Focus on the Teacher
Detailed description of content and learners:
Description of the driving question including a detailed explanation of how the driving question is ill-structured, authentic, meaningful, interdisciplinary, and appropriate:
Detailed description of how the driving question relates to the curriculum and specific examples of how you will keep the students focused on the question.
Given the nature of this project, many different mathematics content standards can be met. The complete list of the standards we have identified are linked on the Standards page.
Some of the most influential Geometry standards in this unit include:
Example: If students are investigating nanotechnology and its effects on the size of technological devices, they will be required to learn how to relate lengths, sides, perimeters, etc. to address this content standard.
Example: Nanotechnology affords the opportunity for students to deal with real work problems involving surface area to volume ratios that will be addressed in finding the volume and surface area of three-dimensional solids.
Example: While progressing towards an answer to the driving question and designing a device, the students will use their mathematical skills to model the real-life scenario in which the devices we are accustomed to are developed. They will be required to communicate their ideas and evaluate the ideas of their peers. To do this, they will likely use diagrams, graphs, or flowcharts to represent their thinking.
Keeping Students Focused on Driving Question:
This driving question allows students the opportunity to assert personal choice in the types of technology they choose to investigate. This aspect will be motivating for the students to choose items that correlate with their own passions. The driving question can also be posted in the classroom area and on each document the students are using throughout the unit to help ensure that it remains at the front of their minds. When they begin to stray from the driving question, the facilitator can redirect their attention back to the appropriate task by asking the students prompting questions such as:
- This unit is designed for a Geometry class containing approximately 30 freshmen to sophomore students. The students in this class represent a mix of social-economically diverse boys and girls in a suburban setting.
Description of the driving question including a detailed explanation of how the driving question is ill-structured, authentic, meaningful, interdisciplinary, and appropriate:
- Ill-Structured: This question uses many vague terms, such as “too small” and “next big thing” for the purpose of leaving it up to interpretation by the students. This will allow students to determine on their own what they feel “too small” means. For example, students may use it as the literal meaning of having a mobile device too small for practical use, or students may interpret it as an opportunity to explore any drawbacks to using small components within a device. The phrasing “next big thing” is incorporated because it will allow students the freedom to use their own individual passions to forge their vision of the next landmark technology.
- Authentic and Meaningful: This question links the students’ interests in the hottest technology and allows them to investigate their passion with an outcome that has the potential to impact the future. The students will make a sales pitch to a panel of potential investors for their “next big thing” which will provide a platform to impart meaning to their work.
- Interdisciplinary: This project incorporates key components of several different disciplines. While progressing through this project, students will encounter topics in nanotechnology. They will experience science principles and how material properties change at the nanoscale level. Students will also investigate marketing principles as related to product design. While working on this project, students will also have the opportunity to explore sampling and data collection. This provides a segue into the mathematics content.
- Appropriate: This unit is appropriate for the demographic of students selected, because it focuses on the related content standards while promoting a real context that is authentic for the students.
Detailed description of how the driving question relates to the curriculum and specific examples of how you will keep the students focused on the question.
Given the nature of this project, many different mathematics content standards can be met. The complete list of the standards we have identified are linked on the Standards page.
Some of the most influential Geometry standards in this unit include:
- G.QP.5: Quadrilaterals and Other Polygons
Example: If students are investigating nanotechnology and its effects on the size of technological devices, they will be required to learn how to relate lengths, sides, perimeters, etc. to address this content standard.
- G.TS.5: Three-Dimensional Solids
Example: Nanotechnology affords the opportunity for students to deal with real work problems involving surface area to volume ratios that will be addressed in finding the volume and surface area of three-dimensional solids.
- PS.4: Model with mathematics.
Example: While progressing towards an answer to the driving question and designing a device, the students will use their mathematical skills to model the real-life scenario in which the devices we are accustomed to are developed. They will be required to communicate their ideas and evaluate the ideas of their peers. To do this, they will likely use diagrams, graphs, or flowcharts to represent their thinking.
Keeping Students Focused on Driving Question:
This driving question allows students the opportunity to assert personal choice in the types of technology they choose to investigate. This aspect will be motivating for the students to choose items that correlate with their own passions. The driving question can also be posted in the classroom area and on each document the students are using throughout the unit to help ensure that it remains at the front of their minds. When they begin to stray from the driving question, the facilitator can redirect their attention back to the appropriate task by asking the students prompting questions such as:
- Have you considered how you will pitch your idea to the investors?
- How is nanotechnology interacting with the design you have created?
- What concerns do you expect the investors to have regarding your plan?