Teaching Strategies
Engineering Teams
Each year I receive a diverse population of academic abilities in my classroom. In order to meet the needs of all students, I utilize a variety of different strategies to address different learning styles and academic needs. Students work in partners or small groups throughout most of the activities as an engineering team. My students enjoy working in groups and this gives them an opportunity to interact with their peers. I find that this also allows students to support each other in their learning.
Inquiry-based learning and Formative Assessment
I use inquiry-based learning over the entire school year for both science and engineering lessons. In an engineering unit, I use a Driving Question Board (DQB) as we investigate the science behind the engineering problem. Each lesson is framed with an investigative question that students should be able to answer by the end of their investigation. One lesson could span multiple days, so students may need more than one day to develop an appropriate response to the investigation question posed. At the beginning of the school year, I typically develop most or all of the investgative questions. As students gain experience with the routines and procedure of utilizing the DQB, I gradually involve them in the process of creating the questions as we move throughout the year. This requires introducing the engineering problem and asking students to generate questions they have, which is the same process as what I use in science units when I introduce a phenomenon. Before distributing individual DQBs for students to record their conclusions, I try to group questions that build off each other or order them in a way that makes sense for investigation. Students track their conclusions for the questions on their own individual paper tracker, which we keep in the classroom and students refer to each day. I am also able to use students’ conclusions as a formative assessment to determine if they mastered the material for each day.
Investigations
Investigations that students take part in to learn the science behind the engineering include hands-on labs, simulations, informational texts and general research. The various activities allow for a mix of digital and non-digital instruction. My students are typically most engaged in the hands-on labs because they do not always have many kinesthetic opportunities in their other core classes. My students are least engaged with informational texts. To overcome their lack of interest, I try to provide relevant sources and information pertinent to their own lives or anything to do with their local surroundings. Sometimes, like in this unit, I introduce the overall engineering problem with a local connection. I find that relating the content to my students in some way always engages my students more so than something that is not applicable. This also gives students the opportunity to use their own background knowledge and apply it to whatever they are learning.
Summative Assessment
As part of the wrap up to the unit, students partake in an Engineering Summit. During the summit, students present their knowledge of the problem, designs, results, and final conclusion or future plans. For the most part, students generate the criteria for grading. The criteria they suggest and agree upon becomes the rubric for grading their presentations. I facilitate the discussion to ensure that all relevant criteria to show student growth and mastery is included in their decision. In addition to their presentation, students also submit a final report highlighting the components of their presentation and include a reflection of their entire process they underwent in their design.
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