Applied science

The article describes a method to encourage students to apply the science they are learning to problem solving on a smaller scale using engineering practices. This sort of structure would ea... See More

The article describes a method to encourage students to apply the science they are learning to problem solving on a smaller scale using engineering practices. This sort of structure would easily be adaptable to the engineering standards for NGSS.

Design Brief: inquiry of an authentic problem

The authors describe and give examples of a "design brief;" an inquiry that is grounded in a scenario which students must answer. The use of a design brief will stimulate students to solve a... See More

The authors describe and give examples of a "design brief;" an inquiry that is grounded in a scenario which students must answer. The use of a design brief will stimulate students to solve an authentic problem, and will challenge them to construct a "fair test." The use of design briefs will reduce the time a typical open inquiry lesson may take, while focusing students on a particular content strand. The use of real-life scenarios will capture student interest.