Topic/s: various science and engineering topics - problem based learning

Duration: 5-part unit, approximately 3 - 4 hours per part

Delivery mode: can  be delivered entirely online (designed during  COVID)

Description: Students engage with a serial-style story that is set during a zombie apocalypse. Students listen to audio-recorded messages sent by Poppy (the protagonist) who is stuck in the middle of nowhere and needs help solving some interesting problems. 

 

Materials & resources:

Students access the unit via a website which contains Poppy's recorded messages and sufficient research material to solve the problems. All problems can be solved using basic household items.​

 

Pedagogical approach:

This unit is oriented towards Problem Based Learning (PBL). There are many models that could be used to scaffold students in terms of how they approach solving a problem and designing a solution. My preference is a simplified version of the Engineering Design Process. The topical material on each of the problem pages, provides students with the knowledge required to solve the problems. It is very important that students learn this content before jumping in and solving the problem!  A huge cognitive science evidence base that tells us that if students are asked to solve a problem without first being given the knowledge required to solve the problem, they are less likely to succeed. I do not recommend one of the new Constructivism approaches that are popular in STEAM at the moment (such as the so-called "inquiry based" or "discovery based" or "21st century skills based" approaches). Students need the knowledge before they can solve the problem. However, giving them the knowledge, is not the same as giving them the answer! Give them the tools, and let them go for it! Offer guidance and feedback along the way.

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Differentiation:

This unit lends itself well to differentiation! Students are provided with example solutions, but can freely develop their own if they require extension. Students can 'reply to Poppy' in a number of ways, including oral, written, drawings and diagrams, or a combination of these formats.