Thoughts from Atlanta

Problem. Project. Product. These words are used interchangeably sometimes but mean very different things. Problem based learning is a whirlwind to learn. It focuses on solving a real world problem, relevant to students  Entrenched ideas and tools like pacing guides and textbooks are not completely discarded but definitely diminished. Connections to community are especially relevant in problem based learning, the first question asked while brainstorming topics is "what matters to our students?"

One of the groups I had the opportunity to work with had the broad topic of "cycles". We brainstormed how this could be applied in science, social studies and math. Civilizations can be described in cycles, governments and societies have risen and fallen with time. We found a tool published by Stanford that can give students a hands on approach to understanding transportation in the roman empire. http://orbis.stanford.edu/

We've also had the chance to see what common things make a STEM school work well. We hope to bring what we've learned here back to Tech High and continue the constant improvements at the school.

• Grade level common planning among cohorts of teachers seems to be crucial when converting a school to STEM.Giving teachers time to work together on projects and then the flexibility to implement them together is a great start to the collaborative atmosphere that problem based learning requires. The schools we worked with have an entire week during the summer to lay out the plans for next year
• Creating a cohesive atmosphere for students gives them another reason to be passionate about school. Teachers picked out themes, planned cross subject projects and aligned their problems with common core standards.
• Mixed grade level advisories are a great way to establish and maintain a sense of culture and identity in a school.

Problem Based Learning In Action

A simple electric generator that should cause the light bulb to turn on when the magnets are spun inside the copper coil. Note that the design process allows for, and usually requires multiple iterations of failure and modification before success is achieved.
Problem Based Learning in Action!
Energy has been a common theme for several teacher teams working at PAST these past two weeks.  The eighth grade team from Starling Middle School plan to explore how energy transformed.  The problem is to transform mechanical (kinetic) energy into electrical energy.  The students will research, design, and build a simple electric generator.  Personally, I have always wanted to do this, so I was very excited to help research examples of electric generators built in classrooms.  


Of course, just watching a video of someone building hand powered generator makes me want to build my own. So Elliot and I headed down to the hardware store after the workday was over and acquired all the items we planned to use.  We are unable to light up a flashlight bulb, yet, but we have ideas for why the generator is not working yet.  We will continue to work through the design process in Atlanta, where we have access to a few additional tools.  Please see the design process below for more details.

Problem: How can we generate electricity to turn on a light bulb?
Brainstorm:  Make a generator using magnets and copper coil.  Power the generator using a windmill, water wheel, steam engine, or human power.
Design a Solution:  Human power is abundant in classrooms, so we’ll use that. The design is based on previous work by Bill Beaty, please see this website for details.  An abbreviated procedure is outlined below.
1. Build a cardboard box open at opposite ends.  The box must be large enough that the magnets can freely rotate with it.  Use tape to hold the box together.
2. Poke a hole through opposite sides of the box and push the iron rod through the holes.
3. Wrap copper wire tightly around the box to create coils on both sides of the iron rod.
4. Connect the copper wire to the leads of the light bulb.  Wrap one end of the copper wire tightly around the leads using pliers.  Pinch the wire together to make the best possible contact between leads and wire.  Wrap each wire/lead combination in electrical tape.
5. Put the four magnets on the iron rod such that the magnets are orthogonal to the rod.
Build Your Solution: See above procedure.
Test/Evaluate Your Solution: The box of the assembled generator was held between the knees while the iron rod was spun as fast as possible.  No light was observed from the bulb, even in a dark room.
Modify Your Solution: The modifications listed below will be performed in Atlanta.

Possible Problem	Potential Solution
Not enough turns of copper wire.  The example from the internet used 200 turns, we only had 118.	Rebuild the generator using a longer strand of wire (not currently available at the hardware store).
Poor electrical contact between copper wire and light bulb leads.	Solder the wires together.
Magnets are not spinning fast enough, they slip off of the rod at high speed rotation.	Make cardboard spacers to hold the magnets parallel to each other. Use hot glue or crazy glue to adhere the magnets securely to the rod.
Not enough voltage or current is generated to power the light bulb.	Connect the generator to a multimeter and see if a measurable voltage or current is produced.

Share Your Solution:  We have already discussed this process with the eighth grade Starling team.  An important lesson in science and engineering is that just because someone else has already succeeded, the product may still be difficult to build (Please see this article on North Korea’s failed rocket launch).  The students should work through the design process, which usually included iterations of failure and modification.  Hopefully we will reproduce a working model to show as a backup should the students not be able to develop their own working generator.  

South Dakota Innovation Labs Summer PD 2012

It was our final professional development day with all of the wonderful teachers who came together to work on Problem Based Learning ideas at Platte-Geddes Elementary School.  We ended this week with the opportunity to see a variety of  PBL plans from educators representing Marty Indian School, Gregory, Platte-Geddes, Burke, Wessington Springs, Colome, Ethan, South Central, Whitelake, and Wolsey-Wessington.  I began the week sharing with everyone that I enjoy working with educators to brainstorm problems and ideas that our students can get into.  But, the end of the week is always inspiring for me!  We heard about teams that will work with their students to build a virtual museum, and others who will examine their own town through a lens of garbology, and even more who wanted to redevelop their community with the students as an active voice within the process.  I am always of course inspired by the folks that use the week to design a whole year's worth of PBL curriculum and the teachers who design their first quarter or semester with a grasp on how we align our standards through problems, projects, and products.  But, mostly I am inspired by the educators who wrestle with the process and come away with a deeper appreciation and understanding of our craft and how we must continually evolve to meet the needs of our students and the world they are entering into.  And, my favorite part is that this can and should look different, so in one place it looks like teachers and students building a better cow, and in another place its students with plastic baggies attached to themselves monitoring their individual production of waste, and in another place it looks like a a teacher and students redesigning  their classroom to represent Westward expansion creating model trains...and boats of course.  But, the end goal of all of that is the same isn't it?  To help raise a generation of critical thinkers that not only have a true sense of where they come from but also a whole "toolbox" of tools that help take them wherever the future leads.  A great, fun week with many many many thanks to Mary, Slim, Mari , Casey, Joel, Jill, Sam, Dr. Schopp, Dan and his team, and of course Donna (for the amazing meals!)!