Imagine a house that grows when we want it and shrinks when we don’t! What is ergonomics? Is it possible to design an ergonomic house? With STEM yes!
Student age:13-14
Subjects: math, engineering, technology
Objectives:
Calculates the area of a rectangle, using square centimeters and square metres.
Solves problems that require calculating the area of a rectangle.
Explain the importance of ergonomics in product design.
Express that functional differences lead to structural differences in architectural design.
Express the relationship between engineering and design.
Designs an ergonomic house using the engineering design process.
Makes sketches for design.
Converts draft drawings into three-dimensional visuals with the help of computer.
Creates the model or prototype of the design.
Materials that can be used: Computer, scissors, cardboard, Pvc foam board, plexiglass, clay, ruler, pencil, glue, etc.
Abstract: First of all, I explained the subject of field in mathematics to the students. Then I focused on the concept of ergonomics and showed examples from daily life. I started with the subject of architectural structures. We brainstormed and discussed ergonomics in architectural structures. Based on the information we obtained, I asked the following question: “If you were an engineer, what kind of ergonomic house would you design?” Students designed an ergonomic house using the Tinkercad web 2.0 tool. Later, they made a model or model of the house they designed with materials such as Pvc foam board, cardboard, plexiglass, clay, etc.
While implementing the house model, the students made use of waste materials as much as possible. They drew attention to small details such as doors, windows, fences in the garden, swings, etc. When designing small details, for example, they used 3D printing on flowers in the garden. They took care to design collapsible systems. They designed a portable balcony, terrace, roof, etc. Here are some examples;
This course, which is in the “Visual Communication and Formation” learning area within the scope of the 7, 8, 9 and 10th grade “Visual Arts” course in the Turkish education system, and which is suitable for the acquisition of “Uses art elements and design principles in visual art studies.” In our study, it is aimed that the students make an artistic work by using a different technique than the usual.
Glass beads, metal boat, paper and acrylic paint were used to reveal the targeted product. Our event was held face-to-face with our students in a classroom setting.
First of all, the balls we will use are placed on a metal tray with high edges by putting paper in it so that they do not roll out from the floor. Whatever type of work he wants to do on the edges of the paper in the tray, the appropriate colors are squeezed. Then, the marbles placed on the sides are moved quickly from left to right so that they hit the opposite sides of the tray to form the basis of the picture. What kind of painting the student wants to paint is determined in the second stage according to the color to be used and the direction of movement of the marbles. For example, the landscape painting is completed with the image of the reeds made by moving it up and down with black acrylic paint sprayed on the bottom of the tray on a sunset background created by moving it left and right.
Others should use this method in order to make the student comprehend that artistic works can be created out of just conventional materials and to help students develop their vision, comprehension, thinking and application capacities through artistic work, together with their aesthetic attitudes, from where they are. This method can be used to obtain abstract works by using different colors in one direction, as it will be difficult for children to move the marbles in different directions at the primary school level.
As a result, it is important that the child’s motivation, self-confidence and the contribution of the process he/she goes through to the development of the child’s motivation, self-confidence and the development of a work that they will be dealing with in a very short time, maybe for days.
The Scientix Project was conducted by our MEV College Private Büyükçekmece High School teacher Şennur HAN and MEV College Private Büyükçekmece Secondary School teacher Şensin KARATAŞ with the participation of 6 students in 4 different classes, 2 middle schools and 2 high schools, within the 7, 8, 9, AND 10 Grade Visual Arts course. It was held face to face between March 2022 and 29 April 2022.
In this context, the course work was as follows:
• Scientix project competition was introduced in Visual Arts 7,8,9 and 10th grade classes, and the roadmap to be followed was determined together with the students.
• First of all, the materials to be used are introduced to the students.
• How the work will be done and what needs to be taken into account are shown through the application.
• It is ensured that the student does the work step by step.
What results are obtained at different grade levels? Which levels enjoy or get bored with this work? In this study, which we had our middle and high school students do to analyze these, the feedback we received from both groups was that they enjoyed the application very much.
The development of technology and industry has shifted the concentration of population in urban areas, adding to the challenges for architects and designers in managing urban areas for a sustainable city and a secure future.
In this SDW22 our students will continue to investigate and to understand how important the combination of technology is in creating a healthier, more sustainable city for the planet. Students continue to raise their voice in the community and society about the importance of a friendly, green and healthy city.
We have integrated two themes: technology and architecture.
Our activities are based on the basic concepts of coding through Microbits, computer activities, as well as the importance of computer science and the introduction of new tools and approaches, such as visual programming tools, detached activities and coding for all subjects.
