

Journey North, Tracking Migration Patterns- Practice 4. Analyzing and interpreting data

Journey North
Students use climate and local weather data to determine migration patterns of monarch butterflies and whooping cranes. Data must be interpreted, but it is displayed and valued in a direct way for students to see clear connections to observable behavior. Great introduction to analyzing data that can help kids k-12

How Toons, Changing the way you think about building in science class- Practice 3. Planning and carrying out investigations

How Toons
The link embedded in the image needs no description. If that does not make you want to plan and carry out an investigation, then I do not know what will. Follow the link to tons of infographic "howtoons" for instant learning.

Try Engineering- Practice 3. Planning and carrying out investigations

Try Engineering
To get a handle on what is meant by this dimention of engineering, planning and carrying out investigations, look no further. This site is designed by engineers and tested by teachers. Engaging students and exploring the topic further are embedded in each plan and end with a hands on project that is sure to get kids thinking. I have personally taught 4 of these lessons and each has done the job of helping my kids plan their solutions.

GMP Good Manufacturing Procedures- Practice 3. Planning and carrying out investigations

Introduction to Engineering: ENGAGE
Introduction to Engineering practices will set all other lessons to follow on a sound foundation of how problems are solved in a scientific and engineered way that follows a logic and reason set in these plans. These lessons follow "GMP's" or Good Manufacturing Procedures to solve some manufacturing problems. Children's toys, Catapults and Chocolate fluid dynamics are some to the topics found here.

Inquiry Strategies- Practice 3. Planning and carrying out investigations

Inquiry Strategies: Planning Science Investigations
Here is a great question bank to help students generate questions and plan there investigations. Describing how scientist and engineers might carry out a repeatable and reliable experiment to generate useful data to base their designs on.

Ken and Barbie- Practice 2: Developing and Using Models

Engineering Graphics: ENGAGE
Using models to interpret scale, and dimensioning. There are two whimsical lessons comparing the Ken and Barbie Dolls to the healthy proportions of a male and female which would be sure to engage any class.

Journey North- Practice 2: Developing and Using Models

Exploring Weather and Climate within Journey North
Using Weather and Climate Data to make predictions about migration patterns. If there were a need for modeling, it would be for the science of animal migration. We do not fully understand the way they operate under, but we can make connections and look for pattens using modeling.

Making Chocolate Asphalt Cookies- Practice 2: Developing and Using Models

Making Chocolate Asphalt Cookies
This lesson shows a good example how analogies and simulations can be used to teach engineering concepts. The conglomerate made and the vocabulary associated with asphalt and concrete have a lot of basic science application for chemistry and physics.

Encourage Young Engineers and Scientists- Practice 1: Asking Questions and Defining Problems

EYES Encourage Young Engineers and Scientist
Wealth of lessons from K-12 covering all aspects of science education. It is a challenge for teachers to find a way for engineering to crosscut the content they are currently responsible for covering. This website can help. Lessons are clustered by age group and then clearly labeled by general science content. We need not get too specific sometimes, especially when it comes to elementary lessons. These will help the novice and expert get started in encouraging young engineers and scientists.

The Process of Science and Engineering- Practice 1: Asking Questions and Defining Problems

Doing Science: The Process of Science and Engineering

This Web site is based on a printed publication of the same title. Because high school teachers receive most of the limited number of printed supplements, this online version was created for people outside the grades 7–12 education community.

The content is equivalent to the printed supplement, only in a different format. The unit consists of lesson plans, which are accessed through the Teacher’s Guide section of the Web site, and the multimedia student activities, which are accessed through the Student Activities page. The Web-based activities for students are only one part of the curriculum unit. The Lesson Plans provide the framework for both the hands-on classroom activities and the Web-based multimedia activities that make up this curriculum supplement. Together, the classroom and multimedia activities enable students to gain a deeper understanding of the science behind this important topic, and of how it relates to human health.

The 5 E Method- Practice 1. Asking questions and defining problems

The 5 E Method of Inquiry

How do we teach inquiry? The 5 E method has been use for several years in teaching science and still produces a powerful learning experience today.

Freee Tech for Teachers: Classroom Blogging

A way for students and teachers to communicate is through the classroom blog. In "Persistance: The Key to Successful Classroom Blogging" we are encouraged to keep at the practice and a successful blog takes patience.

Key to the success of a classroom blog is having students log in to make comments and participate in discussion, that is where the power of a blog is, the collaboration.

Guide to successful classroom blogging

What Are The Next Generation Science Standards?

What are the new standards? How does this relate to the Common Core? Need we be concerned? Is it contagious? These questions, and many more can be answered in this brief intro video.

Maine Learning Results Connections

First we must look at our own teaching and pedagogical prior knowledge. Where to start? Our experience with teaching standards here in Maine often began with the Maine Learning Results. The Maine Learning Results standards had a STEM component with the following learning outcomes.

B2 Skills and Traits of Technological Design
Students use a systematic process, tools and techniques, and a variety of materials to design and produce a solution or product that meets new needs or improves existing designs.

