The Mexican lemonade ("lim-onade") engineering design challenge – a 5E lesson
Summary
This is a two-session lesson (4 hours each) about the engineering design process and the nature of engineering. The elementary preservice teachers (PST) will experience an engineering design challenge, reflect about the nature of engineering (NOE), and apply both in a lesson that they will teach collaboratively in at least two elementary classrooms. The assessment will include: a first draft of the engineering lesson for elementary students, a final draft after teaching showing the modifications/adaptations done while/after teaching, and a reflection about the process and their learning about the NOE.
Context
Audience
This activity was designed for an elementary science teaching methods class for preservice teachers (PST) in an undergraduate teacher preparation program who might not have a background in engineering concepts or practices.
Skills and concepts that students must have mastered
- Identify NGSS science and engineering practices.
- Describe a 5E lesson model of instruction (i.e., engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate).
- Apply safety measures in the elementary classroom.
- Identify elements of the nature of engineering (NOE) in an elementary engineering lesson (using the engineering design process).
- Describe a 5E lesson model of instruction (i.e., engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate).
- Apply safety measures in the elementary classroom.
- Identify elements of the nature of engineering (NOE) in an elementary engineering lesson (using the engineering design process).
How the activity is situated in the course
This activity was designed as a culminating project. It integrates content objectives from the course (e.g., inquiry-based instruction, safety measures, NGSS science and engineering practices, 5E learning cycle, NOS, scientific models, lesson planning).
Goals
Content/concepts goals for this activity
NSTA STANDARD 1. Content knowledge. Effective teachers of science understand and articulate the knowledge and practices of contemporary science and engineering. They connect important disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices for their fields of licensure.
- Preservice teachers (PST) will identify the engineering practices in the NGSS science and engineering practices.
- PST will define engineering, explain the engineering design process and identify elements of the nature of engineering in an engineering design challenge.
- Preservice teachers (PST) will identify the engineering practices in the NGSS science and engineering practices.
- PST will define engineering, explain the engineering design process and identify elements of the nature of engineering in an engineering design challenge.
Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity
NSTA STANDARD 2: Content pedagogy. Effective teachers of science plan learning units of study and equitable, culturally-responsive opportunities for all students based upon their understandings of how students learn and develop science knowledge, skills, and habits of mind. Effective teachers also include appropriate connections to science and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts in their instructional planning.
- PST can apply the engineering design process (EDP) in an elementary lesson and identify intentional elements of the nature of engineering embedded in the lesson instructional activities.
NSTA STANDARD 5. Impact on student learning. Effective teachers of science provide evidence that students have learned and can apply disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices as a result of instruction. Effective teachers analyze learning gains for individual students, the class a as a whole, and subgroups of students disaggregated by demographic categories, and use these to inform planning and teaching.
- PST can assess their engineering lesson based on students' learning and modify it for improvement, based on students' engagement and learning, using repeated teaching rounds (Hanuscin & Zangori, 2016).
- PST can apply the engineering design process (EDP) in an elementary lesson and identify intentional elements of the nature of engineering embedded in the lesson instructional activities.
NSTA STANDARD 5. Impact on student learning. Effective teachers of science provide evidence that students have learned and can apply disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices as a result of instruction. Effective teachers analyze learning gains for individual students, the class a as a whole, and subgroups of students disaggregated by demographic categories, and use these to inform planning and teaching.
- PST can assess their engineering lesson based on students' learning and modify it for improvement, based on students' engagement and learning, using repeated teaching rounds (Hanuscin & Zangori, 2016).
Other skills goals for this activity
NSTA STANDARD 6. Professional knowledge and skills. Effective teachers of science strive to continuously improve their knowledge of both science content and pedagogy, including approaches for addressing inequities and inclusion for all students in science. They identify with and conduct themselves as part of the science education community.
- PST can reflect about their teaching knowledge and skills related to the engineering lesson and nature of engineering for improvement.
- PST will value the skills that engineering design process promote in elementary students and their role in teaching for all students.
- PST can reflect about their teaching knowledge and skills related to the engineering lesson and nature of engineering for improvement.
- PST will value the skills that engineering design process promote in elementary students and their role in teaching for all students.
Description and Teaching Materials
This engineering lesson consists of:
1. PST experiencing an engineering lesson, based on a 5E learning cycle, using the engineering design process.
2. PST collaborate in small groups using/designing/adapting an engineering lesson to teach, using repeated teaching rounds.
