Focus Discussion  Organize for Informed Design  Coordinate Student Progress  Unite the Class and Sum Up Progress

 PROCEDURAL SUGGESTIONS

Here suggested strategies are presented within the context of Informed Design, a pedagogical model for teachers. The FOCUS components are: Focus discussion on the problem context, Organize for informed design, Coordinate student progress, Unite the class in thinking about what has been accomplished, and Sum up progress on the learning goals.

PERIODS 1: Focusing Discussion on the Problem Context

THE PROBLEM. In order to focus and engage your students, discuss the design challenge with the class.

Music can be found in virtually every civilization. Evidence of this has been found as far back as we are able to investigate. There is much archaeological evidence of musical instruments in even the earliest civilizations. People have used music as part of their rituals, as well as to provide entertainment. Musical instruments have evolved from simple percussion devices, to wind, woodwind and string instruments to current devices that can synthesize music electronically.

Inform the class that they will be focusing on designing a musical instrument. Distribute the Introductory Packet, but have students put it aside until the following meeting. Introduce the design loop diagram. Ask "KWL" questions to find out what the students do know, what they want to know, and what they need to learn. Examples of such questions are: "How is music produced with strings and columns of air?", "How do digital and analog signal differ?" and "What is the history of musical instrument design?" This kind of questioning will help you discover the naïve conceptions individual students hold about designing a musical instrument.

The CHALLENGE. Redirect students to the Introductory Packet. As you go through the packet's contents together, present the challenge in a manner that will motivate them. Discuss briefly the What You Will Do, Problem Context, and Materials Needed sections.

Student teams will design and construct a musical instrument (wind or string). Students will optimize their design solution to produce the desired range of notes. A digital musical recording will be produced using their designed instrument and written onto a conventional compact disk (CD).

PERIODS 2 - 3: Organizing for Informed Design

INFORMED DESIGN. Elicit from students what they know about good design and who engages in design. Ask for examples of good design and poor design.

Tell the class that completing a series of KSBs will help prepare them for addressing the design challenge they face. Then introduce the student sheet describing the informed design cycle and provide time to read it.

The information sheet on the informed design cycle should be referred to often as groups work on the design challenge. The informed design loop can be particularly useful to the students as they chart their progress using a Design Journal. Like professional engineers, they will find themselves using the loop in an iterative rather than linear way.

Discuss the informed design cycle and stress that although design is normally informed by the designer's current knowledge, completion typically requires access to new knowledge. Discuss the need to research what solutions exist to solve this design challenge, and make sure the class understands how reaching an optimal design solution requires meeting specifications, working within constraints, and making trade-offs.

STUDENTS REQUIREMENTS. Discuss the student requirements (Introductory Packet); students will be expected to maintain a Design Journal. Help students see that the Design Journal allows them to document progress as they complete literature searches, factor investigations, and Knowledge and Skill Builders (KSBs). Describe the requirement that each student submit a Design Report and each group make a class presentation at the conclusion of the module. Explain that the report and the presentation will be based on information recorded in the Design Journal. Alert them that the presentations should be multimedia and should detail their design process and results. Help them see that such a presentation summarizes work completed in researching, collecting, and analyzing data; developing models; improving designs; and making refinements. Describe the multiple forms of media (for example, presentation software, color overheads, videos, and computer animation) that they might use to enhance their presentations. Assure them that when classmates ask probing questions and challenge group findings at the end of presentations, they are mirroring proceedings that are common at science conferences.

ASSIGNING GROUPS. Talk with some of the students ahead of time to see how experienced they are at working in cooperative groups. Organize small working groups; assigning three students per group is often ideal. Monitor groups throughout the module.

PERIODS 4 -16: Coordinating student progress

COORDINATE WORK BY INDIVIDUALS. Plan opportunities within this module for students to revisit their initial understandings by providing experiences with new phenomena that contradict their stated perceptions. Unless individuals have the opportunity to actively process such contradictions, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and then may revert to their preconceptions.

Help individual students make the connection between carefully documenting information as they proceed and well-written reports and presentations at the end.

Note that a student displaying unacceptable behavior may be doing so because other members of the group do not value that student's contribution to the project. Get to know the strengths of such a student and try assigning roles for all members of his or her group. Give the student a role that features a personal strength and inform the group ahead of time that this person is known to do that task well.
As the work becomes more technical and cerebral, some students will begin to complain that they are doing all the work while others loaf. Citing examples from your own experience, explain to such individuals that the best way to learn something is to teach it to others. Remind the group that it is essential that all members of a cooperative group understand all ideas and steps along the way. Conduct frequent oral checks to see that each student has adequate understanding before the group moves on in its work.

PERIODS 17 - 23: Unite the class and Summing Up progress on the learning goals

Group research and investigation through KSBs. Have students complete all of the KSBs sequentially.

• KSB #1, "Characteristics of Sound Waves" - Students investigate how sound waves are generated. Internet research of a musical instrument; Virtual Field Trip #1
  
• KSB #2, "Using an Audio Analysis System" - Students analyze the components of music; find the component frequencies using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) function.
  
• KSB #3, "Music and Strings" - Students investigate the standing waves produced by strings.
  
• KSB #4, "Music and Columns of Air" - Students investigate the standing waves produced by open and closed tubes.
  
• KSB #5, "Digital vs. Analog Audio Signals; Recording Media" Students investigate methods to record and process audio signals. Virtual Field Trip #2

Sharing. Convene the large group one or more times to share results of individual and group investigations. Invite students to listen critically to one another and facilitate a discussion of how this knowledge can be used to inform their efforts in the design of a network. Continue to work as a facilitator as students work in their groups to create alternative designs. Check to see that each group understands that its solution must address the specifications and constraints and the conditions needed to design the network. Remind each group to make decisions and select design components based upon their investigations. You may want to develop a rating system to determine which alternative design is preferred.

Planning and constructing. Continue to work as a facilitator as groups select their preferred alternative and develop plans for design. Facilitate a discussion of trade-offs that are made in the search for optimal design solutions. Encourage groups to identify and model functional design elements and construct their working prototype.

Testing. Bring students together as a large group and discuss ways in which groups might test their design solutions. Facilitate small group development for testing and evaluation procedures.

Bring the entire group together to compare results. Encourage student groups to carefully review the work of other groups to glean ideas that might inform a redesign. When redesign is discussed, continue to direct students' attention to how the understanding can guide improvement.

Design Report. The reports are one of the major opportunities for you to determine whether individuals have attained your goals for this module. Continue to work as a facilitator as groups document their progress and share results. Explain that each student must submit a Design Report. Assist individuals in structuring and writing their Design Reports. The Design Report should include a discussion of redesign with justifications for the redesign decisions. Provide students with the Design Report guidelines. When you introduced this module, you told students that careful documentation in the Design Journal leads to a well-written final report later on. For individuals who have trouble writing, check their documentation frequently along the way to ensure that they will have a source of information adequate to generate a report. It is advisable to set aside some class time for students to work on their reports. Looking over their reports at this time will provide you with some feedback as to how the students are progressing and enable you to assist students during regular class time.

Group presentations. Discuss with the class what is considered proper and expected behavior during group presentations. Address the need to use a variety of media to support the presentation.
During the group presentations to the class, encourage students (through example) to ask appropriate questions and provide constructive feedback to the presenters.