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  • The War Over Water Continues

    Journal Article |

    Debates over water allocation help students understand Earth systems.

  • Does It Have to Touch?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit beginning ideas about types of forces. The probe is designed to reveal whether students recognize that forces can act both in direct contact with an object and at a…

  • How Do Technologies Change?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about how technologies change. The probe is designed to see if students are aware of the way nearly all technologies change over time.

  • Block Diagrams

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about block diagrams. The probe is designed to examine how students interpret a block diagram, and to determine whether they recognize that technologies…

  • Pizza Problem

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about researching a problem. The probe is designed to determine the extent to which students are aware of the need to learn as much as possible about how…

  • Talking About Forces

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit beginning ideas about forces. The probe is designed to reveal whether students generally identify forces as pushes and pulls.

  • Coldest Winter Ever!

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about weather versus climate. The probe is designed to find out if students distinguish between a one-time weather-related change and a change in climate…

  • Is It a Technology?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about what is and what is not technology. The probe is designed to find out if students have a broad understanding of technology as defined in the…

  • What’s the Purpose of Technology?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the purpose of technology. The probe is designed to find out if students recognize that technologies are developed to meet human needs and preserve…

  • Technology, System, or Both?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about technological systems. The probe is designed to determine if students are able to envision how a system is made up of parts and can do something…

  • Who Needs It?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about who needs to be consulted when solving a problem (the client). The probe is designed to reveal the extent to which students recognize that the…

  • Is It an Engineering Problem?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about how to approach a problem. The probe is designed to gain insight into how students think about an engineering design process (EDP) and the kinds of…

  • Criteria and Constraints

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about criteria and constraints. The probe is designed to identify how students determine the criteria and constraints of a problem and whether one is…

  • Is It Affordable?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about trade-offs. The probe is designed to find out whether students recognize that trade-offs involve sacrificing one or more things in favor of another…

  • Picking the Best Solution

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to provide practice in using a decision matrix. The probe is designed to see if students are able to interpret a decision matrix and to help you determine difficulties they may…

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