Slow Boat

11 Jun 2013 | Contributor(s): Bryan Hubbard, Alyssa Panitch, Tahira Reid, Kari Clase, Nancy Irene Tyrie, James Daniel Lehman

This 4th grade design task lesson focuses on the concept of drag by asking students to develop ways to slow down a boat.

Design of a Door Alarm

10 Jun 2013 | Lesson Plans | Contributor(s): David C Eichinger, Erin K Doherty, James Daniel Lehman, Venkatesh Merwade

This grade 4 design task helps students learn about simple circuits by designing a door alarm.

Exploring Whirligigs

09 Jun 2013 | Lesson Plans | Contributor(s): Brenda Capobianco, James Daniel Lehman

This inquiry lesson, for grades 3-4, involves students conducting a fair test investigation to determine the way an object (a whirligig) falls through the air and how this fall depends on its mass, surface area, and other factors. This lesson is an adaptation of a lesson developed by...

The Case of the Pilfered Pin

29 May 2013 | Lesson Plans | Contributor(s): James Daniel Lehman

This is an inquiry activity for grades 3-4. Students must measure temperature, mass, and length in order to solve a mystery.

Dr. Nate Mosier's Virtual Field Trip on Developing Biofuels

04 Dec 2012 | Seminars | Contributor(s): Nate Mosier, Lisa Paulette Kirkham

Dr. Nate Mosier, Associate Professor of Ag and Biological Engineering, presents a 30 minute virtual field trip for high school STEM students. Dr. Mosier and his graduate assistant, Barron Hewetson, describe work they are doing on the conversion of biomass to biofuels, with a special emphasis on...

Design Team Developed: Plastic Water Bottle Design

30 Nov 2012 | Lesson Plans | Contributor(s): James Daniel Lehman

This lesson plan, intended for grade 6, focuses on using mathematics to design the shape of a plastic water bottle to optimize the surface area to volume ratio and so reduce the amount of plastic used to make the bottles.

Pill Bugs' Habitat Inquiry Activity

11 Nov 2012 | Lesson Plans | Contributor(s): James Daniel Lehman

This is an inquiry activity, aligned to grade 4-6 standards, in which students design fair test investigations to determine the habitat of pill bugs (roly polies).

Pill Bugs' Habitat Inquiry Activity

11 Nov 2012 | Lesson Plans | Contributor(s): James Daniel Lehman

This is an inquiry activity, aligned to grade 4-6 standards, in which students design fair test investigations to determine the habitat of pill bugs (roly polies).

Model Ecosystem Video

04 Oct 2012 | Demonstration Video | Contributor(s): David C Eichinger, James Daniel Lehman

In this video, Professor David Eichinger discusses a model ecosystem activity that is used in Biology for Elementary Teachers and is applicable to the elementary classroom.

Design Team Developed: Sun Tracking System for a Solar Panel

13 Sep 2012 | Lesson Plans | Contributor(s): Bryan Hubbard, Kari Clase, John Grutzner, Alyssa Panitch, Nancy Irene Tyrie

This lesson plan is designed for 6th grade and addresses topics related to the sun-earth-moon system. Specifically, this lesson addresses that seasons result from the tilt of the earth, which causes changes in sunlight intensity and length of day. Related mathematical standards address...

Design Team Developed: Reindeer Habitat

06 Sep 2012 | Lesson Plans | Contributor(s): Senay Purzer, David C Eichinger, Erin K Doherty

This lesson plan is designed fro 6th grade and covers life science topics in science and are calculations in math. In engineering, the importance of using scientific and engineering vocabulary in explanations & justifications is emphasized.

Moving from petroleum to plants to energize our world

13 Apr 2012 | External Link | Contributor(s): Ann Bessenbacher

Can we imagine a future fueled by living plants rather than oil? The Center for direct Catalytic Conversion of Biomass to Biofuels (C3Bio) was established in 2009 with a 5-year, $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. C3Bio researchers at Purdue University are...

Infusing Rural High School Science Curricula With Cutting Edge Research

04 Apr 2012 | Seminars | Contributor(s): Kathy Daniels, Georgia L Everett

Two teacher participants from the 2011 Research Goes to School program presented this seminar at the NSTA 2012 conference. This presentation shows what the teachers were able to gain from their experience in the program and how they were able to apply to their classrooms.Contributing Authors:...

EDCI Strong Book Nook Fall 2011

28 Mar 2012 | Lesson Plans | Contributor(s): Brenda Capobianco

Grade 6 lesson plan, engineering design process.

Think-aloud Protocol Analysis as a Measure of Students' Science Learning through Design Assessment

28 Mar 2012 | Publications | Contributor(s): Todd Richard Kelley, Brenda Capobianco

Research has indicated that authentic engineering design tasks hold the attention andinterest of students and can lead to deeper levels of science engagement (Fortus, Dershimer, Krajcik, Marx, & Mamlok-Naaman, 2004; Roth, 1996; 1997; 1998). However, there is a need for student assessments...

Greenergy Supplemental Information

28 Mar 2012 | Teaching Materials | Contributor(s): Kari Clase

RGS (Research Goes to School) 2012 Participant Materials on Green Energy

EDCI Catapults Sp 2012

28 Mar 2012 | Lesson Plans | Contributor(s): Mary Hildebrand, Andrea Levrio

EDCI Rollercoaster Energy Spring 2012

28 Mar 2012 | Lesson Plans | Contributor(s): Brooke Ann Winebrenner, Cassie Timmons

EDCI lesson plan about potential and kinetic energy.

Cooking with the Sun - Creating a Solar Oven

17 Feb 2012 | Downloads | Contributor(s): Kari Clase, Peg A Ertmer

RGS Summer 2011 Supplemental MaterialFor this activity, students will be given a set of materials: cardboard, a set of insulating materials (i.e. foam, newspaper, etc.), aluminum foil, and plexiglass. Students will then become engineers in building a solar oven from the given materials, keeping...

Problem Based Approach to Instruction

17 Feb 2012 | Downloads | Contributor(s): Kari Clase, Peg A Ertmer

RGS Summer 2011 Supplemental Material:This chapter examines the problem-based learning approach to instructionfrom the perspective of instructional design theory and synthesizes the current knowledge and theory into some universal methods, situational methods, and principles for a theory of...