ImagineITPhase3

ActionPlan

DesiredResults:
FormyImagineIT,Iwanttoseewhathappenswhenhighschoolstudentsbehaveas
engineers.Whentheyhaveafocusonmakingthebestproductdespitethefailuresthatarenot
justinevitablebutnecessarytodesigningasuccessfulsolution.Theideaofmyprojectisthat
failuretransfersintosuccess.Aconceptthatiseasytoknowbutdifficulttounderstand.Thus,
mydesiredresultsalldealwithhowstudentsacknowledge,addressandbuilduponfailure.
Theseresultswillbethebasisformyrubricthroughouttheschoolyear.Therubricwillnotonly
beusedtoconductformativeassessmentbutalsoprovidefeedbacktostudentsontheir
metacognitive,reflectiveandsometimesproactiveaddressingoffailure.Howdotheybuildina
acknowledgmentthatfailurewillhappen?Howdotheyreflectonit?Howwilltheydealwithit?
Ihavebrokendownmygoalresultsintothreecomponentssharedbelow.

Result1CollaborativeFailure
Engineeringisacollaborativeaffair.Onlyinagroupcanengineerstrulysucceed.A
teamsuccessisaneasythingtoembracehowever,afailurewithinagroupsettingistypically
linkedtoembarrassmentorshame.Thisofcourseistheoppositeofhowaprofessional
engineeringwouldviewfailure.
Failuretransfersintosuccess.Wesometimeslabelfailuresasshortcomingsor
limitations.Nomatteritsname,thebottomlineisthatfailuresmotivateinnovation,themost
basicformofcollaborationstartingwiththeinventor(s)leadingtotheinnovator(s).Bymaking
thiscollaborationearlierandmoreintentional,productswillbeproducedatahigherinitially
qualitydrivingsuccessfurther.Collaborativefailurealsoincludestheconceptthattheteamis
greaterthanthesumofitsparts.

Results2Persistence

Themythisthatfailureislosing.Thetruthisthatthemostsuccessfulpeoplearethe
onesthatfailedthemost.MichaelPhelpsdidnotmedalinhisfirstolympicsandthatisapartof
hisstory,partofwhatmotivatedhimtowork.Anyonethatlinksfailuretogrowthisaperson
posedforsucceed.Grit,agrowthmindset,persistent,lifelonglearnertherearemanynames
forthebehaviorsthatpeoplehavewhentheylearnfromfailure.Nowthetrickisteachingthis
skilltostudents.

Results3ContentDevelopment
StudentssaythingslikeIwishIhadhisbrainbutrarelyacknowledgethemisstepstheir
studenticonsexperiencewhiledevelopingknowledge.Theteachersblindspotoccasionally
reinforcestheideathatknowledgeandskillscomenaturally.Thisisnotcorrect.Human
knowledgeistentative.Recognizingourweaknessesinunderstandingmakesuslearnfaster
andmoredeeply.Imagineifstudentscouldappreciatehowgoodquestionsexpose
misconceptionsanddemonstratehowknowledgeisgainedthroughstruggleandnotinherited
bysmartpeople.

Toteachembracingfailure,Ibelievethemethodsofteachingaremodeling,developing
processes/strategiesandconstant,explicitfeedback.Themodelingservestoaddressthe
emotionalcomponentofembracingfailurebycreatingasafespace.Processesandstrategies
givescriptedactionstohelpstudentspersist.Feedbackservesasawaytoguidestudentsto
addresstheirareasofweakness.Studentscanprovideevidenceoflearningtheseoutcomes
throughselfreflectivesurveys,reflectiveblogging,peerevaluations,andsimplyfailure
recognitionbeingarequirementofprojectsubmissions.Perhapsbycelebratingand
acknowledgingeventhesmallestofcoursecorrections,studentswilllearntoappreciatethe
poweroffailuretoleadintosuccess.

AcceptableEvidence:
ThePrinciplesofEngineeringclassisaperformancebasedclasswithoneproductor
performanceprojectperunit.Additionally,eachunitincludessmallerlearningexperiences
moreakintoassignmentsofatraditionalclassroom.Ibelievebyusingtheprojectsasformative
assessmentsandaddingsurveysrequiringacknowledgementoffailureswillallowmetocollect
evidenceofunderstandingandprovideappropriatefeedback.Theevidenceneedstobe
calibratedappropriatelyopeningtheneedforarubric.

