The idea that innovation is necessary was cemented for me this past spring. We, as teachers had to be flexible and adapt. This is definitely a strength of educators, but the situation was unexpected and to some degrees we weren't prepared. To prepare our students for an unknown future, innovation is crucial.
How are we going to help our students continue to move forward, regardless of the format of "school"?
Design challenges may be my favorite thing to create and teach! I love being able to have students more meaningfully connect with content in a hands on way. Their creativity continues to blows me away. Providing them with the structure (criteria and constraints) allows me to facilitate and students to be in the driver's seat. It gives them choice in how to show their learning. It also makes it a more memorable and fun experience. Provide students with criteria and constructs and a design challenge can be a quick 5 minute activity, class period performance assessment or even an entire unit.
If you're wanting to start small, introduce this to your kiddos or get your feet wet, try the Challenge Generator. You can choose between a STEM Education or Design focus. There are three categories; Inventions, Build & Engineer or Create & Draw.
If you're a regular reader, the following may seem familiar. I've talked about these resources in previous blog posts. Science Learning thru Engineering Design (SLED) process before. There are many design challenges that target K - 6 science concepts and include books to read to support learning. I model all of the design challenges after this model as I have found it to be the best structure for design challenges in the classroom. ENGR Teams is another great one. It is targeted to 4th - 8th grades. Both were developed at Purdue University with NSF grants and can be adapted to better fit your standards and learners' needs.
If you're looking for additional tools or resources to promote design thinking in your classroom, try The LAUNCH Cycle and Innovators Compass. The best thing about both of these tools is their adaptability. The LAUNCH Cycle is an acronym so each letter represents a phase, so it's easier to remember. There is also a corresponding symbol for each phase to help visual learners. The last phase, LAUNCH to an Audience, is a great way to incorporate a speaking and listening component for presentations. It is detailed in the book, Launch: Using the Design Thinking Process to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student by: AJ Juliani & John Spencer. Not to mention, the book cover is a rocket! Check out the free printable resources.
The Innovators Compass is a great tool for students to look at a problem from many different viewpoints. The variety of graphic organizers allow for easy differentiation and scaffolding.
PBS Design Squad partnered with NASA to create Space Exploration themed design challenges too!
Below, I've put together a small list of design challenges mostly targeted around space exploration. Some are competitive during in the summer, while others extend or don't have deadlines. Regardless, you can incorporate these into your classroom.
Next Moon STep
This design challenge is brought to you by Future Engineers, the same group that led the Name the Rover contest.
K-12 students are tasked with creating an original "image of your footprint (photo or artwork) and tell us what you would say, in 20 words or less, if you were the next person to step foot on the Moon." Submission Deadline = July 21st @ 11:59 Eastern time Reinvent the Rover Wheel
Future Engineers are preparing for the upcoming launch of the Perseverance Rover to Mars with this challenge.
Submission Deadline = July 26th @ 11:59 PST Nasa's Lunar Loo Challenge
This one is more geared for older students (high school and college). As we look toward the future, astronauts "will need a toilet that has all the same capabilities as ones here on Earth. Therefore, NASA is calling on the global community for their novel design concepts for compact toilets that can operate in both microgravity AND lunar gravity. These designs may be adapted for use in the Artemis lunar landers that take us back to the Moon. Although space toilets already exist and are in use (at the International Space Station, for example), they are designed for microgravity only. NASA’s Human Landing System Program is looking for a next-generation device that is smaller, more efficient, and capable of working in both microgravity and lunar gravity. This challenge includes a Technical category and Junior category."
Submission Deadline = August 25th Home on the Moon
This interactive project led by the Aldrin Family Foundation is a great way to get your students, your family, friends or coworkers thinking about the future of space exploration . Create a team, choose the best location for a moon outpost and submit proposals informing and defending your choices.
For additional information, resources and registration, click on the link below. Nasa Spotlite
NASA Spotlites are short (90 - 120 seconds) videos created by students to help debunk scientific misconceptions. So, NASA needs you to create videos to be a part of their eClips website.
"One of NASA’s goals is to improve scientific literacy, or our understanding of science. The goal of the video is to engage students in doing activities that can help change their misconceptions about a topic in science." Find more information; including necessary components of your video, things to research, tips and rubric. Be sure to register your team by clicking on the button below. Design Your Habitat
Activities from the SciArt exchange. Each week focuses on a related topic and flows through Think, Create, and Experience phases including videos from awesome guest speakers.
Bonus
This is a design challenge that I created for students while they were doing eLearning. The great thing about this is that you can adapt it to fit your classroom; students and content area. It can be done in person, but it can also be assigned virtually.
I hope that you'll consider how to incorporate design challenges into your classroom. Check out the Resources Tab to help support you in this Endeavor :) It truly is a game changer and helps students develop those "soft" skills like collaboration, problem solving, critical thinking, deadlines, etc that will help them be successful in your classroom and beyond!
Peace, love and space exploration, CAPCOM Conrad
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It all started with a movie trailer. It was about high schoolers entering an underwater robotics competition. A few weeks later I couldn't remember the title, but I knew that I wanted to watch it. Luckily, my husband did. So, I went to the library and rented the movie Spare Parts. It was a great movie, released in 2015 and one worth sharing with your students to get them excited and inspired. Check out the trailer below. Maybe it's just me, but I love reading the words inspired by a true story. When those words come across the screen, I immediately want to find and read the book! However, this story actually started with an article in Wired magazine in 2005. 11 years later, Joshua Davis - the writer of the WIRED article - also wrote the book, titled Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot and the Battle for the American Dream. I read the book in a couple days and really enjoyed it. I enjoyed learning more details about the lives of the kids portrayed in the film. I think it would be a great book for middle school or high schoolers. It could be part of a book study, whole group, read aloud or after school. While it's not an astronaut story, I would definitely share it with my former students who, when reading Hidden Figures, were curious about what it was like for them. My Hispanic students were interested in the story and in learning about segregation, but they couldn't fully relate to the African American characters. .As I've been diving into the story, I actually discovered that before it became Spare Parts, it was a documentary called Underwater Dreams. This award winner was named as one of Best Family Movies of 2014 by Common Sense Media! Maybe the coolest part is that 50% of proceeds go to Carl Hayden Robotics team and TheDream.US . You may be asking yourself, I thought this was a blog about space exploration, so what does an underwater robotics competition have to do with that? Well, NASA is one of sponsors for the MATE (Marine Advanced Technology Education) competition. The competition is also all about ROVs (remotely operated vehicles). Think Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity, and I'm just talking about the characteristics, I'm talking about Mars. Robotics also involves STEAM principles and definitely is a hands-on application of science process standards and mathematics practices. It also requires teamwork and problem solving skills. In the 1950's it seemed impossible that a man could land on the moon. Likewise, In 2004, it seemed impossible that four kids who lived in the desert would excel in a national underwater robotics competition. What's awesome about MATE is every year's competition involves a back story. So, the competition is tied to a story, talk about an awesome language arts connection. Writing and reading become a lot easier when it's about something that you're interested in! I wanted to share this awesome story to hopefully inspire some of you to check it out and share it with your students. If your school already has a robotics team, here's a real-world connection. If not, maybe it's something worth looking into and learning more about.
Be on the lookout for more book suggestions and resources as that is what I plan to focus on in the blog this summer. Peace, Love and Space Exploration, - CAPCOM Conrad |
AuthorApollo 13 fan. Educator. Lifelong Learner. Third generation Boilermaker. Space Exploration Enthusiast. Collaborator. Click Subscribe to stay updated!Archives
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