Learning objectives:
Creating a more sustainable city for the system, for human health, economy and sustainable world.
Increasing children’s motivation to learn STEM.
Improving ITC skills.
More mathematical knowledge.
Using online applications to demonstrate results.
Creating a good environment for STEM study within subjects, careers and other professions.
Expected results
– Know the basic concepts of coding and understand why it is important in contemporary education.
– Explain why coding and computer science are important to students.
– Learn and think in a creative way.
– Recognize innovative tools and approaches, such as visual programming tools, detached activities, robotics, and coding for all subjects.
– Develop key competencies related to the importance of the global environmental problem and improve knowledge in their areas.
– Understand how cities can be more sustainable.
– List the elements that make a city more ecological.
– How these elements, such as renewable energy, food, affect our health and environment.
– Writing and drawing materials, for ecological city plan.
– Present the theoretical information and create an ecological city carpet in a creative way.
Demonstrate integrated ICT skills in their curriculum
1. Learn to integrate simple coding in cross-curricular learning topics, such as climate change and ecological city.
2. Recognize various unplugged activities, as part of group collaboration.
3. Understand how to create a specific problem-solving task.
4. Possess cognitive skills, for what students should apply, in order to solve the problems of the environment, climate change, and topics related to the ecological city during a certain task.
5. Have a good application of digital technology learning by developing digital competencies and skills, in order to improve them through the analysis of better data education.
6.Design and implement a lesson plan using recyclable tools in building an ecological city, various ideas and digital resources.
Content description
The event guides students through technology to help them, motivate and build strong knowledge on different topics. Many coding games have been created that can be used to create and interpret computer software – at any age, without a specific background and even without a computer.
Visual programming and unplugged activities offer a wide range of choices that break down any access barrier, having educational value and activating computer programming.
Technology is evolving in our daily lives. But this technological development must be in harmony with the environment.
The purpose of our event is to promote the tourist spots of our small country in Albania by simulating a trip of the robot Edmodo. This trip starts from the Fier city after Edmodo chooses one of the A or B buttons of the microbial tool. Microbit is programmed to display a city after each button that will be Edmodo’s next destination.
But this trip is not easy for him, since to get the ticket for the next trip he has to go through the challenges that are programmed in each city. These challenges are set as QR barcodes after travel tickets.
Developing students’ understanding of the algorithm and the “(IF-THEN-ELSE)” and “(IF, IF ELSE)” commands, the Edmodo tour goes further if it overcomes the challenge or otherwise receives the penalty by going back to the previous city.
The tourist has with him a map of Albania, or uses the web that we have created, which indicates in the travel itinerary and options A and B according to the selected destinations.
If the trip is as short as possible towards the ecological city, this makes the Edmodo a winner.
The game starts from our city Fier, (an Albanian city) in the direction of the alternative ticket selected A or B. If ticket A is chosen, the destination is, for example, the city of Shkodra. Else if the ticket is B, the destination is Vlora.
Shkodra city – the game challenge is in MAZE (students can create their Maze game with different roadblocks for the different levels). At the end of the labyrinth, there is ticket A (Vlora), else if student does not choose ticket A, then the ticket choice is B (Tirana).
City of Tirana – Challenge: Internet network, find the minimum number of paving stones that need to be used so that you can get from any house to any other house. In the end, the city is written, and the destination of the movement (Ticket A – Vlora or Ticket B – Shkodra).
City of Vlora —- Challenge: The puzzle game. If the emoji comes out J the player goes to the city on the Durres, if the emoji is L student returns to the city in Start (Fier city).
Durres city — Challenge: message in bottle. A challenge awaits them in this city: to decode the message in the bottle, which will orient the player to the next destination, Tirana or Berat city.
City of Berat—- Challenge: to complete cryptographic input-output, for example with input code 001000 find the output code 001010. If the player does it correctly, then they will choose the ticket A that leads them to the Ecological City, if not, they choose ticket B, and returns to Start, at Fier city.
City of Fier. — Challenge: quizzes. If the tourist answers correctly, he will get the ticket A that will take them to Berat/County Z, if they do not answer correctly, they will get the ticket B that will take them to Tirana/Country S.
The winner is the tourist who has discovered the fewest routes and cities, to the ecological city.
While the student continues the journey, a student of the class writes on the blackboard the itinerary that the student has followed and the number of routes to the end of the journey.(Challenges can be different in each city, they can be quizzes with information on the culture and tradition of each city, or coding games.)
