Teacher Name: Tyler Laufman
School: Burnett Creek Elementary School
Grades: 5
Design Task: Yucky Water!
Date: 9-4-15
PART I: Overview of your SLED lesson(s):
Day
Brief description of lesson activities you
enacted each day over the course of the
SLED design task
Read Dr. Xargle’s Earthlets to the students to
introduce the concepts of observations and
inferences
Students sorted observation and inference
cards and using the Frayer Model form, then
they gave their own definitions and examples
of inferences.
What do you think your students
learned each day
3
Students observed 5 mystery containers and
recorded the sounds, whether or not they
were magnetic, and the mass. They made an
inference as to what the objects were inside
the containers.
Using their senses to make
observations, the idea that sometimes
our guesses are incorrect so we have to
conduct new tests
4
Read Seven Blind Mice
5
UV bead observations
6
Students learn the following vocabulary: UV
light, SPF, chemical reaction, prototype,
device, indirect vs direct light, transparent,
translucent, opaque
Explain the Engineering Design Process
Teams work together to design a sensor based
on their scenario.
Students make inferences based on the
details in the book
Observations of UV light and how
sunscreen, sunglasses, and different
types of clot affect the UV beads
Students understand the science behind
the UV beads and the different
materials
1
2
7
8
9
3 states of matter sort – groups work together
to sort objects into groups (3 states of matter)
Difference between observations and
inferences
Difference between observations and
inferences with an emphasis on
inferences
EDP
EDP and teamwork
The 3 states of matter and their
properties
10
Explore mass – students find the mass of an
assortment of objects
11
Weight – students find the weights of the
objects from the previous day
14
YouTube videos that sing about weight vs
mass
Volume – find the volume of different objects
Conservation of mass – “It’s in the Bag”
activity – students find the mass of individual
Legos or unifix cubes and then the mas of the
whole
Introduce the “Yucky water” Task
15
Construct the prototype and test it
16
Explain/discuss results as a class
17
Find the mass of the filtered water: then
freeze it and measure the mass
Then allow it to thaw and find the mass
Boil the water and see the evaporation
Root beer floats and test day
12
13
18
What is mass and how to measure and
label mass
The tools used to find the mass of an
object
Students define weight and understand
the difference between weight (amount
of pull from gravity) and mass
(amount of material in the object)
Volume and how to measure it
Conservation of mass with matter
Students will use the engineering
design process model to create a filter
to clean the yucky water staying within
the parameters of the guidelines
Understand how different materials
truly filter
To learn more about the design
process, learn from others’ designs
How changing the state of matter
affects the mass
Share what they know/understand
about matter
See and eat the 3 states of matte
Please answer the questions below:
1. What worked well?
Students took a while to understand and embrace the design process. The student creations,
prototypes/trials, and analysis of failed attempts worked incredibly well. While it seems strange
and counter-productive to focus on plans and designs that did not succeed, it required students to
look at their work with the lens of a scientist. Students had to figure out WHY their plans were
as effective, and go about fixing these designs. This process was relatively foreign to them, but
once they understood that they needed to become problem solvers, they began to really get into
the unit. This entire process of planning/testing/analysis worked well once students got the hang
of the tasks at hand.
2. What are two ways you can improve your efforts toward integrating design?
-I can allow additional opportunities for students to design and test prototypes within the
classroom setting.
-Students could study and analyze inventions/prototypes in cross-curricular studies. (Example:
Social Studies is a large chunk of the fifth grade curriculum, and we focus on the history of the
United States as well as the European explorers who “founded” North America. Students could
do a cross-curricular examination on different types of European ships and determine which was
fastest, sturdiest, etc. and how they could potentially improve each design.)
PART II:
Reflection#1 on student performance:
Include an image of work from one student who you thought performed well on the task. Insert
the image here within the Word document. This image may be a copy of the student’s notebook
entry(s) or an image of the team’s artifact or an actual picture of the student at work.
In the space below describe what the image(s) is about and why you would explain or
characterize the student’s performance as mastery or excellent.
These two groups’ designs worked fairly well. They were able to filter out the large parts of the
“yucky” water and to retain a reasonable amount of water. Their time was within a range
comparable to other teams. Both groups spent a considerable amount of time applying their prior
knowledge, as well as what they had learned throughout the unit, when choosing their materials.
They learned, throughout the process, which materials were the best types of filters.
Reflection#2 on student performance:
Include an image of work from one student who you thought did not perform as well
(unsatisfactory) on the task. Insert the image here within the Word document. This image may
be a copy of the student’s notebook entry(s) or an image of the team’s artifact or an actual
picture of the student at work.
In the space below describe what the image is about and why you would explain or
characterize the student’s performance as unsatisfactory.
This group tried to use cotton balls, screens, and gravel for the top of the filter. Their water did
not filter very quickly, nor did a large quantity of water filter. Their redesign consisted of
removing the cotton balls and most of the gravel.
PART III: Reflection Questions: Please answer each of the questions below.
1. Based on your students’ presentation of their work, what features made a good design?
Students who exhibited good cooperation skills and understood that certain materials would
be better filters than other substances typically had better designs. One design sequence that
was consistent in my class was the combination of a screen for larger pollutants and sand for
smaller pollutants.
2. What features made a poor design?
Students who rushed through the process had poor results. Even after instructions were given
and subsequently repeated, some students didn’t realize that they could use more than one
material. When this was pointed out to them, they were able to produce better products and yield
better results. However, some groups would still go to the extreme with one specific material; I
had one group still use cotton balls almost exclusively. Another group put a lot of filtration
supplies in the middle, then poured their dirty water down the side of the container (and miss the
filter entirely).
3. Which phases of the engineering design process do you feel most comfortable and confident in
teaching?
I feel very comfortable in presenting the design process to the students. Providing the supplies
for students, analyzing the problem, and encouraging them to try different things is truly a fun
thing to be a part of.
4. Which phases of the engineering design process do you feel least comfortable and confident in
teaching?
While I am confident with explaining the design process, I am less comfortable with instilling
and conveying the importance of the design notebook. My students did each part of the process
within the notebook (individual designs and notes, redesigns and notes, group designs and notes),
but I don’t believe they truly understood WHY each of these steps was important.
5. What is one area in your implementation of the design tasks you want to improve upon in your
next implementation?
Again, the importance of the design notebook.
6. Do you feel you teach science differently now than you did years ago? If so, how are you
teaching science differently? What do you think caused you to change your practice? If not, why
do you think you have not changed?
I strongly feel that I teach science differently, for the better. While we would do experiments
and designs in the past, we now focus on, and emphasize, the PROCESS of creating a successful
design. Students feel that all mistakes are bad, and that simply is not the case when it comes to
science. Allotting more time for students to create, test, and redesign have been drastic changes
from last year, and I feel that students understand the process of being a scientist much more
thoroughly because of these changes.
7. Is there anything that causes you concern, that you are afraid of when you think about
changing your science teaching and implementing SLED design tasks? Are there things that keep
you from changing your teaching?
I’m not concerned or afraid of changing or implementing SLED design tasks in the future. I
support my students to become problem solvers in all facets of their lives, and SLED is a
planned, curriculum-based approach to that implementation. SLED is very much student-driven,
especially when it comes time to test their prototypes and designs, and I completely support
students analyzing problems, trying different things, and solving these problems with educated
responses.