Cardboard Car Try #1

The Engineering students are learning about the importance of good documentation in their engineering notebooks.  To demonstrate this, each group was given a different set of instructions: 1) step by step instructions,  2) a photograph of the finished car, and 3) the purpose of the car.

Step by step instructions

Photograph

Purpose

Students found this to be extremely challenging because they did not have a complete set of instructions to build the car and a lot was left to one's own imagination.  Take a look at the results below.

Check back next week to see the completed cars after their receive a full set of instructions!!! 

AP Biology App

Students have all downloaded the AP Biology Test Prep App to not only prepare for their quizzes and tests in class, but for the AP Exam in May.

The app is helpful because it gives students a question of the day that can be on any random topic.  This not only develops familiarity with AP test questions, but tests their knowledge outside of the context of the class. It is easy to recall something you may have just learned in class, but by testing your knowledge randomly you are creating an enduring understanding of the subject!

An example question of the day.

Once answered, you get a full explanation of why your answer is correct or incorrect. 

The app also allows students to take diagnostic and practice tests, create flashcards, and separate their knowledge by concepts.

Other helpful portions of the app

By integrating a technological device that students use all of the time, science is made accessible and even fun! 

To download the App for yourself, search for AP Biology in the App store!

Virtual Microscope Lab

In Honors Biology students will be working extensively with microscopes in lab.  To get them started, they used technology to help them become more familiar with parts of the microscope and the steps to operate a microscope effectively.  To check out the activity for yourself,  click the link below!!

https://www.brainpop.com/games/virtuallabsusingthemicroscope/

S.T.E.M. components:

Science- Students are learning laboratory techniques

Technology- Utilizing a computer program to virtually use a microscope

Engineering- Discovering how the individual components make up the total product

Math- Calculating the magnification

Here students learn about the different lenses and how they change the magnification of a microscope. 

Students virtually move pieces of the microscope in order to perform the experiment. 

Students are introduced to the specimen they will be viewing. 

By looking at the parts of the microscope online, students can become more familiar with how it works. 

What is S.T.E.M?

S.T.E.M. is a word thrown around so frequently in education, but very few know the intention of having a "S.T.E.M" course in school.  Yes, most people know it stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, but what is puzzling is how these work together to better our education system.

On the surface level, S.T.E.M. may appear to some as a way to make hard science classes easier for those less science oriented by utilizing their hands to demonstrate their knowledge instead of traditional methods.  In actuality, S.T.E.M. is not a subject at all, but a teaching philosophy in which the teacher and students are committed to learning in an integrated way; not relying simply on one avenue to learn.

In the modern world, every single job is a multi-faceted system, in which an individual must be able to integrate different skills to perform their job effectively.  As a teacher, I am constantly juggling different hats on a daily basis, whether it is biologist, communicator, personal confidant, advisor, paper organizer, grade computer, and the list goes on and on.  None of these individual jobs mean much, unless they are integrated with one another.  Being a lover of biology doesn't necessarily matter to teaching unless I can also communicate my knowledge to individuals who are newcomers to the field.  Being able to organize students' assignments is useless if I cannot calculate grades. By providing courses that rely on the S.T.E.M. philosophy, we are preparing our students for a world where they must integrate skills to perform their jobs.

S.T.E.M. is a way to deepen the understanding of a topic by looking at it from different angles.  When studying something such as the circulatory system, you can learn the science behind it, but until you look at the nuances of its detailed engineering you cannot fully develop an appreciation for its intricacies.  Having students use engineering principles, they can build their own circulatory system out of household items to demonstrate the challenges our bodies face.  Through this approach students learn for themselves how difficult it is to move a liquid, such as our blood, against gravity, therefore requiring a system built around pumps to push it around.  Or that you'll need thicker materials to represent arteries than for veins to withstand high pressures coming from the main pump.  Not only do students know how the system functions, but also have a deeper understanding of how its structure determines its function through the use of engineering.

In my opinion, there are no set "S.T.E.M." classes, but simply every class that falls under this acronym can benefit from utilizing the other three letters.  The quadratic formula means nothing if not put into context of an engineering problem.  Science that cannot be seen with the naked eye, can be enhanced through technological advances.

S.T.E.M. is not simply a group of letters, but a way to prepare our students for their futures.