“Marin Barleti” University organized the ASDEF fair, the first #STEAM fair, in our country, Albania, where the students of vocational and general high schools presented their projects from different fields such as #architecture #engineering #biology #design #robotics #art ,etc. The evaluation committee announced our school project “Edmodo tourist trip to the ecological city” as one of the 10 winning projects.
This project integrated two very important issues: coding that develops in students computer thinking and environmental protection through ideas and innovation in creating an ecological city. This victory gives the opportunity to the students of our school to participate in the international fair Tekno Fest 2022 in Turkey.
In order to involve as many teachers and parents in the SDW22 campaign and to get acquainted with STEM education, Edu-ACT center in collaboration with Barleti University and Scientix ambassadors, we organized the conference, as a hybrid event with the theme: “Edtech-Parents and Teachers conference” .
My presentation focused on:
1. Understanding STEM education
2. The importance of STEM 3
3. Practical examples of STEM activities at home and in the classroom with the aim of involving parents, industry and University as collaborators.
The Competition:Leonardo4Children 2022 Awards: Climate, Equality and Peace
ABSTRACT
Key Words:Climate Change,Renewable Energy,Sustainable Energy Mindset
AIMS
to teach sources and uses of energy,renewable and non-renewable energy
to learn examples of common types of renewable and non-renewable resources to communicate between different countries across Europe. to develop empathy/respect for nature and children’s creativity to improve English and ICT skills to design green lessons to raise awareness what the carbon footprint and measure it
This activity is one of our activities within our etwinning Project
ACTIVITY TIME: 20-30 minutes
TOTAL PROJECT TIME: 45 minutes to 1 hour
KEY WORDS: Solar energy, solar power, sun, heat, cooking, recycling
Materials
Pizza box or shoe box. The larger the box, the better the oven should work.(We used shoe box)
Pencil or pen
Ruler
White school glue
A sheet of black paper
Utility knife
Aluminum foil
Plastic wrap
Shipping tape or black electrical tape
A wooden skewer or pencil
To do some cooking with your solar oven, you will need sunlight and fairly warm outside temperatures (above 75 degrees Fahrenheit is recommended, and the hotter it is the better). It should also not be windy.
If you want to cook some s’mores in your solar oven, you will also need graham crackers, marshmallows, and a chocolate bar. You can use an aluminum pie pan or a small piece of aluminum foil as a tray.
Prep Work
If needed, clean out the pizza box so it is ready to become a solar oven. Remove any cardboard liner that the box came with.
Adult assistance is recommended for using the utility knife. Use caution when cooking with the solar oven as it can get quite hot!
Instructions
On the top of the pizza box’s lid,firstly,draw a square that is about one inch inward from each edge.
a) And use a utility knife (and the ruler as a straightedge) to carefully cut along each side of the square you just drew except for the side that runs along the hinge of the box and Cut all the way through the cardboard on those three sides of the square. Then fold the flap back slightly along the attached side.
b) Line the inside of the cardboard flap with aluminum foil. Besides,fold the edges of the foil over the flap to help hold the foil in place and glue the foil onto the flap. Keep the foil as smooth as possible.
c) Cover the opening made by the flap (in the lid) with a layer of plastic wrap. And attach the plastic wrap to the opening’s edges using shipping tape or black electrical tape. Make sure there are no holes in the plastic wrap, and that all of its edges are completely closed onto the lid.So,why do you think it is important to make sure the plastic wrap completely seals the lid’s opening?
d) Line the inside of the box with aluminum foil so that when you shut the box, the entire interior is coated with foil. It is easiest to do this by covering the bottom of the box with foil, and then the covering the inside part of the lid (going around the plastic-covered opening) with foil too.At last,glue the foil in place.
e) Glue or tape a sheet of black paper to the bottom of the box and centered there. And this will act as your solar oven’s heat sink.
f) Lastly, use a wooden skewer or pencil (and some tape) to prop the solar oven’s lid up, at about a 90 degree angle from the rest of the box. Finally,your solar oven is ready to do some cooking!
Animal use in science refers to animals used in basic and applied research, i.e., products used in drug development or manufacture, and chemicals, food additives, and other testing to ensure they are safe. The three Rs stand for modification, reduction, and improvement of animal use in science. Anyone who uses animals for scientific purposes in the European Union must practice the Three Rs. Under EU law (Directive 2010/63/EU). Animal testing on cosmetic products is prohibited under EU legislation. This Learning Scenario (LS) will enable middle school students to learn about animal studies, Three Rs careers and animal care. It will also touch on the Three R principles and their importance in governing the use of animals in science. Secondary school students will design a playground for experimental animals in order to improve the environments in which animals live during the use of animals in science.