C2 Understandings About Science and Technology
Students explain how the relationship between scientific inquiry and technological design influences the advancement of ideas, products, and systems.

C3 Science, Technology, and Society
Students describe the role of science and technology in creating and solving contemporary issues and challenges.

Practice 8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

I am a strong proponent of communication skills and literacy in the science classroom. Our students scientific literacy in our content cannot come if they are not getting the communication avenue we ar presenting to them. Likewise a true assessment of their learning can only come form a direct communication with a peer group or the teacher.
Knowing what is already known and proved time and time again has some power to the user. The knowledge has value. Being able to communicate what you know is so critical for students to be able to engage in the debate, make a statement based on the body of knowledge that has been tested and retested will encourage our students to pursue the endeavors of science further.

"Engineering cannot produce new or improved technologies if the advantages of their designs are not communicated clearly and persuasively. Engineers need to be able to express their ideas orally and in writing; with the use of tables, graphs, drawings or models; and by engaging in extended discussions with peers. Moreover, as with scientists, they need to be able to derive meaning from colleagues’ texts, evaluate information, and apply it usefully."

-Understanding A Framework for K-12 Science Education, Bybee 2011

Neil Degrasse Tyson on the importance of science literacy.

Earth and Space Science Framework

In earth and space science, students study the origin, structure, and physical phenomena of the earth and the universe.

Earth and space science studies include concepts in geology, meteorology, oceanography, and astronomy. These studies integrate previously or simultaneously gained understandings in physical and life science with the physical environment. Through the study of earth and space, students learn about the nature and interactions of oceans and the atmosphere, and of earth processes, including plate tectonics, changes in topography over time, and the place of the earth in the universe.

NSTA K-12 Science Journal Readers Guide to Earth and Space Science

Great article that boils down the science standards to simple and concrete framework. A readers guide is also available from the NSTA.


IMAGE USED WITH PERMISSION, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Earth and Space Science Standards

Reviewing the Next Generation Science Standards, here is a condensed resource on the basic subtopics under the concept of Earth and Space Science. Many of our units and lesson fall under these topics, however we have an outdated system of standards in our grading system. Perhaps these four categories of Earth and Space Science could be considered for an updated way to structure our teaching.

From the Next Generation Science Standards

"At the high school level, students review geological, meteorological, oceanographic, and astronomical data to learn about Earth’s matter, energy, processes, and cycles.

Through these data they also learn about the origin and evolution of the universe.

Students gain knowledge about Earth’s internal and external energy sources, local weather and climate, and the dynamics of ocean currents.

Students learn about the renewable and non-renewable energy resources of Earth and what impact these have on the environment.

Through learning about Earth’s processes and cycles, students gain a better understanding of nitrogen and carbon cycles, the rock cycle, and plate tectonics.

Students also learn about the origin of the universe and how scientists are currently studying deep space and the solar system.

IMAGE USED WITH PERMISSION, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

High school learning standards fall under the following four subtopics:
1. Matter and Energy in the Earth System
2. Energy Resources in the Earth System
3. Earth Processes and Cycles
4. The Origin and Evolution of the Universe."

Practice 1. Asking questions and defining problems

Please ask questions! Every science teacher wants to get their students to do so. How do we integrate problem solving with quality question asking. Is it solvable? Will the answer solve our problem? Can we answer it?

"Engineering begins with a problem that needs to be solved, such as “How can we reduce the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels? or “What can be done to reduce a particular disease? or “How can we improve the fuel efficiency of automobiles? A basic practice of engineers is to ask questions to clarify the problem, determine criteria for a successful solution, and identify constraints."

-Understanding A Framework for K-12 Science Education, Bybee 2011


Video on asking questions

Practice 2. Developing and using models

When scientists and engineers solve problems to explain phenomenon or analyze systems, making models is a powerful tool to do each. We and our students have a mental model of how the world works. As Teachers, our training, education and experience has developed, in many instances, a sophisticated mental model of systems and phenomenon. Science teachers are often aided by a strong symbolic and spatial intelligence. We may be frustrated by students that have flawed mental models.
Using manipulative or physical models may solve the issue. We often find showing a powerful mode of teaching and learning. What if we turned the tables, flipped the modeling to the students. We are interested in showing students the conceptual models that are tested and accepted by the scientific community as a model of phenomena and systems.
Teaching engineering often has a great component of prototyping. Students in my classes often have an idea of the concept and we can have a prototype day before a measured assessment. Students can design their own test of their prototype and redesign for improvement.


"Engineering makes use of models and simulations to analyze extant systems to identify flaws that might occur, or to test possible solutions to a new problem. Engineers design and use models of various sorts to test proposed systems and to recognize the strengths and limitations of their designs."

-Understanding A Framework for K-12 Science Education, Bybee 2011


Video on Developing and Using Models

Practice 3. Planning and carrying out investigations

How do we answer our questions? How can we design solutions? We carry out an investigation in science and design solutions in engineering. The following resources highlight the practice of planning and carrying out an investigation and flow from the first two practices in a linear manner. I especially like the Good Manufacturing Practices embedded in our lessons. Our country has seen a drop in manufacturing and therefore these practices are in danger of being lost to the next generation.

