Edutech 2017 - Deepen Observation & critical thinking. Shirley Casper - Senior Curriculum Officer, Science Curriculum and Assessment Standards

Science and Maths provide framework in order for technologies to be useful

STEM - about students thinking about things, exploring and making stuff

Concept of close observation - giving students time to really explore and observe something really closely, so able to formulate ideas around it

Kids are really quite fascinated by animals and it is hard for them to observe. Bees are really good to observe. Australian native bees don't sting and are good to observe - native beehives in schools

Exercise - watched Videos of bees - try and observe what bees are doing - imagine that 7 or 8 year old student - ask to try and design a bee. Look at the bee as having a partciular function - there are certain things that bees have as part of their design that enable it to carry out its role. What can it use in order to help it achieve that = design brief. What are the criteria that are going to tell you that you are successful in your project?
Try and slow down the children a bit - asking how are you going to know that it will work? It's not hit and miss - really important.
 

Design cycle

Cycle shape used, but probably should be the shape of a pin-ball machine, to be more accurate illustration of the process - bouncing from one step to another and back, etc
 
 
Fix it - modify and evaluate the design to address problms. Annotate the plan. Retest.
Ask it - ask questions to clrify the task. Research to gain a deeper understanding. Explore materials and test  effects.
Plan it - plan / design a solution using labelled diagram
Make it - build according to the plan
Test it - test the product against criteria (often the criterai will be given to them). Evaluate the prodcut / solution
 

Wotif?

example - using feathers. Asking children to describe feather - what might they do draw? describe?
What if you give them graph paper - how might this change the exercise?
What if you give them a microscope - how might this change the exercise / outcome?
How does this change how the child observes the design?




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