Teaching Strategies
Design and Engineering Practices
As part of the adoption of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), students are asked to apply these standards to designing and building systems that explain science concepts. These may be modeling, creating a pathway that leads to quantifiable results, or modifying a previous design. The intention of this unit is to allow teachers many opportunities to create meaningful lessons involving this aspect of science. The unit allows teachers and students to test these ideas and questions. For instance, food preservation is an avenue for students to design the “best” brand of plastic container or to test different types of iceboxes for cold retention. Food storage materials can be compared in different environments and situations to determine the most appropriate form for storing different food or drink items. Furthermore, teachers can have students test the different compartments and settings of a refrigerator to devise a fact sheet of best practices in storing food.
Inquiry-Based
The level of curiosity in students seems dependent on their interest in what they observe. When a phenomenon is presented, curiosity seems higher than usual. A lesson involving food science excites many students because there is the anticipation of getting to eat the food afterwards. This unit provides ideas for inquiry-based learning by having students test these concepts for accuracy and precision. The underlying chemistry of the results is the teacher’s avenue to teach these complex reactions and interactions between substances. Classification of matter, cause-effect determinations, and reaction pathways are just a few of the applications for inquiry-based learning.
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