Week 3 #NASAMgUE

Our #NASAMgUE teacher team met on Wednesday to prepare for meeting with students on Friday.  We had decided that we would each work through the NASA microgravity lessons as they fit into our groups' schedules.  Each teacher has a set of groups with different jobs.  One teacher was out of town, so I worked with her students to keep the process going.  The groups that came to my classroom are working on building a simulator to do tests and collect data before we take the SLED to NASA Johnson Space Center.  The other group will be building the actual SLED, but we are waiting to proceed with planning until the kit comes from NASA.  We will have the students refine their design one they can see and touch the materials.  The last group is the materials management group.  They will be responsible for inventorying, maintaining, and securing the necessary materials we need for this project.  As a whole group, we reviewed the deployment process.  The target, Mars insertion points will be moving, and the Launch Pad will be moving.  We think in opposite direction, but we aren't certain yet.  In order to construct a simulator, we needed to locate a cardboard similar in size to the target at NASA.  We had the dimensions of the the insertion points but not the distance between.  One student in the simulator group thought of using the marked 12 inches like a map scale to calculate the distance between the two insertion points.  I can't wait to see how close they got to the actual dimensions.  One teacher had difficulty trying to get to the NASA microgravity website with activities for students.  Another teacher had difficulty with a hands-on microgravity activity she was trying to have students film in slow motion.  However, every projects has challenges.  We look forward to seeing the progress to come.  We are still working on finding mentors to work with the students, but we are not able to wait for or rely on that possibility.  Time is of the essence.

Student Choice Menus in Engineering

Well, I did it.  I created my Menus for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade engineering.  I have been introducing them to the classes this past week.  It has gone remarkably well.  I go through the process of asking the students if they all run the mile at the same time in P.E.  Do they all finish their classwork at the same time?  Or, finish reading a book at the same time.  I explain to them that building is the same.  This seems to make perfect sense to the students.

Realistically, this is probably just the honeymoon of the new instructional practice, but I have high hopes for students to progress at their own pace and increase engagement with less down time listening to me explain what they will be doing each day.  I know I will have to continually monitor and check in with all the students, but I think this will take pressure off the less experienced builders while allowing the more experienced students to try builds that will challenge them.

I am including links to the menus I created for my class, as well as, project guidelines for some of the projects listed in the Main Dishes.

3rd Grade Menu
4th Grade Menu
5th Grade Menu

3rd Grade Rube Goldberg Project
4th and 5th Grade Explorer Robotics Project
5th Grade 3D Printing Project