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SLED TEACHER REFLECTION HUB SUBMISSION
Teacher Name: Aaron Hamilton
School: Wyandotte
Grade: 4th
Design Task: Canal
Date: 12/5/2014
PART I:
Day
Overview of your SLED lesson(s):
2,3
Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic Rocks
(sedimentary PB&J sandwich lab)
What do you think your
students learned each day
Difference between rocks &
minerals
Difference between the 3 types
of rocks
4
Rock Cycle online resource
Rock cycle
5,6
Weathering, Erosion, Deposition background from
videos and textbook
Difference between these 3
process that act on rocks
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Clay vs Sand Particles: Inquiry 1
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Effects of Slope on Erosion of Sand: Inquiry 2
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Design task intro
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Individual Design
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Team Design
12
Folding the Canal and gather materials
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Glue materials on to canal
The difference in particles
affect erosion and review of sci
method
The steeper the slope, the more
erosion you will have, review of
sci method, and data collection
What task they would be taking
on. Review of design process
and vocab (goal, client, criteria,
constraints)
Review of sketching with size,
labels, neatness, detail
Work together and get a
materials list together
Used a ruler to measure on back
of sandpaper and get it folded in
trapezoidal shape
Consider placement of materials
to stop erosion and allow water
flow
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Brief description of lesson activities you enacted
each day over the course of the SLED design task
Rocks and Minerals Candy Lab
2
14
Test Canal
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Wrap-up and redesign. Students filled out teacher
created wrap-up, thinking about how their design
worked/didn’t work.
We went over actual methods for controlling erosion
Students then redesigned their canals and explained
their thinking
Look at variety of group
solutions and see which work
best by testing prototype
Reflection is important
A variety of methods exist for
controlling erosion, most
students connected this with
what they have seen in their
lives.
1. What worked well?
Students loved the introduction of the unit, starting with rocks and minerals. We felt students had
to understand a rock to understand how the process gets to erosion. Through labs, videos, and a
bit of reading we were able to introduce rock types and the rock cycle. State standards require an
understanding of both weathering and erosion. Through discussion, textbook reading, and videos
students were able to grasp the concept of weathering, erosion, and deposition. With their newfound knowledge of weathering, they were able to understand how sediment comes along in the
first place. Then, they were ready for the actual task of stopping that sediment from moving.
As far as what worked well with the design task itself…not a whole lot. This was the most
frustrating and time consuming task to get set up and use that we have faced yet. On top of that,
it only really reinforced erosion, but our standards require so much more. After hours of prep and
set-up, students did successfully apply their knowledge of erosion, and materials that would help
stop it, to build the canals. Through a lot of effort and time, testing the canals did work very well
and students got to see great results from their prototypes.
2. What are two ways you can improve your efforts toward integrating design?
To integrate design in general, I need to slow down a bit when first introducing the task. It took
several days to get background in on the topic, so I felt rushed to get the building of the task
started. Many students picked up the goal quickly, but struggled on what exactly their criteria
were. In the end, I realized some had no clue who the end user would be on this task. Allowing
myself more time to discuss student thinking would be helpful. Also, after viewing the post-test
results, students missed the most questions on the engineering design questions. I know that by
the time they have completed their tasks they WILL know these things, but at this time I need to
focus more on those concepts.
Another way I could improve my efforts on integrating design is to give students more resources
to reference when they have to determine criteria, constraints, and also continue on the
engineering design process. Last year we gave an engineering design visual, but students didn’t
seem to use it. This year we did not give this out, but students don’t have anything to reference
when asked a tough question. So, giving more support to students will definitely help them
understand the engineering design process in better detail. I feel students are getting the design
process, bits at a time, but to think of the design process in the big picture, I don’t believe many
are very solid on this. Through our next few tasks, I will be working to cement this knowledge.
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PART II:
Reflection#1 on student performance:
The top left image shows the team design of a student who did very well on the task. She
seemed to grasp what was going on very quickly and was able to explain why they used the parts
they used. Her ability to draw an accurate sketch of what the final prototype (top right image)
would like is a very good start.
Their prototype canal only allowed 2mm of sand through while allowing 85mm of water.
While these measurements are approximates, this group did seem to have the best water:sand
ratio.
After the task was complete, the student was able to explain why the canal worked (lower
left picture) and what each part did to help the canal… stop erosion!
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Reflection#2 on student performance:
This student started off with a rough, unorganized team design (left image). The picture
looks little like the final prototype result (right image). The group had a decent idea using the
screen and pipe cleaners, but they unfortunately did not catch all of the sand and the sand that
piled up soaked up extra water, stopping it from flowing through. Without a final erosion control
method, the sand that made it over the pipe cleaners flowed into the graduated cylinder. The
water:sand ratio was higher in this group than most.
The student understood that her group did not fare so well, but with little reasoning as to
why the prototype did not work out. She attempted to explain the use of popsicle sticks and pipe
cleaners, but ended up just saying they clogged the water. So, ultimately, she did explain why it
did not work, but then failed to explain why the group used popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners to
begin with… erosion control!
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Side Note:
This group did not necessarily perform unsatisfactorily, but I wanted to point out that this group
attempted to put a screen “lid” on the canal. There was (technically) nothing in the
criteria/constraints about a lid so I let it go this year. The sand sat on top of the canal until the
water was poured, then the fine grains went right through. The “lid” eventually caved in as well.
They did have a good result of sand:water ratio, but this is not a realistic thing to do to an actual
canal!
PART III:
Reflection #3 What I enjoyed about this design task
Student engagement and their sense of accomplishment saved this task for me. Students
were very involved in their groups as they discussed their ideas, came up with a team design, and
rotated roles to attach materials to the sandpaper. Disagreements were few and far between on
this task as students calmly explained their own ideas and gave constructive feedback on their
teammates design ideas. They were able to efficiently come up with a team design and were
ready to build right away. Their patience helped as there had to be a very careful process to
getting materials, laying them out, gluing them down (very messy gorilla glue!), and waiting
over a weekend before testing.
In the end, results were pretty good across the board. Not much sand made it through for
groups and quite a bit of water was able to flow. Students had a great sense of accomplishment
as they watched the water fill the graduated cylinder.
Improvements will definitely be necessary for this task in the future. My biggest issue is
that it really only hits on the erosion side of things. The amount of set up and materials was a bit
much for just one standard in the unit. I will have to work on bringing in more aspects to the
tasks, but at this point I am not certain what that would be.
It is also a predicament because students are working on stopping erosion within the
canal. In reality, engineers would want to stop the sand before it makes it to the bed of the canal.
I know that these sorts of tasks have their limits, but I don’t want to paint the wrong picture for
anyone (perhaps I am the one over-thinking it).
In the end, I tried to communicate actual erosion control methods and have students
redesign using anything in the world… silt fences, stone walls, rock, and especially plants. Some
students grasped these new ideas (especially if they had prior knowledge of these), but some
student were still wanting to redesign with pipe cleaners and screen.
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After viewing results of the post-test, students struggled to understand a canal’s main
purpose, the variables for controlling erosion, stable material, and all of the engineering design
process questions. I felt these questions should have easily been answered based on what we
learned in class, but the combination of the design task goal and my teaching did not add up to
student understanding!