RubricforProducts/Performances:
Inordertocollectevaluativedataandprovidefeedbacktostudentsontheirabilityto
addressfailureduringunitprojects,thefollowingrubriccategorieswillbeused.

Performance1Collaboration
Studentswillusecollaborationinordertoidentify,proactivelypredictandreactively
solvefailures.

NeedsImprovement:
Individual(s)intheteamtrytominimizetheexposuretofailuresinordertoavoidfeeling
embarrassed.Failuresarerarelydiscussedandwhentheyarementionedtheydonotleadto
meaningfulchanges.

Developing:
Individual(s)intheteamseemreservedandstruggletosharefailuresinhonestand
respectiveways.Individualsresponddefensivelytocriticismandfeelthataddressingfailureis
uncomfortable.Teamfollowstheleadofone/fewmemberswithothersfillinginastechnicians
insteadofengineers.

Experienced:
Individualsoftheteamspeakuptopointoutfailuresorstatepredictablefailuresor
shortcomingsinrespectfulways.Individualsembracecriticismasnecessaryforimprovement
andacknowledgementofanideaworthbuildingon.Teamdiscussesandcombinesideasfrom
everyteammateinordertoaddresssolutions.

Performance2Persistence
Studentswillacknowledgethestrugglesthattheyexperienceandidentifywaysthey
regainedforwardmomentumtowardscompletingtheproject/performance.

NeedsImprovement:
Studentscriticizetheirproject/performancebuttakelittleownershipoftheissuesand
cannotexplainwhyissueswerenotaddressedearlierintheprocess.Itappearsthatstudents
emotionsinterferewithsuccessinsteadofmotivatingimprovement.

Developing:
Studentscanidentifyareasofdeficiencyandmomentsofadversefeelingshowever,
theyexplanationsarevagueandsuperficial.Studentscanmentiondifferentattemptsof
addressingthetheirdifficultiesbutdonotappeartohaveastandardapproachthatcouldbe
replicated.

Experienced:
Studentscanexplainthemisconceptionsandnegativefeelingstheyfeltthroughout
completingtheirproject/performance.Theycanalsoexplainthestepsthatweretakeninorder
toaddresstheseconceptualgapsandemotionalfeelingssuchthatthefailurestransformedinto
successfulcompletionofprojects/performances.

Performance3KnowledgeDevelopment
Studentsunderstandthatconceptsaredevelopedandtheycanexplainthevarious
misconceptionstheyhadthroughouttheirlearning.

NeedsImprovement:
Studentsstillbeliefthatmisconceptionsaresignsoflimitedintelligenceanddonot
believetheirmisconceptionscanbeleveragedtowardacceptedknowledge.

Developing:
Studentscanstatepreviousbelief(s)andproperexplanationsofcontentbutcannot
tracktheirlearningorexplainhowtheydevelopedproperexplanations.

Experienced:
Studentcanbystatequestionsorprovidenonintuitiveexamplesofknowledgethat
addresstheirmisconceptionsaswellasprovideproperexplanationsbasedontheirrevised
knowledge.

AdditionalEvidence:
Whiletherubricwillserveasthemainformofmonitoringandfeedback,theother
activitieswillinvolvereflectivequestionsandsurveys.

LearningExperiences:
Context:
ThePrinciplesofEngineeringisthesecondyearofafouryearseriesofelectivecourses
followingtheProjectLeadtheWaypreengineeringcurriculum.Aspartofthisseriesof
courses,studentshavebeenexposedtotheDesignProcessduringthefirstyearassuchthe
secondyearfocusesmuchmoreoncontentfromthemajorengineeringfieldsasanexposureto
moretraditionalengineeringcontent.Ifeelwellthiscontentandtechnicalskillfocusedclassis
extremelyadventatoustothestudentsitfailstopreparethem,atleastfailstoexplicitlyprepare
them,forthesocialemotionalsideofbecominganengineer.Skillssuchasteamcollaboration,
persistenceandlearningfromfailure/innovation.Theseskillsareparticularlyimportantfor
studentsintheirsophomoreandjunioryearswhentheyarecompletingtheirprepworkfor
collegeadmission.