Materials:
- Graduated cylinders (20 mL; 100 mL)
- Scales
- Beakers (250 mL)
- Stirrers
- Spatulas
- Disinfecting wipes
- Masks (mouth covers) and caps (if possible)
Reactants:
- Limes
- Sucrose
- Water
- A can of Minute Maid ofHubert's lemonade (or similar products)
Lesson design (2 sessions – 4 hours of instruction each):
ENGAGE (30')
Individual work (5')
Think-pair-share (10')
Whole-group discussion (15')
PST will read as a preparation of this lesson the following reading:
Pleasants, J. & Olson, J.K. (2018). What is engineering? Elaborating the nature of engineering for K-12 education. Science Education, 103, 145-166.
- Using the following questions, ask PST to reflect about these answers (they can write down their answers in their science journals) Give them a couple of minutes. Then, ask them to share with a partner (10'):
o What do engineers do?
o What is the difference between science and engineering?
o Should we teach engineering to elementary students? Why? Why not?
o What experiences do you have teaching engineering? What have you observed or experienced (as students or PST)?
- Ask students to share with the whole group. Register students' ideas on the board.
- Explain PST the purpose of the lesson. You can read the goals intended for this session or present them as a learning target, using an "I can" statement (Berger et al., 2016).
KNOWLEDGE:
o Preservice teachers (PST) will identify the engineering practices in the NGSS science and engineering practices.
o PST will define engineering, explain the engineering design process and identify elements of the nature of engineering in an engineering design challenge.
o PST can apply the engineering design process (EDP) in an elementary lesson and identify intentional elements of the nature of engineering embedded in the lesson instructional activities.
SKILLS:
o PST can assess their engineering lesson based on students' learning and modify it for improvement, based , on students' engagement and learning, using repeated teaching rounds (Hanuscin & Zangori, 2016).
DISPOSITIONS
o PST can reflect about their teaching knowledge and skills related to the engineering lesson and nature of engineering for improvement.
o PST will value the skills that engineering design process promote in elementary students and their role in teaching for all students.
OR
LEARNING TARGET: I can reflect about my teaching knowledge and skills about the NGSS engineering practices and the nature of engineering by teaching an engineering lesson using repeated teaching rounds.
- Ask for questions and clarification if needed.
EXPLORE (90')
Instructions (5')
Individual work (10')
Group work (20')
Assessment 1 (10')
Whole group discussion (10')
Improvement(20')
Assessment 2 (10')
- Instructions: Turn in the engineering design challenge handout - pages 1-2. (whole group).
- Read together the engineering challenge and safety issues.
Explain briefly the process: this challenge has individual work, some research facts, a group proposal Then, group work, compare ideas, choose the best one, produce a prototype, assess it and improve it!
- Individual work: Students individually will fill out pages 1-2. The instructor can ask the PST prior to this lesson to bring a lemonade formula as homework to save some time. For the students to consult, have printed sets of the "facts sheets" – Appendix C. (10').
- Group work: When time for individual work is up, ask students to form groups (e.g., 2-3 students). The instructor can assign roles to this group work, for example:
o SCRIBE: writing and turning in forms.
o CALCULATOR: working on the calculations.
o MANAGER: facilitating and monitoring groupwork and keeping track of time,
- Before breaking up in groups, show where the material is set up, additional forms needed (e.g., formulation registration).
- The students will turn in the engineering design challenge handout - page 3. Also, each group will turn in their physical prototype (12 oz of lemonade) and a formulation registration handout – Appendix A) (20').
- Assessment 1. The instructor will find three judges to test the prototypes in a blind testing session. The judges will use the "Blind comparison – Evaluation Form" – Appendix B. Students can observe the test or write down on their journals their observations, questions, and assessment of the process (what went well, what could improve, what questions they have) (10').
- Whole group discussion: Based on their reflection and the judges' assessment, have a whole group discussion about the possible problems in the prototypes and some of the solutions. For example, if the lemonade was too sower – reduce the amount of lime; if the prototype had many calories – reduce the amount of sugar. (10')
- Improvement - Group work: After the evaluation, the groups will discuss and answer the handout – page 4. Ask the groups to design how they could improve their prototype. Students should fill out a new "Formulation and registration handout" and assign a new number to the prototype (20').
- Assessment 2. Repeat the evaluation process with the new prototypes. (10')
- PST will turn in the handout with their answers to the instructor.
- Give students a short break.
