EHPS Capstone 2023

An Interdisciplinary IB Unit: 

MYP4 Integrated Sciences & MYP4 Design Technology

Level: Grade 9 MYP4 Students

Subjects: MYP4 Integrated Sciences & MYP4 Design Technology interdisciplinary project

Topics: Water Pollution + Image Recognition/Machine Learning

Goals: Students will design a technology, integrating image recognition and machine learning, that can be utilized to separate plastics, nonrecyclable trash, and living organisms in order to reduce pollution in the Connecticut River.

Standards Addressed/Assessed: 

NGSS

• HS-ETS1-2 Engineering Design: Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.

• HS-ETS1-3 Engineering Design: Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.

• HS-ESS3-4: Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.

ISTE Student Standards

• 1.3.c: Students curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and methods to create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.

• 1.3.d: Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions.

• 1.4.a: Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts or solving authentic problems.

• 1.4.b: Students select and use digital tools to plan and manage a design process that considers design constraints and calculated risks.

• 1.4.c: Students develop, test and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.

• 1.7.c: Students contribute constructively to project teams, assuming various roles and responsibilities to work effectively toward a common goal.

• 1.7.d: Students explore local and global issues and use collaborative technologies to work with others to investigate solutions.

Artifacts: 

• Integrated Sciences Lesson Plan 1 introduces students to various approaches to plastics waste management in order to establish a baseline understanding of how plastics are treated in waste management and the effects of varied management approaches. This provides students with a science background in plastic management.

• Integrated Sciences Lesson Plan 2 develops students' ability to consider water pollution in order to explore the problem of pollution in the oceans with a focus on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This helps students contextualize the impact of pollution in water.

• Design Technology Lesson 1 teaches students about the practical use of the design process by using the example of Mr. Trash Wheel in the Baltimore Harbor. This gives students a real-world example of how the design process is used (in a non-AI autonomous machine) to problem-solve.

• Design Technology Lesson 2 discusses supervised and unsupervised machine learning and image recognition. This instructs students on the AI they are required to integrate into their design (fixing a problem with Mr. Trash Wheel).

• Assessment contains an example of a Google Teachable Machine focusing on differentiating organisms living in the Connecticut River, plastics, and other wastes. It demonstrates a model of what the students need to create.