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Lessons Taught, Lessons Learned Vol. II
Principles of
Technology
by Brian Marsh
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District
I teach Earth Science and Physics in the FNSBSD
and have been in education for 27 years and I had never seen anything
like what I saw when I first watched students present projects
generated from the Principles of Technology program. It sold me on
the PT program. I had been used to the usual litany of student
complaints about science, such as: "It's boring," "I don't see why I
should have to take science, I'm not going to become a scientist,"
"Do we have to do this?" etc. I've been frustrated at not being able
to get more interest and participation in the classroom. Trying to
get the average student to use math in science had been all but
impossible for me. Getting students to reason things out and to be
able to understand a problem and to communicate it to others is also
equally difficult. PT seems to be the answer to these and other
related problems.
The message that seems to be coming through
loud and clear is that in order to address the national concerns
about the plight of science and math in the U.S., we must change our
curricula to incorporate a "Science and Technology" approach. At
present we are turning out science illiterates who are unable to
reason, solve problems, apply knowledge, or communicate what they do
know. We are finding fewer and fewer students going into science,
math or engineering at the college level. Already we get most of our
top scientists from foreign countries. This cannot continue if we as
a country expect to be a world leader in science and
technology.
One of the problems in changing a curriculum is
that it is not an easy task to write a new curriculum that will
accomplish what it is you want to do. Most teachers, including
myself, do not have the expertise or time to come up with a new
curriculum that has all the details necessary to insure the desired
outcome. Then on top of this how does one go about setting it up? The
thousand-and-one things that will enable the curriculum to work take
a long time to work out. I was grateful for this PT workshop as it
gave me a head start in solving these problems. Here is a
project-centered program that not only has most of the "bugs" worked
out of it but has proven itself in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and some
parts of Europe. Many of these thousand-and-one details have been
taken care of, but some still remain. The determination of what
equipment and materials to get, as well as what quantity of materials
and other budget factors are still a headache but unavoidable and
manageable.
PT is set up as an interdisciplinary approach
to science and technology. Students can take PT as either a science
or vocational education credit. The course itself consists of 14
modules or units (seven the first year and seven the second year).
Work, force, rate, resistance, energy, power, and force transformers
are the topics for the first year. Each unit in turn is to be
investigated from the perspective of four systems: mechanics, fluids,
electric and thermal properties. Each unit has a 10 to 12 minute
introductory film which is to be followed by student discussions and
questions. Each student has a workbook/text that gives background
material for each system. The students are to research their own
topic and hold class discussions; demonstrations clarify the
troublesome areas. This is followed by a math review which covers the
math needed for each system. There are plenty of practice problems
for them. After this students work in groups of four on the
experiment. Students must read and follow directions rather closely
and must use reasoning and problem solving skills in the experiment.
After running the experiment, students have data to record and use in
solving the problems at hand. From all this the student must finally
draw a conclusion.
Each system requires the student use verbal and
written communication, diagnosis, problem definition, problem
solving, influencing and organizing, and verbalizing attitudes,
perceptions and tentative learnings from the experience. They use
math as a means toward solving actual problems. The problems are
examples of actual problems a technician might face, so there is a
definite relevance for the student. This is a student-oriented
program where the teacher takes on a support role. Students do the
preparation, planning, gathering of information, and formulating
hypotheses. The teachers' role is to direct the activities, provide
materials and equipment, and to help students when they are really up
against a problem they cannot solve.
The reason I think PT is a good idea is because
it works! I've heard enough testimonials, read enough about it, and
seen results of this process-oriented curriculum to be convinced that
this is the way to reverse the failings of the current approach to
science and math.
A Sample PT Module
From the PT modules I have selected Module II
(Work and the Mechanical System) to illustrate an integrated unit.
