Kingsland students build machines through PLTW curriculum

Kingsland ninth graders Caitie Good and Clayton Freimuth are hard at work on their machines during science class.

What is the mechanical advantage of string?

And does the project lead the way, or should the simple machines be tweaked to convey the marble?

"The students have been working on their Rube-Goldberg machines for the past week and a half, and they needed to build a compound machine that used all six of the simple machines they had learned about in class. In the end, the goal was to put them all together and have a big Rube-Goldberg machine," said Kingsland science instructor Jen Orth. Her ninth grade students constructed these machines from two-liter pop bottles, masking tape, cardboard, paper cups, duct tape, paper, string, and metal erector set parts supplied through the school's Project Lead the Way (PLTW) curriculum.

Orth added, "Then, in addition to building the machine, they had to calculate the mechanical advantage of their machines and figure out the overall mechanical advantage of their entire machine."

The high school students spent nearly two weeks in groups of two, constructing small machines that would move a marble from one point to another and simplify that process. When they completed their small machines, the true test of their scientific exploration was when the marble dropped from the machine placed atop a desk at the beginning, connected to the next, and rolled to the next one, straying from its course and proving that some engineering changes might be necessary to make it continue its journey to the end machine on the floor.

Orth observed, "I saw each of the machines work perfectly as students were still in the building stages. The final day, when we put them all together, it didn't run perfectly. If students would have had a day or two to test the final machine, they would have been able to work out all the problems and it would have gone more smoothly. Many students told me after class that there were many things they would change if they got the chance to do the assignment again."

Kingsland has almost "entirely replaced" its ninth grade science curriculum with PLTW "Principles of Engineering" materials, according to Kingsland Principal James Hecimovich, who was pleased to be in the classroom to witness the Rube-Goldberg machine experiment.

Orth appreciates that the PLTW curriculum engages her students far more than learning from textbooks ever could. "I plan to use as much of the curriculum as possible - we may have to condense a few things because the PLTW curriculum does not include any chemistry, but there are ninth grade chemistry state science standards.

"However, the PLTW is very hands-on. Students get the chance to learn physics concepts through application. They also learn problem-solving skills as they work together with their group to accomplish the goal. They really enjoy working on the hands-on projects. They come into class and typically get started even before the bell rings."

And the advantage of using string, pop bottles, and duct tape to convey a marble? Orth concluded, "Students have a much greater understanding of simple machines, their purpose, and how they are used from doing this project. In the past, we've talked about simple machines and mechanical advantage, but I don't think students have ever understood it quite as well as this year."

Posted October November 14, 2011
Article from Spring Valley Tribune
By Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy

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