PBL Plan Reflection Questions

1.     What is an important and enduring concept that is fundamental to a subject you teach?

a.    Science

                                          i.    Engineering Design: Engineering design is a process of using science principles to make modifications in the world to meet human needs and aspirations.

2.     Why is this concept important?

a.    The importance of engineering design is to be able to make modifications in the world while minimizing the negative effects on the surrounding environments in addition to creating structures and that are both safe and efficient.

3.    Outside school, who cares about these topics? What is their relevance in different people’s lives and in different parts of the world?

a.    Engineering is a meaningful process to all communities around the world. Engineering allows for areas, people, and communities to be connected as well as providing a means for natural resources to be more readily available.

4.    What other subjects might be incorporated?

a.    Other subjects that may be incorporated with the science concept of engineering design are math, cost to build as one example, and language arts, the ability to communicate and comprehend information.

5.    How might you push pass rote learning into analysis, evaluation and creation?

a.    By providing a real world problem for students to research, analyze, and create a solution to. Then giving them the opportunity to put that plan into action.

6.    Imagine authentic ways students might engage in the project and the ways 21^st century skills might be addressed.

a.    I would like to develop and expand upon a project I have done in the past for this science content standard, which is having my students design, build, and test a bridge. 21^st century skills that might be addressed are: use of the internet to search different types of bridges around the world, using a wiki to post findings, and creating a smart notebook presentation to express their ideas and/or the steps in their design process.

7.    What aspects of these topics will interest your students?

a.    I think my students will be especially interested in the opportunity to build a model of a bridge as well as exploring our interactive smart notebook software.

8.    What learning dispositions should you cultivates and ask your students to pay attention to?

a.    I would like my students to pay attention to the scientific process and how it is applied to engineering design in addition to creating a structure that is safe and not damaging to the environment.