In this chapter, you have learned about diversity among designs. You have seen how criteria and constraints affect that diversity. Now it is time to share what you have learned. Materials
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Read the following information to learn about what you will do in this activity:
Figure 2-12: The after-school club is entering a robotics competition. The club members need your help in understanding the effects of criteria and constraints on diversity.One of the after-school clubs has decided to enter a robotics competition. It has only 2 weeks to design its robots. The instructions for the robots include some criteria and constraints. (See figure 2-12.) The club members do not know much about criteria and constraints. They have asked your class to help them understand how the instructions will affect their designs. They want to know if all the teams will have similar robots because everyone has the same set of instructions. They have only a short amount of time to prepare their work. They would like you to give them a quick introduction to criteria, constraints, and diversity of designs.
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Create a way to help the after-school club understand the effects of criteria and constraints on diversity. You might do the following:
- Create a brochure with photographs and sketches.
- Write a script for and produce a radio or television commercial. (You may have other students play roles in your presentation.)
- Write a play and present it to the class. (You may have other students play roles in your presentation.)
- Use a computer and graphic arts software to create a display or slide show.
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While you were working, the after-school club received some more information. The club members discovered that they had received the robotics instructions from last year. Now, they have different criteria and constraints. Add information to your work to explain what happens to diversity when criteria and constraints change. Hint
Once you have completed your work, follow the Think-Share-Advise-Revise (TSAR) strategy in Steps 4a–4d to share your work with a partner.
- You have already completed the “think” stage of the strategy in Steps 2 and 3.
- Share your work with your partner.
- Ask for feedback on how to improve your work. Have your partner write feedback on sticky notes and place the notes on your work.
- Make any revisions to your work using a different-colored pen or pencil. If you choose not to accept your partner’s advice, explain why on the back of the sticky note. Hint
Prepare to present your work. You might practice explaining your brochure or slide show. If you need other people to take part in your work, have them practice their roles.
Present your work as your teacher directs.
Activity Overview
In this Evaluate activity, Sharing about Design Diversity, students will help explain criteria, constraints, and diversity to a fictitious after-school club that does not know anything about these ideas. They will create a presentation, such as a brochure, radio or television commercial, play, or computer-based presentation, to help explain these ideas.
Before You Teach
Materials
For the entire class:
- paper
- markers
- computers with graphic arts or presentation software (optional—see Advance Preparation)
- sticky notes
- pens or pencils of different colors
Advance Preparation
Decide in advance what formats you will allow students to use for their presentations. If you have easy access to computers, a computer-based presentation may be fine. Be sure to reserve computers or the computer lab in advance, if necessary. Also consider whether you would like to make rules for the students so that the exercise involves more than students cutting and pasting ideas into a document. You may also wish to limit the amount of printing that students are allowed.
As You Teach
Outcomes and Indicators of Success
By the end of this activity, students will
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be able to explain the relationship between criteria, constraints, and diversity.
They will provide their explanations through a brochure, commercial, or other presentation that helps the after-school club understand what criteria and constraints are and how they will affect the diversity among the robot designs.
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understand the idea that changing criteria and constraints leads to changes in diversity.
They will demonstrate their understanding by adding information to their presentations to explain what will happen to the designs when the criteria and constraints change.
Strategies
Getting Started
You might begin this lesson by having a class discussion about what the students have learned in this chapter. The chapter organizer can be beneficial in guiding the discussion.
Process and Procedure
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Have students read the information to help them understand what they are going to do. Make sure they understand that the after-school club does not have a lot of time to get ready, so it needs a quick introduction, but it also needs to have complete information.
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Have students work on their presentations individually. You may want to give them a time limit on how long they can work. Emphasize that the content of the presentation is most important and that they should not spend too much time on the appearance. Although an attractive product is fine, explain that students will be graded on the content. If students are working on a commercial or a play, they should write out the entire script. This will help both during the Think-Share-Advise-Revise (TSAR) strategy in Step 4 and also during their presentations to ensure that they do not go too far off topic or take too much time. If students need others to help them with the presentation, you may want to limit the number of helpers.
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After they have had some time to work, or at the beginning of class the next day, have students read the new information that the after-school club received. Have them add information to their presentations to reflect what happens to diversity when criteria and constraints change.
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Once students have had ample time to finish their work, have them complete How to Use the TSAR Strategy with a partner. The teacher version of How to Use the TSAR Strategy can be found at this link. Provide sticky notes for them to write feedback on. Remember to encourage them to provide constructive feedback, not simply “Good job” or “Nice colors.” During the revise phase, students should either revise their work based on the feedback or address why they did not accept the feedback by writing the reason on the back of the sticky note. If they need more help, refer them to the How To that is mentioned in the hint.
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Have students practice for their presentations. If they will be using other students in their plays or commercials, they should make sure the other students understand what they are supposed to do. Check that students understand the total amount of time they will have to practice so they are able to practice their own presentation as well as help their classmates. If students will be presenting alone, they should make sure they know what they are going to say.
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Students should present their work as you decide. You may wish to have them present in groups of four to save on time. If you choose to have them present in groups, you might want to organize them so that there are different kinds of presentations in each group. If they have other students helping them with the presentation, make sure those other students are in the same group. Alternatively, you can have students present to the class. You may want to collect their scripts or other written work to use as part of the basis for their grades.