Exploring the Three Rs principle embedded in European Union legislation,
To learn about the career profiles of practitioners who apply the Three Rs in their work,
To gain knowledge in the field of animal use in science,
Studying how to study STEM subjects.
Trends
Project-Based Learning: students get fact-based tasks, problems to solve and they work in groups. This kind of learning usually transcends traditional subjects.
Lifelong Learning: learning does not stop when leaving school.
Collaborative Learning: a strong focus on group work.
STEM Learning: Increased focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics subjects in the curriculum
Student Centered Learning: students and their needs are at the centre of the learning process.
Assessment: the focus of assessments is shifting from “what you know” to “what you can do.”
Peer Learning: students learn from peers and give each other feedback.
21st Century Skills
Critical thinking
Communication
Cooperation
Creativity and Innovation
Problem solving
Digital literacy
Engage
The teacher shows the students the video in the link.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPNNNXOrkqM&ab_channel=tahabat%C4%B1kanvar Ask the students, “Why do you think animals are used in experiments? What do you think about experiments on animals? Have you heard of The Three Rs? “asks questions and encourages students to express their opinions.
Explore
The teacher, who takes the students’ opinions on the subject, asks the students to bring the use of animals in science and The Three Rs researches and findings to the class.
Explain
After completing their research, students present their data on The Three Rs and the use of animals in science to their classmates in teams. The teacher listens to the students’ presentation and fills in the missing parts. The teacher shows the students the video about The Three Rs.
The authors proposed the principles of Replacement, Reduction and Refinement (the “Three Rs”) as the key strategies of a systematic framework aimed at achieving the goal of humane experimental techniques. Russell and Burch saw replacement as the ultimate goal for laboratory animal based research, education and testing, with the other two, reduction and refinement, being more readily achievable in the short term.
Replacement
It can be defined as methods, strategies or approaches that do not involve the use of live animals. Replacement may be achieved through a number of tools or their combinations including in vitro systems using tissues, whole cells or parts of cells systems based on biochemical approaches, i.e. using synthetic (macro)molecules as proxies of (reactive) toxicity targets. Such methods are referred to as “in chemico” computer-based models and approaches – often termed in silico use of ‘omics’ technologies (e.g. transcriptomics, proteomics and metabonomics) non-testing approaches such as ‘read-across’ technique
Reduction
The concept of reduction covers any approach that will result in fewer animals being used to achieve the same objective, including maximising the information abtained per animal, reducing the number of animals used in the original procedure and/or limiting or avoiding the subsequent use of additional animals. The number of animals can also be reduced by performing procedures on animals more than once, where this does not detract from the scientific objective or result in poor animal welfare. However, the benefit of reusing animals should always be balanced against any adverse effects on their welfare, taking into account the lifetime experience of the individual animal. As a result of this potential conflict, the reuse of animals should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Refinement
Today, the term refinement signifies the modification of any procedures or husbandry and care practices from the time the experimental animal is born until its death, so as to minimise the pain, suffering and distress experienced by the animal and enhance its well-being.
When an animal experiences pain, suffering or distress, there are often accompanying physiological changes which may increase the variability of scientific results. Refinement therefore is also likely to improve data quality and contribute to Reduction. Refinement can also be achieved by moving from species that are considered more sentient to those less sentient. Examples: substituting the use of an adult fish with earlier life stages, for example, before entering under the scope of the Directive, or substituting the use of fish with daphnia. These are both considered methods of refinement as they are likely to reduce the pain, suffering and distress experienced by the animal, however, still requiring the use of live animals.
Elaborate
The teacher asks the students to design a playground for the laboratory animals to improve their environment. He asks them to draw their designs on a piece of paper and then create their designs in three dimensions using the tinkercad program. The aim here is to ensure the integration of science, engineering and technology. Students use their engineering skills while drawing the prototype they will design on a piece of paper. They actively use technology while designing playgrounds through the Tinkercad program.
Evaluate
Students who complete their designs present their designs to their classmates. During the presentation, each group is evaluated by peer assessment with the rubrics prepared by the teacher.
Assessment
Peer assessment will be done with rubric.The rubric is given below.
Quantities
Bad (1)
Good (2)
excellent (3)
Creating products
Accurate measurement of the created product
Availability of the product
Promoting the product and sharing the process
Student Feedback
This learning scenario has not yet been implemented. At the end of the application, students’ feedback can be made on the padlet.
Teacher’s Remarks
It is thought that this learning scenario will raise students’ awareness about the use of animals in science and The Three Rs by using STEM disciplines.