"Engineering investigations are conducted to gain data essential for specifying criteria or parameters and to test proposed designs. Like scientists, engineers must identify relevant variables, decide how they will be measured, and collect data for analysis. Their investigations help them to identify the effectiveness, efficiency, and durability of designs under different conditions."

-Understanding A Framework for K-12 Science Education, Bybee 2011


Video on Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

Practice 4. Analyzing and interpreting data

We can introduce data and statistics to students, but then what? I often find in my own classroom, I am exhausted with the data collection and neglect to procede to the analysis. Do we see correlations in our data? We need to explore the idea that correlation does not show causation.

"Engineering investigations include analysis of data collected in the tests of designs. This allows comparison of different solutions and determines how well each meets specific design criteria—that is, which design best solves the problem within given constraints. Like scientists, the engineers require a range of tools to identify the major patterns and interpret the results. Advances in science make analysis of proposed solutions more efficient and effective."

-Understanding A Framework for K-12 Science Education, Bybee 2011


Video on Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Practice 5. Using Mathematics and computational thinking

5. Using mathematics and computational thinking

In engineering, mathematical and computational representations of established relationships and principles are an integral part of the design process. For example, structural engineers create mathematical-based analysis of designs to calculate whether they can stand up to expected stresses of use and if they can be completed within acceptable budgets. Moreover, simulations provide an effective test bed for the development of designs as proposed solutions to problems and their improvement, if required.

Practice 6. Constructing explanations and designing solutions

6. Constructing explanations and designing solutions

The goal of engineering design is a systematic solution to problems that is based on scientific knowledge and models of the material world. Each proposed solution results from a process of balancing competing criteria of desired functions, technical feasibility, cost, safety, aesthetics, and compliance with legal requirements. Usually there is no one best solution, but rather a range of solutions. The optimal choice depends on how well the proposed solution meets criteria and constraints.

Maine DOE Science Framework

MDOE SciTech Framework
Information about Maine's role as a Lead State in the implementation of the Framework for K-12 Science Education and development of Next Generation Science Standards.

Dimension 1: Practices

Dimension 1: Practices

The Next Generation Science Standards looks at science education as a set of practices. The semantic difference between skill and practice is subtle but practices are skills and knowledge combined. It is a think different model and a cool concept for teaching inquiry.
I see this as 1. Teach something interesting 2. Develop the concept through design 3. Analyse the value and results through writing.
While the last part is not as specific to the content of this blog and resource list, it is a strong focus of my experience teaching with inquiry and engineering science concepts.

From NGSS
"The practices describe behaviors that scientists engage in as they investigate and build models and theories about the natural world and the key set of engineering practices that engineers use as they design and build models and systems.

The NRC uses the term practices instead of a term like “skills” to emphasize that engaging in scientific investigation requires not only skill but also knowledge that is specific to each practice.

Part of the NRC’s intent is to better explain and extend what is meant by “inquiry” in science and the range of cognitive, social, and physical practices that it requires.

Although engineering design is similar to scientific inquiry, there are significant differences. For example, scientific inquiry involves the formulation of a question that can be answered through investigation, while engineering design involves the formulation of a problem that can be solved through design. Strengthening the engineering aspects of the Next Generation Science Standards will clarify for students the relevance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (the four STEM fields) to everyday life."

Dimension 2: Crosscutting Concepts

Dimension 2: Crosscutting Concepts

Crosscutting concepts have application across all domains of science. As such, they are a way of linking the different domains of science.

They include:
Patterns
Similarity and Diversity
Cause and effect
Scale, proportion and quantity
Systems and system models
Energy and matter
Structure and function
Stability and change

The Framework emphasizes that these concepts need to be made explicit for students because they provide an organizational schema for interrelating knowledge from various science fields into a coherent and scientifically-based view of the world.

Dimension 3: Disciplinary Core Ideas

Dimension 3: Disciplinary Core Ideas

Disciplinary core ideas have the power to focus K–12 science curriculum, instruction and assessments on the most important aspects of science. To be considered core, the ideas should should meet at least two of the following criteria and ideally all four:

Have broad importance across multiple sciences or engineering disciplines or be a key organizing concept of a single discipline; Provide a key tool for understanding or investigating more complex ideas and solving problems;Relate to the interests and life experiences of students or be connected to societal or personal concerns that require scientific or technological knowledge;Be teachable and learnable over multiple grades at increasing levels of depth and sophistication.


Disciplinary ideas are grouped in four domains: the physical sciences; the life sciences; the earth and space sciences; and engineering, technology and applications of science.



Check out these free resources about the new Next Generation Science Standards for K-12 science education:

1. Watch a 3-minute video about why NGSS matters.

2. Download the Next Generation Science Standards for K-12 science education.

3. See the NRC Framework vision for K-12 science education from the National Academy of Sciences.

4. Review NSTA’s online learning resources related to the new vision and standards.

Science Framework Document

http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13165 Framework PDF document