Students individually identify key search terms used to find information and identify the resources for their challenge.
Students collaborate to summarize their research into a brief description of the challenge.
The objective for the Understand mode is to gain foundational knowledge on the challenge. Through initial research students make sense of the problem and learn what has been done related to the problem.
The teacher will introduce the students to a selection of short videos. Students will research the problem individually, then come together in a group to summarize their research to identify the relevance of the problem and the group’s initial definition of the problem.
The timeline for this activity is intended to be short, perhaps delivering a first prototype at the end of a week depending on class scheduling and experience with the programming environment.
Introduction (10 min budget)
For this exercise the students are tasked with developing an Android application to collect physics data using built-in sensors available in most modern smartphones. Ideally this would be done in coordination with the physics instructor, that would act as both a client seeking an additional tech solution for laboratory experiments and as a resource for access to existing lab procedures and lab experience. Alternately this project can be used more specifically to create an application to be used for data collection in subsequent engineering projects, such as using the accelerometer or GPS data for the wind powered car activity or other potential uses that might utilize other sensors such as the light or sound sensor.
Individual Primer (10 min budget)
Each student will write down the questions that they have about the assignment. They should also spend the last few minutes "ranking" their questions from most important to least important, perhaps using a simple numbering system.
Group Question Round-Table (15 min budget)
Students will break into their groups and come together to add their questions to the group brainstorm one at a time, clockwise in a circle, presenting their most important remaining question. The person to the current speaker's left acts as the recorder, adding the question to the group's brainstorm. Both positions, speaker and recorder, pass to the left at the end of each speaker's turn.
Assigning Questions (15 min budget)
Student groups will organize their questions into categories and then divide the work amongst the group members to be researched. Each member's questions to be researched should be prioritized and a maximum time budget allowed for each to make sure that they have time to research all of their questions.
Research (45 min budget)
Students will break out individually to research and answer their questions, also recording a source(s) for each of their answers. This step can be performed on paper or digitally based on the instructor's preferences, the important outcome is that they have something that can easily be shared with the group. For digital documentation it is suggested to use something like a Google Sheets document with three columns: Question, Answer, Source. If working digitally it may be useful for them to organize their work in separate tabs/worksheets of the same shared document so that collaboration and sharing beyond this point is easier.
Synthesize (10 min budget)
Student groups create a summary of their understanding of the project using the Review the Challenge Form as a guide/template.
Student Resources and Materials