SLED TEACHER REFLECTION HUB SUBMISSION
There are three parts to this reflection submission. The first part requires a brief description of
your instructional activities over the course of a SLED design task. The second part includes
your reflection on a student (or team of students) who performed well and your reflection on a
student (or team of students) who performed unsatisfactorily. The last section includes your
response to a series of questions.
Save your file as: Reflection_YourName_YourSchool_YourGrade_Date
Example:
Reflection_Capobianco_Purdue_Grade4_11-15-2015
When uploading to the hub, use the title: Teacher Reflection: Your Name, Activity, Term
Example:
Teacher Reflection: Capobianco, Save the Wolf, Fall 2014
Teacher Name: Jessica Ferger
School: James Cole Elementary
Grade: 4th Grade
Design Task: Safer Roadways
Date: 08/21/2015
PART I:
Day
1
Overview of your SLED lesson(s):
Brief description of lesson activities you enacted
each day over the course of the SLED design task
Vocabulary PowerPoint-Students created a foldable
using each of the vocabulary words.
2
Students watched a variety of videos from the SLED
hub to learn types of roadways. Students also read
through the Design Task to have a purpose for
watching and learning.
3
Introduction and Background SLED lesson-Students
were shown various types of surfaces. A discussion
was held to begin learning how surfaces effect the
travel of vehicles.
What do you think your
students learned each day
Students learned a variety of
vocabulary words that were
pertinent to designing their
roadways and post assessments.
Students learned how
transportation vehicles are
stopped in emergency
situations. For example, a semitruck uses runaway ramps to
stop while in the mountains.
Vocabulary terms were
reinforced by SLED
PowerPoints about
transportation, vehicles, and
various land surfaces. We held
class discussions, answering the
questions posed in the lesson.
Students learned that different
4
5
6
surfaces affect how vehicles
travel, and how systems are
designed to stop vehicles for
various reasons.
Inquiry Activity: Motion on Different Surfaces:
Students learned how the
Students explored through inquiry how different
surfaces can change a vehicles
surfaces affect a vehicle’s ability to stop. They
direction and how far it will
recorded distance and whether the vehicle changed
travel. They learned the
direction in their SLED notebook.
materials they would have
available to create their own
safer roadway. Students also
learned how to measure to the
centimeter.
Students sketched and labeled their individual designs. Students learned how to work in
After being checked by a teacher, they were able to
teams and label using specific
form groups and create their team design. Students
details. Students also learned
had to be sure things were accurately labeled and
how to apply the supplies
identified.
provided to fit the various land
surfaces they explored earlier in
the unit.
Day 5 continued: Items had to be labeled before
Students learned how to think
sharing with others. Once items were labeled, students through what will slow the
could begin building their team design. If students
“car” (can) down as it rolls
finished building their safer roadway, they could test
down the hill. Force and
the design. If it failed they had the opportunity to
motion and how the surfaces
redesign, and retest.
effect the motion of an object.
7
Testing designs and reflect on what went well or what
may not have worked and give an explanation.
8
Reflection: after students wrote an individual
reflection, we held a community circle to reflect what
may have went well and may not have worked well.
The students also reflected on working with a team.
Students learned how to
redesign to fix the problems in
their current design. They
learned that certain materials
worked better than others.
Students learned how to have a
conversation to fix a problem.
This is not only a skill in SLED
but a life skill as well. They
learned how to listen to others’
ideas so that they too may use
them.
PART II:
Reflection#1 on student performance:
Include an image of work from one student (or one team of students) 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.
This student has all parts labeled in the design. The student was able to connect the type of
surface to the material provided. The drawing is properly labeled and provided good insight to
the thoughts that were provided in the build. I think the student did well labeling the “dome”
that he created in his design. I can picture what the dome would look like in his actual creation of
the drawing. This student described the terminology and how friction was created to stop the
“vehicle”, but did not use the terms. When asked to use the terminology correctly, the student
was able to show and tell about the parts and used the terminology.
Reflection#2 on student performance:
Include an image of work from one student (or one team of students) 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 student did not give strong enough labels with arrows to know where he was placing items.
He has “paper” and “tape” but did not tell how the paper will lay or show a strong enough
picture to allow me to imagine what the design would look like. I also do not know how he
would be using the tape. The design lacks how much of the material would be used. When I
asked the student to correctly label, he added the “slow zone and stop zones”.
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?
The students created small “balls” out of index cards, to mimic the marbles they had completed
the inquiry task with. This allowed for a slower stop.
2. What features made a poor design?
Students created tape “balls” that were ineffective. The large can rolled right over, with little
slowing. Students also created bumps, mimicking a speed hump, using index cards. If they did
not create thick enough ones, the cans didn’t slow or stop in the correct place.
3. Which phases of the engineering design process do you feel most comfortable and confident in
teaching?
I feel most comfortable with guiding students through the design process, inquiry tasks, and the
build.
4. Which phases of the engineering design process do you feel least comfortable and confident in
teaching?
The hardest part is making sure that I reinforce the science terminology and how it relates to the
design. I have missed many teachable moments. (What part of the test and design represents
friction, drag, force, etc.)
5. What is one area in your implementation of the design tasks you want to improve upon in your
next implementation?
I think I will have questions already planned that they will have to complete before we finish the
design task. For example, I will ask: What areas of your design task can help you explain force,
friction, and motion? Label where you show each of these on your design task using the color
red.
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 think SLED has changed my view of science. Students and I enjoy the hands on inquiries and
designs. There needs to be a balance of learned terminology as well. I think having students label
where they see various things in the design task will help reiterate the vocabulary to be learned.
Seeing the students’ reactions to “SLED” days made me change my practices. Most of my
students these past two years have enjoyed SLED designs. Their excitement makes me realize
that I needed to change and continue to implement SLED from here on and increasing from two
to at least three a year.
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 am excited to continue teaching using the SLED design tasks. I will continue to tweak lessons
so that I can be sure students are applying key science concepts to their learning. I look forward
to using more than just two designs as I continue to teach. The students enjoy them, and I look
forward to teaching them. I think time is the only factor that will get in the way of teaching
SLED the way I have the last two years. I will have a new teammate this next semester and
trying to teach her as well as her students could possibly be very difficult.