RubeGoldbergChallenge
BrauerCollegeErynneEwenson,AnnaGage,DeliaJenkins,DebraLaurenson,SteveMalikoff
Year7Science
TheContext
• BrauerCollege• Year7• CoastFM,WarrnamboolStandard,Parents• Science- Forces• Improvingtaskcollaborationskills
Background:WesawthisasanopportunitytodevelopsomecollaborativeproblemsolvingskillsinourstudentswhilestillcoveringthecontentoftheSciencecourse.Itwasalsoanopportunityforustotrysomethingdifferentandtogivestudentsmoreownershipoftheirlearning.
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CompetitionDayVideo
Whatwasdone:• Thestudentswerepresentedwithadesign
briefthatrequiredthemtoworkcollaborativelytoresearchandconstructaRubeGoldbergMachine.
Length:• 5 WeeksduringtimetabledScienceclassesof3
X47minperiodsperweek.
TheTaskYear7RubeGoldbergChallenge– DesignBrief
YouworkasapartofadesignteamforWorld-renownedwatchmakersRolex.TheircompanyisbasedinSwitzerlandbutyouareapartoftheirAustralianteamandhavebeenselectedforaveryimportantchallenge.
Rolexareverywellknownfortheirperfectionandtheamazinglyaccuratetimepiecestheycreate.Theyarealsoaverygenerouscompanyandsponsormanydifferenteventsaroundtheworld.OneofthemostfamousistheRolexSydneytoHobartyachtraceheldonBoxingDayeachyear.
Atthestartoftheracetherearetwogunsfired,fiveminutesapart.Thefirstgunisthe‘fiveminute’warninggun,whichtellscompetitorsthatthestartgunwillfireinexactlyfiveminutestime.Itisimperativethatthestartgungoesoffexactlyfiveminutesafterthewarninggunorsomeoftheboatsmayeitherbenotcloseenoughtothelinetogetagoodstartormayactuallycrossthelinetooearlyandbepenalised.
Rolexareafterateamofpeopletodesignadevicethatmeasuresexactlyfiveminutes,sotheyknowthatthesecondgunisfiredexactlyfiveminutesafterthefirst.
Todeterminewhichteamwillbechosenasthewinnersofthedesign,allteamsmustbuildaprototypedevicethatmeasuresexactly20seconds.Thewinningteamwillbeinvitedtoworkonthe‘fiveminute’devicebasedontheirprototypedesign.
Thecriteriaforthedesignare:
1– Itmustaccuratelymeasure20secondsonthreeconsecutiveoccasions.2– Itmustshowcreativityandingenuityandcombineatleast4differentstages.3– Itmustbeconfinedtoaspacenobiggerthanoneclassroomdeskandonemeteroffloorspacearoundit.
Thetaskcontinued…
Contentgoals(AusVELS):
• Identifyquestionsandproblemsthatcanbeinvestigatedscientificallyandmakepredictionsbasedonscientificknowledge.
• Scienceknowledgecandevelopthroughcollaborationandconnectingideasacrossthedisciplinesofscience.
• Changetoanobject’smotioniscausedbyunbalancedforcesactingontheobject.
• Collaborativelyandindividuallyplanandconductarangeofinvestigationtypes,includingfieldworkandexperiments,ensuringsafetyandethicalguidelinesarefollowed.
• Communicateideas,findingsandsolutionstoproblemsusingscientificlanguageandrepresentationsusingdigitaltechnologiesasappropriate.
• Reflectonthemethodusedtoinvestigateaquestionorsolveaproblem,includingevaluatingthequalityofthedatacollected,andidentifyimprovementstothemethod.
Thetaskcontinued…
Thetaskcontinued…
Pedagogicalpractices–• Collaboration• RealWorldScenariosDEPTH– Studentsdidalotofworkunderstandingwhatcollaborationisandthespecificskillsrequiredtobeagoodcollaborator.TheythenputthisintoactionusingarealworldscenariowithataskthatchallengedthemtolearnabouttheScienceinvolved.
Learningpartnerships–ThisactivityinvolvedalltheYear7Scienceclassesandtheirteachers.OurTechnologyKLAassistedwithsomescrapmaterials,especiallywood.Wealsohadthesupportofthelocalradiostation(CoastFM)asoneoftheirpresentersisinvolvedintheCollege’sStandingTallprogram.HeadvertisedourChallengeDayforusandinterviewedoutstudentsontheradioaboutthewhattheyhadbeendoinginpreparation.OntheChallengeDayourlocalnewspaper(TheStandard)cameanddidanarticleforusandwewerealsosupportedbyourparentsthroughoutthepreparationbysupplyingmaterials.Anumberofparentsalsoattendedtowatchontheday.
Leveragingdigital–• Internet- Forresearch• YouTube– Forresearch• Padlet – Forformativeassessment• GoogleDocs– Forsharingideasandcollaboration
Learningenvironments–• Reallynoisy(veryproductive)classrooms• SchoolGymforChallengeDay
Thetasksc
ore
TheAssessmentRubricwasdevelopedinconjunctionwiththestudents.TheyhelpedformthecriteriabasedontheDesignBriefandcontributedtoattributestheyfeltneededtobeshownforeachofthedifferentgradingscales.
Eachclassdiscussedthisindifferentwaysandprovidedfeedbacktotheteachersbeforetherubricwasfinalised.
StudentsSelfassessedthefirstthreecriteriaasteamsandthefinalcomponentwasteacherassessed.
AssessmentapproachesusedAssessmenttoinformpractitionersinplanninganddeliveringprogressivelearningopportunities.
• StudentscompletedaSelfAssessmentSheettoevaluatetheirSocialandCognitiveCollaborationskills.(DesignedaroundthetheoriesinvolvedwiththeMelbourneUniversityCPStaskstohelpidentifythezoneofproximaldevelopmentforeachstudentinrelationtotheirSocialandCognitiveskilllevelsinrelationtoCollaboration.)
Assessmentapproachesused
Assessmenttoinformpractitionersinplanninganddeliveringprogressivelearningopportunities.
• StudentssharedwhattheyalreadyknewaboutCollaborationandhowitdiffersfromGroupWork.
• ThiswasdoneusingPadlet.
AssessmentapproachesusedAssessmentthatenableslearnerstoseeandappreciatetheprogressthattheyhavemade andpromotefurtherlearninganddevelopment.
• Videofootageofprogress.• Progressivechecksagainsttheassessmentrubric.• Peercontributionstotheirdesigns,byobservations.