3 Politics: Radicalism and reaction
Childcare, education, working conditions, healthcare, crime … these issues are hotly debated in today's society. They are also issues that Robert Owen, seen by some as a visionary and by others as a knave and a charlatan, sought to address in the early 1800s. This unit uses a series of essays written by Owen to explore the ideas of this important and controversial figure.
Which Roof is Tops?
When you walk or drive around your neighborhood what do the roofs look like? What if you lived in an area with a different climate, how would that effect the style of roof that you might find. This is an introductory activity to explore the advantages of different roof shapes for different climates or situations.
Seminars on Government and the Marketplace 03/29/11 #3
03/29/11
Promoting Responsibility: The Case of Insurance Regulation
James Pappas
Water Safety for Families with Children with Special Needs
This video addresses the unique needs for water safety for families of special needs children. Special considerations for children with cognitive disorders and wheelchair bound children are discussed. This is a good resource for any adult working with special needs students/children such as parents, teachers, caregivers, and/or babysitters. (3:32)
King Leads the March on Washington
the March on Washington (3:10) On August 28, 1963, a quarter million people gather to support civil rights, and share Dr. King's "dream" of equality. This video is highlighted by King's "I have a dream speech" and the reaction to it. The efforts of the federal government to enforce civil rights is explained as well as how the March was organized and where.
Designing a Medical Device to Extract Foreign Bodies from the Ear
Students learn the engineering design process by actually utilizing the steps, from identification of the problem to designing a device and evaluating its efficacy and areas for improvement. A quick story at the beginning of the activity reveals the problem: a small child put a pebble in his ear and we don’t know how to get it out! As biomedical engineers, the students are asked to design a device to remove it. Each student pair is provided with a model ear canal and a wide variety of classroo
Designing Medical Devices for the Ear
Students are introduced to engineering, and more specifically, to biomedical engineering and the engineering design process through a short lecture and interactive, hands-on activity (approximately 30 minutes long), where students design their own medical device for retrieving foreign bodies from the ear canal. In this lesson, the teacher first reviews the basics of ear anatomy then discusses how ear infections occur and how they are treated. Following antibiotic treatment, the most common treat
Two Sides of One Force
Students learn more about magnetism, and how magnetism and electricity are related in electromagnets. They learn the fundamentals about how simple electric motors and electromagnets work. Students also learn about hybrid gasoline-electric cars and their advantages over conventional gasoline-only-powered cars.
The Advantage of Machines
In this lesson, students learn about work as defined by physical science and see that work is made easier through the use of simple machines. Already encountering simple machines everyday, students will be learn about their widespread uses in improving everyday life. This lesson serves as the starting point for the Simple Machines Unit.
Energy Sources Research
Fact sheets are provided for several different energy resources as a starting point for students to conduct literature research on the way these systems work and their various pros and cons. Students complete a worksheet for homework or take more time in class for research and presentation of their findings to the class. This approach requires students to learn for themselves and to teach each other – rather than having a teacher lecture about the various sources and systems.
Clean It Up!
Students learn about a special branch of engineering called bioremediation, which is the use of living organisms to aid in the clean-up of pollutant spills. Students learn all about bioremediation and see examples of its importance. In the associated activity, students conduct an experiment and see bioremediation in action!
My Mechanical Ear Can Hear!
Students are introduced to various types of hearing impairments and the types of biomedical devices that engineers have designed to aid people with this physical disability.
Audio Engineers: Sound Weavers
Students are introduced to audio engineers, discovering the type of environment in which they work and exactly what they do on a day-to-day basis. Students come to realize that audio engineers help produce their favorite music and movies.
Soil Investigations
Students learn the basics about soil, including its formation, characteristics and importance. They are also introduced to soil profiles and how engineers conduct site investigations to learn about soil quality for development, contamination transport, and assessing the general environmental health of an area.
Breaking the Mold
In this math activity, students conduct a strength test using modeling clay, creating their own stress vs. strain graphs, which they compare to typical steel and concrete graphs. They learn the difference between brittle and ductile materials and how understanding the strength of materials, especially steel and concrete, is important for engineers who design bridges and structures.
Water, Water Everywhere
Students learn about floods, discovering that different types of floods occur from different water sources, but primarily from heavy rainfall. While floods occur naturally and have benefits such as creating fertile farmland, students learn that with the increase in human population in flood-prone areas, floods are become increasingly problematic. Both natural and manmade factors contribute to floods. Students learn what makes floods dangerous and what engineers design to predict, control and sur
How to be a Great Navigator!
In this lesson, students will learn how great navigators of the past stayed on course — that is, the historical methods of navigation. The concepts of dead reckoning and celestial navigation are discussed.
All Caught Up: Bycatching and Design
Bycatch, the unintended capture of animals in commercial fishing gear, is one of the hottest topics in marine conservation today. About 25% of the entire global catch is bycatch. This surprisingly high level of bycatch is responsible for the decline of hundreds of thousands of dolphins, whales, porpoises, seabirds and sea turtles each year. Through this curricular unit, students will analyze the significance of bycatch in the global ecosystem and propose solutions to help reduce bycatch. Student
You’re a Pushover!
The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion, which is the physical law that governs thrust in aircraft. The students will do several activities that show that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
