Problem Based Learning Context

Students learn best when they can see the relevance of what they are learning to their lives now – not someday. Each new unit of study will have community based sustainability issue and/or engineering problem to solve. Learning of the content will come through the questions that arise as we are trying to solve the problems. Then, we will apply what we learn to make a measurable impact on the community.

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Curriculum

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) require a different method of teaching than the traditional ways. We will be using a curriculum that is standards based, problem driven and question focused. Students will learn through experience and discovery, rather than lecture and note taking. Students will be asking questions and defining problems; carrying out investigations; developing and using models; constructing explanations and designing solutions; obtaining, analyzing and interpreting data, obtaining, communicating ideas, engaging in argument from evidence, critiquing and evaluating as well as collaborating and sharing.

 

Standards

At the beginning of each unit of study, students will be provided with 3 to 5 standards based performance learning targets written in a student friendly “I can…” language. This “I can…” language helps students understand what they need to be able to do by the end of the unit. Student’s growth in confidence will be monitored throughout the unit of study, so that when the test comes, their confidence will        be high. 

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Energy, Forces and Motion

1. I can describe the factors that influence potential and kinetic energy (Lesson 5)

2. I can determine how forces and energy affect changes in motion (Lessons 2, 4, 6, 7) 

3. I can explain the factors that influence non-contact forces (Lesson 3)

 

Electricity, Waves and Information Transfer

1. I can explain how energy transfers and transforms in electrical systems (Lessons 1-4)

2. I can use models to describe the relationships in wave properties (Chapter 5)

3. I can use models to describe what happens to waves when they interact with matter (Lessons 6)

4. I can explain how electricity and waves are used to encode, store and communicate information (Lesson 7-8)

 

Matter and it interactions

1. I describe and differentiate substances using properties (Lessons 1-4)

2. I can use models to describe the composition of matter (Lesson 5)

3. I can evaluate and model interactions of matter to determine if a reaction has occurred (Lessons 6-10)

4. I can evaluate the use of chemical knowledge to make substances with desired properties (Lesson 11)

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Scientific and Engineering Practices

Students will learn the content the same ways scientists learn -  by actually using scientific practices. There will be few, if any, long lectures, but rather there will be questions to answer and we will constantly design experiments and analyze the data to answer those questions. We will also learn the processes engineers use to solve problems, by actually solving problems. By the time the year is over, students will be able to confidently say:

 

Scientific Practices

• I can to ask a question and form a hypothesis

• I can design an experiment

• I can collect and analyze data from the experiment

• I can draw conclusions based experimental data

• I can write an explanation to show what I know

 

Engineering Practices

• I can define a problem

• I can evaluate competing design solutions and choose the best one

• I can optimize my design

 

You may view a breakdown and description of these “I can…” statements, as well as the students individual data that shows the progress towards mastering them anytime, by looking in the student notebook.​

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