Because PT is a process-oriented program it is able to integrate
content, process and experience. What this module/system sets out to
do is allow students to determine the work done by pulleys and
winches and the efficiency of each. After progressing through this
exercise, they will have had to obtain information about work,
efficiency, pulleys and winches from their environment
(communication); formulate and test hypotheses about pulleys and
winches and their ability to perform work (diagnosis); select and
describe some part of the experiment which is to be altered (problem
definition); plan action to solve the problem (commitment, risk
taking); carry out the action, enlisting the help and cooperation of
others (influencing and organizing); and verbalize attitudes,
perceptions and tentative learnings from experience (cognition and
generalization). With each module/system these are repeated so
students get better at doing each. Also students learn content
because each module/system is based upon a particular area. Each
succeeding module builds upon previous ones, so content is repeatedly
reviewed and used. There is a lot of reinforcement in the PT
program.
Work done by pulleys and winches and their
respective efficiencies is part of a typical physical science
program. This PT approach may differ but the content is much the
same. The neat thing about a process-oriented approach is that it
presents the material in the context of the real world where real
problems exist and real people solve them. Students learn that all
skills and knowledge cannot be thought of in isolation, but rather
they are all related. To solve a science and technology problem
requires reading, writing, verbal, math, reasoning, library, and
organizational skills. We're talking about integrating English, Math,
and Science/Technology. PT should not only give science and
technology a boost in school, but other subjects as well. Students
should see that the basic skills they learn in other classes have a
direct application in PT. I see PT as a sorely needed addition to any
secondary school's program of studies. It can enhance the basic
skills classes while addressing the myriad problems we face in
producing science-literate citizens.
The PT program comes with some of the resources
that are needed for implementation. The rest are specified, but the
teacher must either rely on what is on hand and make-do, or purchase
the needed equipment and supplies from vendors who have developed the
supplies especially for PT. With the program comes a teachers' guide
to all aspects of the program. I've seen it and it appears to be very
complete. A set of videos that introduces the course and each
module/system comes with the program. Workbooks/texts need to be
purchased, though I believe the teacher gets a copy of each. The
program is very process-oriented and a lot of equipment and materials
are needed. Teachers at North Pole High School now have a list of the
kinds of equipment and materials needed, as well as information on
how to determine how much is needed, how to reduce costs and where to
order materials. For the work module involving pulleys and winches,
you need a variety of pulleys, a support stand, strong string, hooked
weights, rulers, calipers, and a winch. The introductory video to
work/mechanical systems is shown to start the unit. The video depicts
a large crane, lifting and positioning large cargo containers on/off
ships at the Seattle docks. Questions are raised as to how this is
accomplished, what work is, how it is figured, etc.The operator of
the crane is interviewed. He describes what his job is and some of
the problems he must contend regarding what the crane can/ can't do.
The video is also motivational in thatreal jobs and people are shown
in an interesting way. It ends with a comic situation revolving
around work. The video is 10 to 12 minutes long.
A class discussion about the video's content
then follows. Questions are answered, new questions are raised, and
new samples of work are given. This is a time for getting the
students interested in and oriented toward mechanical work. This
activity takes the rest of the class period.
Students are assigned two to four pages of
introductory reading material in their workbook/text. Students are
selected at random in the next two days to orally answer questions on
the reading. These two days are used to make sure students understand
how work is defined, why we need to be concerned with work, how we
calculate work, what work units are, and other related topics. To
help the process, demonstrations/ experiments are performed. Except
for demonstrations and teachers acting as moderators and prompters
for class discussions, it is strictly a student-driven
activity.
The next two days are to be devoted to the
mathematics involved in determining work and efficiency. Practice
problems are given, and students help each other in solving them.
Since the U.S. is divided over the use of the metric or English
systems of measurement, we use both in PT. Students need to be
comfortable with each. By this time the students have already studied "force" and
are familiar with what it is and how it is measured and calculated. Students
will again work with force for reinforcement and
add new dimensions such as the distance the force has moved. Students
learn that a new unit emerges when we figure work (force times
distance). This is the newton meter or joule, or the foot pound in
the English system. Examples of how to determine the work done in a
pulley system and a winch system are also introduced. The concept of
efficiency in a mechanical system is introduced, along with
instructions for finding it. To ease the math burden, calculators are
encouraged.