VonSteubenislocatedinahistoricallandmarkwhichmakestheProjectLeadtheWay
roomaninterestingmixoftraditionalbuiltinclosetsincontrastwithamodernlaptopcart,
projectorandopencollaborativetables.Theroomhasalsobeenequipmentedwithstorage
cabinetstohelpmanagethelargeamountofroboticsequipmentthatPrinciplesofEngineering
requiresaswellasspaceforthesawsanddrillpressusedduringbridgebuilding.

Content:
ThemaingoalofmyImagineITistoteachstudentsagrowthmindsetinwhichfailureis
whatisneededtosucceed.However,thisskillwillteachstudentshowtobehavelikeengineers
butthetechnicalskillsandprovidingstudentswithadetailedoverviewofvariousengineering
fieldsthatpreparethemforintroductorycollegecoursesisthedrivingforceofthiscourse.The
bulletedpointlistbelowprovidesabriefoverviewofthemajorcontentgoalsforeachunit.Keep
inmindthatforeachunitthelessonoffailureleadstosuccesswillbeembedded.
Unit1.1EnergyandPowerMechanics:Herethegoalsareforstudentstolearnthesix
simplemachines,geartrainsandthemathematicalmodelingusedtocalculatethe
mechanicaladvantages/gearratios.Thisunitendswithadesignchallengeofbuildinga
RubeGoldbergdevice.
Unit1.2EnergyandPowerEnergySourcesandApplications:Herethegoalsarefor
studentstounderstandtherelationshipbetweenmotorsandgenerators.This
knowledgeisthenusedtohavestudentsdesignamodelcityinwhichcertainenergy
demandsneedtobemeet.
Unit2MaterialsandStatics:Herethegoalistoteachstudentscomplexmathematical
modelinganditsapplicationintruss/bridgedesign.Thisunitendswithstudents
designingandplanningtheirownsixfootbridge.
Unit3ControlSystems:Thisunitfocusesontheconstructionandprogramingofrobotic
devices.Thisunithastwomajordesignchallenges.Thefirstisthedevelopmentofa
complexmachinesuchasanelevatororslotmachine.Thesecondprojectisamarble
sorterwherestudentsmustbuildadevicethatsortsmarblesbasedonmaterial
properties.
Unit4RoboticsDay:Thelastunitoftheyearisdesignedasaservicelearningproject
wherestudentsneedtodesign,hostandrunaroboticseventforalocalelementary
school.

Pedagogy:
ThepedagogyusedinmyPrinciplesofEngineeringclasshavebeenselectedtomimic
theexperiencesstudentswouldfindintheengineeringworkforcetoday.Thismeanstheclass
isprojectbasedstructuredinacollaborativeenvironment.Therearesomeactivitiesthat
requiredirectinstructionandguidedpracticemainlytheproportionsofthecoursethatare
mathematicallyheavy/focused.Theentirecourseisalsocenteredaroundserviceprojectsor
projectsthattiebacktosociety.

Technology:
TheapproachtotechnologyinmyPrinciplesofEngineeringclassistousethe
technologythatengineeringmajorswoulduseincollegeclassrooms.Thismeansthat
technologyisconstantlybeingswitchedoutandconstantlyvariesinsophistication.Sinceeach
unitchangesthetechnologydemand,thelistbelowsummarizesthetechnologythatwillbe
usedunitbyunit.Itshouldbenotedthatwheneverpossiblestudentsperformcalculationsto
defendtheirdesigns,verifycalculationsusingacomputermodel,verifydesignthrougha
prototypeandthentesttheirdesignthroughprototyping.
Unit1.1EnergyandPowerMechanics:VEXroboticsequipmentwithouttheelectronics
(e.g.metalstructurecomponents,gears,axles,etc.).Paper,pencilandcalculatorsfor
determiningmechanicaladvantage.
Unit1.2EnergyandPowerEnergySourcesandApplications:ThesameVEXplatform
willbeusedbutnotasolderlessbreadboard,LEDlightsandmotorswillbeadded.
Unit2MaterialsandStatics:Chalkboard,paper,pencil,andcalculatorwillbeusedfor
themajorityofthecalculationsfollowedbycomputersimulations,cellphonesforfilming
prototype,saws,woodglueandbutcherblockpaperforconstructingbridges.
Unit3ControlSystems:TheVEXplatformisbroughtbackinalongwithallelectronics
componentsandcomputersusingRobotClanguage.
Unit4RoboticsDay:Googledriveisusedforconstructinggameideas,rules,agenda
andotherplanning.VEXandRobotCaretheroboticsequipmentused.