EXPLAIN (60')
Whole-group (40')
Direct instruction (20')
- Ask the students to get the article assigned for reading and identify the following:
o What happened in the engineering design project? (e.g., collect observations, comments or anecdotes from the students about their work, prototypes' formulation, assessment)
o What are the key concepts or ideas they think are important and worth holding on form Pleasants and Olson (2018)? (e.g., define engineering and nature of engineering, list of NOE framework, describe some of the features, compare NOE with NOS).
o What connections can we draw between the reading and this challenge? (e.g., identify the NOE features in the lemonade challenge. For instance, design in engineering means process and function; the specifications, constrains and goals in the lemonade challenge, the scope of engineering – solving problems; the knowledge in engineering – using an EDP, using research and calculations to inform the design).
o What questions/ideas do you have? (e.g., does an engineering lesson should include all the NOE features? How can we prevent classroom management issues? Which are some of the misconceptions the students might have about engineering that teachers need to address?
- If there is enough time, the instructor can provide different examples of the engineering design process (EDP) (e.g., Teach Engineering Design Process; the Engineering Design in the NGSS (Appendix I) and discuss with students the NOE elements described in Pleasants and Olson (2018)
- Students use the list of NGSS science and engineering practices to identify the engineering components. For example;
o Asking questions and defining problems.
o Constructing explanations and designing solutions.
EXTEND (60')
Group work (60')
Repeated teaching rounds (next class)
- In their groups, the PSTs (with support of the instructor) will organize repeated teaching rounds. They will adapt the Mexican lemonade challenge lesson for their students (PST are already assigned to the classrooms where they will conduct their full-time internship), and co-teach the lesson in at least, two different classrooms. It is important to come up with a schedule and talk to the MTs about when they can teach the lesson next week.
EVALUATE
- PST should turn in a first draft of their lesson plan (90 min) with the adapted lesson before teaching. PST should consider in their design: students' grade, teaching for all students, consider special circumstances and students' prior knowledge and experiences.
- Use next session for students to prepare and teach collaboratively their rounds. Each group should teach at least two different sections. Ask students after each section to reflect about the application of the element of the NOE, what went well, and what they can improve for next round. Register their reflections on their journal.
- After the repeated teaching rounds, PSTs will turn in a final draft of their lesson plan, showing adaptations and modifications (e.g., using track changes, or different colors) and a reflection that includes:
1. Describe (briefly) what happened in the repeated teaching rounds after teaching.
2. Identify and explain the elements of the nature of engineering used in this lesson (based on Pleasants & Olson, 2018).
3. Reflect on the importance of engineering skills for elementary students.
4. Assess your knowledge and understanding teaching the engineering design process.
Example of a lesson plan - teacher candidates (Acrobat (PDF) 111kB Aug10 20)
Design a Mexican lemonade (lim-onade) handout and appendixes (Acrobat (PDF) 708kB Aug10 20)
Design a Mexican lemonade (lim-onade) handout and appendixes (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 628kB Aug10 20)
Student reflection - EXAMPLE of assessment (Acrobat (PDF) 111kB Aug10 20)
Assessment rubric for final reflection (Acrobat (PDF) 112kB Aug10 20)
1. PST experiencing an engineering lesson, based on a 5E learning cycle, using the engineering design process.
2. PST collaborate in small groups using/designing/adapting an engineering lesson to teach, using repeated teaching rounds.
Materials:
- Graduated cylinders (20 mL; 100 mL)
- Scales
- Beakers (250 mL)
- Stirrers
- Spatulas
- Disinfecting wipes
- Masks (mouth covers) and caps (if possible)
Reactants:
- Limes
- Sucrose
- Water
- A can of Minute Maid ofHubert's lemonade (or similar products)
Lesson design (2 sessions – 4 hours of instruction each):
ENGAGE (30')
Individual work (5')
Think-pair-share (10')
Whole-group discussion (15')
PST will read as a preparation of this lesson the following reading:
Pleasants, J. & Olson, J.K. (2018). What is engineering? Elaborating the nature of engineering for K-12 education. Science Education, 103, 145-166.
- Using the following questions, ask PST to reflect about these answers (they can write down their answers in their science journals) Give them a couple of minutes. Then, ask them to share with a partner (10'):
o What do engineers do?
o What is the difference between science and engineering?
o Should we teach engineering to elementary students? Why? Why not?
o What experiences do you have teaching engineering? What have you observed or experienced (as students or PST)?
- Ask students to share with the whole group. Register students' ideas on the board.
- Explain PST the purpose of the lesson. You can read the goals intended for this session or present them as a learning target, using an "I can" statement (Berger et al., 2016).
KNOWLEDGE:
o Preservice teachers (PST) will identify the engineering practices in the NGSS science and engineering practices.
o PST will define engineering, explain the engineering design process and identify elements of the nature of engineering in an engineering design challenge.
o PST can apply the engineering design process (EDP) in an elementary lesson and identify intentional elements of the nature of engineering embedded in the lesson instructional activities.
