What strategies do you see Ann using to make sure her students understand what is involved in the challenge?
Ann uses modeling and well as student questioning to help students visualize the design challenge.
Ann encourages several students to "feel the load" by holding the plastic bag that will represent the potatoes that will be lifted by the factory subsystem (0:30).
Ann models the load moving across the floor and up to the desk top so students can visualize the path (1:10).
Ann has her students review what they are going to do first, second, and third as they attempt to design a solution (1:23).
What does Ann do to reinforce the idea that engineering challenge can have multiple solutions?
Ann makes several comments that indicate that she values creativity and is inspired by the variety of solutions that students come up with for the challenge.
By assigning a different simple machine card to each group, she establishes that there are many different elements that can be part of the final subsystem design. (6:15).
Ann listens as two students explain their plan involving a wheel and axle, a single pulley and an inclined plane. Later, when a girl at the same table describes her idea of using an elevator, she says, "Good idea, I like that too." (11:16)
Ann acknowledges the unique ways that one group had used rulers during the challenge. She says, "I didn't see anyone else do that. What did you guys do with the rulers? (14:04).
What evidence do you see that Ann's students have prior knowledge of the EDP and know how to apply it to design challenges?
Ann's students easily name the EDP steps they will be using and provide details about what they will do for each step.
When Ann asks her students about "the first thing we have to do", Charise does more than just name the first EDP step. She applies her knowledge to the context when she responds, "We have to ask about what kind of simple machines we're going to use." (1:21).
After a student mentions the Imagine step, Ann pushes them further by asking, "What are we going to imagine?" A student expands by as saying, "The simple machines we are going to use and how we think they are going to work." (1:36)
When discussing what is involved in making a Plan, Ann's students mention many things they have discussed, such as listing materials, using aerial view drawings, and including labels (2:22).
Students test simple machines to see how they make work easier. Then they use their knowledge to design a simple machine subsystem for a potato chip factory.