Two to three days are then devoted to setting
up and performing the experiment. The student workbook has detailed
instructions similar to an instruction manual's. It is the students'
responsibility to be able to read and follow these instructions.
Students work in groups of four. They are bound to make mistakes.
When they do, they analyze the situation to determine what went wrong
and correct the error. The only help the instructor gives are
cautions, making students aware of any modifications to the basic
experiment that would make it easier or better, or getting students
started in the right direction if they come to a dead end and can't
seem to see their way out. Generally, though, it is the students
helping each other.
Before attempting an experiment, each student
must have a briefly written description of the experiment, including
its materials and methods. This assures that the student has at least
a cursory exposure and isn't completely in the dark on the day of the
experiment. Experience has shown that this is a must. No summary - No
experiment! This means that the students without a summary will have
to come in on their own time to make it up.
As the experiment progresses, measurements
remain important. Collecting data in a reliable way and recording it
in a useful format are emphasized in the workbook. So is obtaining
several readings for each measurement and averaging these
measurements to minimize errors.
Students then perform the calculations and make
group presentations to the class, fielding questions from the class.
Conclusions are drawn, papers are tidied up and submitted for teacher
evaluation. Actually the evaluation of the students' progress starts
when they are performing their experiment; their paper is only the
culmination of the evaluation. A traditional A, B, C, D or F grading
system is used with the students' performance and their paper
comprising half of their grade on this unit and half from a test at
the end of the module.
This example of a PT unit illustrates the many
ingredients that go into all the modules. In the end, students are
proficient not only in principles of science and technology but in
many other academic and social skills as well.
Foreword
Ray Barnhardt
Part I *
Rural School Ideals
"My
Goodness, People Come and Go So Quickly Around
Here"
Lance C. Blackwood
Parental Involvement
in a Cross-Cultural Environment
Monte Boston
Teachers and
Administrators for Rural Alaska
Claudia Caffee
The Mentor Teacher
Program
Judy Charles
Building
Networks
Helen Eckelman
Ideal Curriculum and
Teaching Approaches for a School in Rural
Alaska
Teresa McConnell
Some Observations
Concerning Excellent Rural Alaskan Schools
Bob Moore
The Ideal Rural
Alaska Village School
Samuel Moses
From Then To Now:
The Value of Experiential Learning
Clara Carol Potterville
The Ideal
School
Jane Seaton
Toward an Integrated,
Nonlinear, Community-Oriented Curriculum
Unit
Mary Short
A Letter from
Idealogak, Alaska
Timothy Stathis
Preparing
Rural Students for the Future
Michael Stockburger
The Ideal
Rural School
Dawn Weyiouanna
Alternative
Approaches to the High School Curriculum
Mark J. Zintek
Part II *
Rural Curriculum Ideas
"Masking" the
Curriculum
Irene Bowie
On Punks and
Culture
Louise J. Britton
Literature to Meet
the Needs of Rural Students
Debra Buchanan
Reaching the Gifted
Student Via the Regular Classroom
Patricia S. Caldwell
Early Childhood Special
Education in Rural Alaska
Colleen Chinn
Technically
Speaking
Wayne Day
Process Learning
Through the School Newspaper
Marilyn Harmon
Glacier Bay
History: A Unit in Cultural Education
David Jaynes
Principals of
Technology
Brian Marsh
Here's Looking
at You and Whole Language
Susan Nugent
Inside, Outside and
all-Around: Learning to Read and Write
Mary L. Olsen
Science Across
the Curriculum
Alice Porter
Here's Looking at
You 2000 Workshop
Cheryl Severns
School-Based
Enterprises
Gerald Sheehan
King Island
Christmas: A Language Arts Unit
Christine Pearsall Villano
Using Student-Produced
Dialogues
Michael A. Wilson
We-Search and
Curriculum Integration in the Community
Sally Young
Artist's
Credits
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