The Finished Product
So what will our science students "look like" after this unit? Well, hopefully they will be able to do the following:
Unit Goal
To design hypermedia knowledge bases in which students represents their constructed knowledge on the history, the present, and the future of flight in terms of science, technology, and society.
Unit Objectives
Objective 1: Develop an understanding of historical developments of flight and to differentiate how flight is different today in terms of science, technology, and society.
Objective 2: Develop an understanding of principles and dynamics of flight and to apply principles and dynamics of flight in design and problem solving processes.
Objective 3: Develop an understanding of career choices in flight and to apply decision-making skills to be prepared for careers in flight.
Objective 4: Apply critical thinking and decision-making skills to speculate future of flight in terms of science, technology, and society.
Objective 5: Design, evaluate and critique the designed hypermedia bases.
Competencies
National Standards and Performance Indicators
The instructional activities included in this integrated unit plan address a wide range of national standards in technology, science, mathematics, social studies, history, language arts, visual arts, and physical education in an integrated manner. The national technology, curriculum, and content area standards and their performance indicators that are addressed in the unit as follows:
1. Technology Foundation
- Basic operations and concepts - Discuss common uses of technology in daily life and the advantages and disadvantages those uses provide.
- Technology productivity tools - Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, Web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom.
- Technology communications tools - Use telecommunications efficiently and effectively to access remote information, communicate with others in support of direct and independent learning, and pursue personal interests.
- Technology research tools - Use telecommunications and online resources (e.g., e-mail, online discussions, Web environments) to participate in collaborative problem-solving activities for the purpose of developing solutions or products for audiences inside and outside the classroom.
- Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools - Use technology resources (e.g., calculators, data collection probes, videos, educational software) for problem solving, self-directed learning, and extended learning activities.
2. Science
- Science As Inquiry
- Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data.
- Think critically and logically to make the relationships between evidence and explanations.
- Communicate scientific procedures and explanations.
- Physical Science
- Use appropriate techniques to demonstrate motion and forces
- Science And Technology
- Evaluate completed technological designs or products.
- Communicate the process of technological design.
- Science As Inquiry
- Identify Science as a human endeavor
- Understand History of science
3. Mathematics
Number And Operation Select appropriate methods ' and tools for computing with whole numbers from among mental computation, estimation, calculators, and paper and pencil according to the context and nature of the computation and use the selected method or tools. Patterns, Functions, And Algebra Model problem situations with objects and use representations such as graphs, tables, and equations to draw conclusions.
Geometry And Spatial Sense
- Identify and build a three-dimensional object from two-dimensional representations of that object.
- Recognize geometric ideas and relationships and apply them to other disciplines and to problems that arise in the classroom or in everyday life.
Measurement - Select and apply appropriate standard units and tools to measure length, area volume, weight, time, temperature, and the size of angles.
Problem Solving - Apply and adapt a vari I ety of appropriate strategies to solve problems.
Communication - Communicate their mathematical thinking coherently and clearly to peers, teachers, and others.
Connections - Recognize and apply mathematics in contexts outside of mathematics.
Representation - Use representations to model and interpret physical, social, and mathematical phenomena.
4. Social Studies
Time, Continuity, and Change Identify and use key concepts such as chronology, causality, change, conflict, and complexity to explain, analyze, and show connections among patterns of historical change and continuity. Identify and use processes important to reconstructing and reinterpreting the past, such as using a variety of sources, providing, validating, and weighing evidence for claims, checking credibility of sources, and searching for causality.
People, Places, and Environments - Estimate distance, calculate scale, and distinguish other geographic relationships such as population density and spatial distribution patterns.
Individual Development and Identity - Work independently and cooperatively to accomplish goals.
Science, Technology, and Society Examine and describe the influence of culture on scientific and technological choices and advancement, such as in transportation medicine, and warfare. Show through specific examples how science and technology have changed people's perceptions of the social and natural world, suchas in their relationship to the land, animal life, family life, and economic needs, wants, and security. Describe examples in which values, beliefs, and attitudes have been influenced by new scientific and technological knowledge, such as the invention of the printing press, conceptions of the universe, applications of atomic energy, and genetic discoveries.
5. History
Chronological Thinking - Distinguish between past, present, and future time.
Historical Comprehension - Draw upon visual, literary, and musical sources
Historical Analysis and Interpretation - Differentiate between historical facts and historical interpretations
6. Language Arts
Conducting Research - Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems.
Communication - Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, and video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
7. Visual Arts
Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes
- Students select media, techniques, and processes; analyze what makes them effective or not effective in communicating ideas; and reflect upon the effectiveness of their choices.
- Students intentionally take advantage of the qualities and characteristics of art media, techniques, and processes to enhance communication of their experiences and ideas
- Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas
- Students integrate visual, spatial, and temporal concepts with content to communicate intended meaning in their artworks
- Students use subjects, themes, and symbols that demonstrate knowledge of contexts, values, and aesthetics that communicate intended meaning in artworks
8. Physical Education
Motor Skills and Movements
- Demonstrates motor skills and movement patterns to perform a variety of physical activities
- Learning and Performance of Physical Activities
- Understands movement concepts, principles and tactics as they apply to the learning and performance of physical activities