SKILLS:
o PST can assess their engineering lesson based on students' learning and modify it for improvement, based , on students' engagement and learning, using repeated teaching rounds (Hanuscin & Zangori, 2016).
DISPOSITIONS
o PST can reflect about their teaching knowledge and skills related to the engineering lesson and nature of engineering for improvement.
o PST will value the skills that engineering design process promote in elementary students and their role in teaching for all students.
OR
LEARNING TARGET: I can reflect about my teaching knowledge and skills about the NGSS engineering practices and the nature of engineering by teaching an engineering lesson using repeated teaching rounds.
- Ask for questions and clarification if needed.
EXPLORE (90')
Instructions (5')
Individual work (10')
Group work (20')
Assessment 1 (10')
Whole group discussion (10')
Improvement(20')
Assessment 2 (10')
- Instructions: Turn in the engineering design challenge handout - pages 1-2. (whole group).
- Read together the engineering challenge and safety issues.
Explain briefly the process: this challenge has individual work, some research facts, a group proposal Then, group work, compare ideas, choose the best one, produce a prototype, assess it and improve it!
- Individual work: Students individually will fill out pages 1-2. The instructor can ask the PST prior to this lesson to bring a lemonade formula as homework to save some time. For the students to consult, have printed sets of the "facts sheets" – Appendix C. (10').
- Group work: When time for individual work is up, ask students to form groups (e.g., 2-3 students). The instructor can assign roles to this group work, for example:
o SCRIBE: writing and turning in forms.
o CALCULATOR: working on the calculations.
o MANAGER: facilitating and monitoring groupwork and keeping track of time,
- Before breaking up in groups, show where the material is set up, additional forms needed (e.g., formulation registration).
- The students will turn in the engineering design challenge handout - page 3. Also, each group will turn in their physical prototype (12 oz of lemonade) and a formulation registration handout – Appendix A) (20').
- Assessment 1. The instructor will find three judges to test the prototypes in a blind testing session. The judges will use the "Blind comparison – Evaluation Form" – Appendix B. Students can observe the test or write down on their journals their observations, questions, and assessment of the process (what went well, what could improve, what questions they have) (10').
- Whole group discussion: Based on their reflection and the judges' assessment, have a whole group discussion about the possible problems in the prototypes and some of the solutions. For example, if the lemonade was too sower – reduce the amount of lime; if the prototype had many calories – reduce the amount of sugar. (10')
- Improvement - Group work: After the evaluation, the groups will discuss and answer the handout – page 4. Ask the groups to design how they could improve their prototype. Students should fill out a new "Formulation and registration handout" and assign a new number to the prototype (20').
- Assessment 2. Repeat the evaluation process with the new prototypes. (10')
- PST will turn in the handout with their answers to the instructor.
- Give students a short break.
EXPLAIN (60')
Whole-group (40')
Direct instruction (20')
- Ask the students to get the article assigned for reading and identify the following:
o What happened in the engineering design project? (e.g., collect observations, comments or anecdotes from the students about their work, prototypes' formulation, assessment)
o What are the key concepts or ideas they think are important and worth holding on form Pleasants and Olson (2018)? (e.g., define engineering and nature of engineering, list of NOE framework, describe some of the features, compare NOE with NOS).
o What connections can we draw between the reading and this challenge? (e.g., identify the NOE features in the lemonade challenge. For instance, design in engineering means process and function; the specifications, constrains and goals in the lemonade challenge, the scope of engineering – solving problems; the knowledge in engineering – using an EDP, using research and calculations to inform the design).
o What questions/ideas do you have? (e.g., does an engineering lesson should include all the NOE features? How can we prevent classroom management issues? Which are some of the misconceptions the students might have about engineering that teachers need to address?
- If there is enough time, the instructor can provide different examples of the engineering design process (EDP) (e.g., Teach Engineering Design Process; the Engineering Design in the NGSS (Appendix I) and discuss with students the NOE elements described in Pleasants and Olson (2018)
- Students use the list of NGSS science and engineering practices to identify the engineering components. For example;
o Asking questions and defining problems.
o Constructing explanations and designing solutions.
EXTEND (60')
Group work (60')
Repeated teaching rounds (next class)
- In their groups, the PSTs (with support of the instructor) will organize repeated teaching rounds. They will adapt the Mexican lemonade challenge lesson for their students (PST are already assigned to the classrooms where they will conduct their full-time internship), and co-teach the lesson in at least, two different classrooms. It is important to come up with a schedule and talk to the MTs about when they can teach the lesson next week.
