Two original STEM lessons:
So far I have come up with
one originial project idea. Our military
is going through a process called “Force Management”, basically the downsizing
of our military due to budget/funding.
One thing the base is currently looking at closing is at least one of
the golf courses on base. If I
understand correctly Moose Run has two courses, while Eagle Glen has one. If I assigned this problem the students would
look at the two different courses and determine which one should remain
open. They would need to look at how
much money is used to keep each golf course open and determine how much money
is actually made at each golf course. Then
the students would use their science and engineering skills to determine how to
use the golf course that is not being used.
The students will need to keep in mind the reason for closing one golf
course is due to budget cuts, so spending money on building something new is
not really an option. (A suggestion might
be turning it into a frisbee golf course).
The students could also develop surveys using technology to determine
how the base community wants to use the closed golf course.
Taken from: http://www.mooserungolfcourse.com/Directions.htm
Stem Project Idea Two:
Several times this past fall the road between the Fort
Richardson side of JBER and the Elmendorf side of JBER has been closed due to
flooding from Ship Creek. Your job is to
research what has been done in the past to prevent flooding in this area and
work with local scientists and engineers to develop a new or improved method to
prevent flooding in this area. Or, if
through research you determine you are unable to prevent flooding, what can be
done to lessen the flooding once it occurs?
STEM Ideas I would like to learn more about:
I know we have a mix of grade levels represented by our
teachers, but I think it would be great if you could spend some time on K-3
STEM lessons. It seems that the focus of
both of my grad classes this semester are on 5th-12th
grade, which is great because I certainly need help with those grade
levels. Still, I would love to see more
examples of STEM used in the primary grades.
General comments from class:
I enjoyed class. I
like doing conversions. When I do math,
especially more difficult problems, I find it easier to solve it first and then
explain it. I don’t always feel like I
do a good job working collaboratively when I solve problems this way. I prefer to have time alone to work a problem
and then work as a group. I like to “grapple”
with it on my own first. Even when I help
my daughter with algebra I will solve the problem first and then we will
discuss it. A week or so ago, she asked
for help. She said, “Just solve it so I
can see how you do it to figure out what I did wrong.” I guess we think alike. I like the design for our class so far. I appreciate that we get bits and pieces from
each component of STEM.
Fantastic STEM project ideas. Many students have expressed an interest in lessons geared for younger students, we will try to address this specifically.
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ReplyDeleteI like STEM project 2 quite a bit!
ReplyDeleteSTEM project 1 is cool too, and allows your students to use their creativity to build something. You could present it something like this: this particular golf course currently needs $x per year to operate. The powers that be want to convert a part of the golf course into a playground for kids. They are willing to provide $y dollars to the project. Each block you use will cost you $z dollars. How would you build it? Add on rules and such to guide the outcome somewhat, such as you have to build paths to each part of the park, provide a fence (which costs money, so using a square maximizes area!), etc. I can show some methods for teachers to account for the number and types of blocks used within a region in Minecraft, which makes it a lot easier.