Guidelines for Project Development

Overview and Purpose

Guidelines for project development are based on problem-solving techniques and provide a structure to help students identify the tasks that they need to complete in order to have a successful computational science project   These guidelines provide a focus for both the teacher and student.

For the purpose of this lesson we have defined a project development template that includes the following steps

1. Identify Problem Area
2. Conduct Background Research
3. State project goal
4. Define Relationships
5. Develop Mathematical Model for project
6. Develop Computational algorithm
7. Analyze results from test calculations
8. Interpret Results
9. Publish results

This lesson will provide the participant with understanding of the steps involved in completing a computational science project.

Requirements

Class Time

Total time for activity:  2 hours
Presentation with group participation  -- 30 minutes
Participants review student projects    --   30 minutes
Lab Time --  participants work in teams to identify possible project topic -- 45-60 minute

Materials

 Instructor station with projector,
 Computer lab with whiteboard,
 Hardcopies of project development template (project_template.doc)
 Several AiS student project reports
 CD from 1999 National Expo

Objectives:  Upon completion of this lesson the participants will be able to:

• Identify the process involved in completing computational science projects;
• Explain the objectives for each step in the computational project solving template;
• Identify a project area.

Background Material and Resources
Vocabulary:
Computational Science - integrates the disciplines of mathematics, science, and engineering and utilizes computers, networking, and scientific visualization to simulate real-world problems.
 

Resources
 Online AiS Textbook
 Tennessee Heat transfer project

Activities/Procedures
 

• Brainstorm with participants to identify components of project development/problem solving
• Present materials on computational science project development through the use of a Power Point presentation based on project template html presentation (project_temp.ppt) and if time permits lead participants through an example project that will supplement Power Point presentation.  (Slides for the World Population example are included in the Power Point presentation.)
• Need simple project area to reach all levels and allow contributions by all participants, for example the World Population model from the UCES materials
• Review actual students projects
• Show exemplary student projects (Heat Transfer: http://www.krellinst.org/AiS/batonrouge/heat_paper.html, or from CD with 1999 Expo projects)
• Form teams of two-three participants and,
• Identify project development steps or lack of steps in student written or oral reports ( URL for heat transfer; CD with 1999 National Expo projects,  other student projects from state Expos)
• Work through steps 1-4 of project development
• Form teams of three-four participants to work on project
• Encourage the teams to find a project area based on their interests
• Use Web searches to conduct background research
• Finalize project goals and state simplifying assumptions and relationships
• Team presentation of project ideas to other participants.

References
NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics:  Discussion Draft, October 1998, pp 40-43,271-272, 311-320
National Science Education Standards, pp 29-52
Kendall, John S. and Marzano, Robert J, Content Knowledge,  A Compendium of Standards and Benchmark for K-12 Education, 2nd Edition, McREL and ASCD, 601-695

Teaching Strategies
Use strategies that you are trying to convince the participants to use:

• Guided discussions
• Teamwork - participants working together as a team to complete the exercise
• Presentations - presentation of study of existing projects and project identification exercise
• Peer review - review of each team's presented work

Thought provoking questions (with suggested answers)
Question 1:  How does project development/problem solving relate to everyday life?

The easy answer is that we are faced with problems that we have to solve everyday of our life.  How effective we are at problem solving can determine how successful we are in the workplace.
The 1998 CEO Forum’s School Technology and Readiness Report states that:
“To thrive in today’s world and tomorrow’s workplace, America’s students must learn how to learn, learn how to think, and have a solid understanding of how technology works and what it can do. Teachers hold the key. In fact teachers are perhaps the single most important factor determining the quality of education.” In addition, commenting on the 1991 Secretary of Labor’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS), the CEO Forum  Report states “Today, the skills most often called for are essentially the same [as the SCANS skills]: that students are technologically fluent, that they learn how to learn, and that they can use technology to communicate, collaborate, and support critical thinking and creative problem solving.”

Question 2:  How do students benefit from developing projects?

