Work by yourself to answer the following questions in your technology notebook.
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Testing your model probably gave you some good ideas about your design.
- Based on your tests, was your design a success? Provide evidence for your answer.
- Are there still changes you would like to make to your design? If so, what are they and why would you make them?
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How was testing important for the design of your solution?
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In this activity, you tested a model for your solution.
- How would your results have been similar if you were testing the actual design?
- How would your results have been different if you were testing the actual design?
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Turn to the page in your technology notebook that you marked with a sticky note or paper clip. You should find the Process of Technology Design graphic.
- Draw an X next to any phase that you did during this activity.
- Write the word “elaborate” next to any X that you drew to show you worked on the phase during the Elaborate activity.
- Describe how you were doing that phase in the activity.
Answers to Reflect and Connect
Students should work individually to answer the questions. They should write their answers in their technology notebooks. You may wish to discuss some or all of the questions once students have had time to reflect.
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Testing your model probably gave you some good ideas about your design.
- Based on your tests, was your design a success? Provide evidence for your answer.
Are there still changes you would like to make to your design? If so, what are they and why would you make them?
Students will have different answers, depending on the results of their tests. Some students may say that it was a success, but that they would still like to make changes. They should justify any changes they want to make. If they did not feel their design was a success, they should explain why.
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How was testing important for the design of your solution?
Students should realize that testing helped them understand the parts of their design that did not work properly or the way they expected. Even if their design was a success, students should realize that without testing, they would not know if the model really worked the way they thought it would.
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In this activity, you tested a model for your solution.
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How would your results have been similar if you were testing the actual design?
Question 3 is another way of helping students realize the strengths and limitations of models. They should recognize that if they had been testing the actual design, they would likely have seen some of the same behaviors as the model, and they would have been able to see if the design performed the way they expected.
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How would your results have been different if you were testing the actual design?
Student answers will vary; however, they should realize that the results may have been different if they were using a design with the actual materials they planned to use or at the actual size and scale they intended. They may also say that there could have been differences if they were exposing the design to the real environmental problem.
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Turn to the page in your notebook that you marked with a sticky note or paper clip. You should find the Process of Technology Design graphic.
- Draw an X next to any phase that you did during this activity.
- Write the word “elaborate” next to any X that you drew to show you worked on the phase during the Elaborate activity.
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Describe how you were doing that phase in the activity.
In this activity, students carried out and evaluated the solution. Their testing allowed them to do both of these phases of the process of technology design.