EVALUATE
- PST should turn in a first draft of their lesson plan (90 min) with the adapted lesson before teaching. PST should consider in their design: students' grade, teaching for all students, consider special circumstances and students' prior knowledge and experiences.
- Use next session for students to prepare and teach collaboratively their rounds. Each group should teach at least two different sections. Ask students after each section to reflect about the application of the element of the NOE, what went well, and what they can improve for next round. Register their reflections on their journal.
- After the repeated teaching rounds, PSTs will turn in a final draft of their lesson plan, showing adaptations and modifications (e.g., using track changes, or different colors) and a reflection that includes:
1. Describe (briefly) what happened in the repeated teaching rounds after teaching.
2. Identify and explain the elements of the nature of engineering used in this lesson (based on Pleasants & Olson, 2018).
3. Reflect on the importance of engineering skills for elementary students.
4. Assess your knowledge and understanding teaching the engineering design process.
Example of a lesson plan - teacher candidates (Acrobat (PDF) 111kB Aug10 20)
Design a Mexican lemonade (lim-onade) handout and appendixes (Acrobat (PDF) 708kB Aug10 20)
Design a Mexican lemonade (lim-onade) handout and appendixes (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 628kB Aug10 20)
Student reflection - EXAMPLE of assessment (Acrobat (PDF) 111kB Aug10 20)
Assessment rubric for final reflection (Acrobat (PDF) 112kB Aug10 20)
Teaching Notes and Tips
- I developed this lesson considering that some PST have limited prior knowledge about engineering and the engineering design process.
- Set up the classroom with the material needed before starting. The rationale for using the "facts" sheets is to do not invest too much time in doing research or when there is not much technology available. Students can research additional information if it is needed.
- Write down in a poster the safety measures so all the PST are aware of the expectations. Also, it is convenient to have the challenge text in a visible place (e.g., in the screen) while the PSTs work on it.
- Find before the lesson three judges for the assessment session. It is important to give them information about what they are going to assess and explain the process.
- You can provide different materials to prepare the lemonade. For example, you could bring different types of sweeteners (e.g., Splenda, Stevia, honey, fructose), limes and lemons, or include food colorants (e.g., yellow, pink, green).
- Set up the classroom with the material needed before starting. The rationale for using the "facts" sheets is to do not invest too much time in doing research or when there is not much technology available. Students can research additional information if it is needed.
- Write down in a poster the safety measures so all the PST are aware of the expectations. Also, it is convenient to have the challenge text in a visible place (e.g., in the screen) while the PSTs work on it.
- Find before the lesson three judges for the assessment session. It is important to give them information about what they are going to assess and explain the process.
- You can provide different materials to prepare the lemonade. For example, you could bring different types of sweeteners (e.g., Splenda, Stevia, honey, fructose), limes and lemons, or include food colorants (e.g., yellow, pink, green).
Assessment
PST teachers should turn in:
- A first draft of their engineering design challenge lesson, with intentional instructional activities to include elements of the nature of engineering.
- A final draft, identifying modifications/adaptations after/while teaching the repeated rounds.
- A written reflection using Pleasants & Olson (2018) and other related references to identify elements of the nature of engineering in their lesson.
- A first draft of their engineering design challenge lesson, with intentional instructional activities to include elements of the nature of engineering.
- A final draft, identifying modifications/adaptations after/while teaching the repeated rounds.
- A written reflection using Pleasants & Olson (2018) and other related references to identify elements of the nature of engineering in their lesson.
References and Resources
Berger, R., Wooden, L., & Villen, A. (2016). Learning that Lasts. San Francisco, CA: Willey.
Hanuscin, D. L. & Zangori, L. (2016). Developing Practical Knowledge of the Next Generation Science Standards in Elementary Science Teacher Education. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 27(8).
Pleasants, J. & Olson, J.K. (2018). What is engineering? Elaborating the nature of engineering for K-12 education. Science Education, 103, 145-166.
WEB RESOURCES:
Teach Engineering. STEM curriculum for K-12
https://www.teachengineering.org/design/designprocess
This web page includes an example of the engineering design process that could be helpful to use in the EXPLAIN part of the lesson.
Hanuscin, D. L. & Zangori, L. (2016). Developing Practical Knowledge of the Next Generation Science Standards in Elementary Science Teacher Education. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 27(8).
Pleasants, J. & Olson, J.K. (2018). What is engineering? Elaborating the nature of engineering for K-12 education. Science Education, 103, 145-166.
WEB RESOURCES:
Teach Engineering. STEM curriculum for K-12
https://www.teachengineering.org/design/designprocess
This web page includes an example of the engineering design process that could be helpful to use in the EXPLAIN part of the lesson.