Students learn a formal problem-solving process that they can apply in other areas of their lives.  More specifically they must identify the problem, conduct background research, purpose and implement a solution and analyze and communicate their results and findings.   Through this process they enhance their critical thinking skills, learn to work in teams and learn how to communicate effectively with others.

Question 3:  How does this help students develop critical thinking skills?

Project development helps students develop critical thinking skills by taking them through a process where they must develop a solution for the problem that they are studying.   They must go beyond memorizing laws of science and mathematics and actually using these governing laws to develop mathematical models that form the basis for the solution to their problem.  In addition, students must analyze their computational algorithm and data to ensure that their method is reliable and valid.

National Math and/or Science Standards Met
Professional Development Standards

National Science Education Standards:
Professional Development Standard A:  Professional development for teachers of science requires learning essential science content through perspectives and methods of inquiry.  Science learning must:

Component	How it is addressed and met
Involve teachers in actively investigating phenomena that can be studied scientifically, interpreting results and making sense of findings consistent with currently accepted scientific understanding.	Stepping through the project development template and actually proposing project topics
Address issues, events, problems or topics significant in science and of interest to participants.	Teachers select topics of interest to them for computational projects

Professional Development Standard B:  Professional development for teachers of science requires integrating knowledge of science, learning, pedagogy, and students; it also requires applying that knowledge to science teaching.  Learning experiences for teachers of science must:
 

Component	How it is addressed and met
Use inquiry, reflection, interpretation of research, modeling and guided practice to build understanding and skill in science teaching	Identifying a project area and performing background research and making simplifying assumptions in order to narrow the project area.

Professional Development Standard C:  Professional development for teachers of science requires building understanding and ability for lifelong learning.  Professional development activities must:
 

Component	How it is addressed and met
Provide regular, frequent opportunities for individual and collegial examination and reflection on classroom and institutional practice	Peer review of participants work on computational models Peer review throughout the workshop on other topics;

Professional Development Standard D:  Professional development programs for teachers of science must be coherent and integrated and characterized by:
 

Component	How it is addressed and met
Clear, shared goals based on a vision of science learning, teaching, and teacher development  congruent with the National Science Education Standards	Standards are used and taught throughout the workshop experience;
Integration and coordination of the program components so that understanding and ability can be built over time, reinforced continuously, and practiced in a variety of situations;	NSES components are interwoven throughout all aspects of the workshop

Student/Participant Standards

NCTM Standards 2000

Standard 6:  Problem Solving -  Mathematics instructional programs should focus on solving problems as part of understanding mathematics so that all students--
 

Component	How it is addressed and met
Monitor and reflect on their mathematical thinking in solving problems	Students will learn the steps that they need to take to analyze their results and draw conclusions

Standard 7:  Reasoning and Proof -  Mathematical instructional programs should focus on  learning to reason and construct proofs  as part of understanding mathematics so that all students--
 

Component	How it is addressed and met
Make and investigate mathematical conjectures	Students will learn the steps that they need  undertake to define a mathematical model that they can investigate

Standard 8:  Communication -  Mathematical instructional programs should focus on  learning to reason and construct proofs  as part of understanding mathematics so that all students--
 

Component	How it is addressed and met
Organize and consolidate their mathematical thinking to communicate with others Express mathematical ideas coherently and clearly to peers, teachers, and others;	Students will learn the components that are expected in the written and oral reports for their project

Cross Curricular Connections

• Language Arts - Discussion of technical writing
• Mathematics - Discussion of mathematical and computational modeling
• Science - Research, Problem-Solving
• Social Science - Team Work, Depending on topic chosen

Assessment/Evaluation Techniques

• Participants will give a presentation of their initial project area and background research
• Participants will do a peer review of the work done by other participant teams

Extensions/Follow-Up

Participants may work on their own projects during the workshop.

Visit participants' schools and talk to the students and teachers about project development/problem solving.

Visit the state Expo and talk to the students about their projects .

Analysis of Lesson and Plan
After the lesson has been taught you may have suggestions or questions.  This section provides a place to voice the questions, additions, and suggestions.  Nothing will go here until reflection after teaching the lesson.  Then the suggestions and additions may be added to the lesson plan.