WV State Standards: Science: SC.9.4.6  SC.10.4.14  AB.4.30  AB.4.31 Technology: 21C.O.9-12.2.TT3, 21C.O.9-12.3.TT2  National Standards:  Science: 1 Blooms Taxonomy: Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation 21st Century Skills: Critical Thinking and Systems Thinking, Problem Identification, Formulation, and Solution, Thinking and Problem-Solving, Communication

Objective(s)

Students will present the results of their research and the completed model.  After each presentation, students should be able to critically evaluate the problems and issues of the mission that remain unsolved and hypothesize means of addressing them.  Students will then complete a research paper which discusses the various areas of engineering used in this unit, as well as areas that will need to be used in order to address the additional problems discussed in this lesson.

Time Required

50 minutes

Pre-Requisite Skills

This lesson requires effective communication skills

Students require access to PowerPoint presentation software and data projector.  The research aspect will require computers with Internet research capability.

Computer with PowerPoint presentation software, Internet, and data projector or similar presentation capability

1. Allow students to present their projects to the class using their PowerPoint presentation.  During the presentations, evaluate each team using the rubric found under the Assessment/Evaluation area.
2. After each presentation, engage students in a discussion of the problems that still remain unsolved and ask students to hypothesize how they could be addressed. Keep a cumulative list of all problems, as they are discussed.
3. After all presentations have been made, indicate that the remaining problems represent technological issues which require the collaboration of scientists and engineers of various disciplines to solve.
4. After the discussion, students are to complete a short independent research paper on the engineering aspects of the unit.  There are two main components of the paper.  Section one should outline two areas of engineering that were involved in the design and production of their Martian environment.  Section two is to address three areas of engineering that would be involved in solving the additional problems discussed in this lesson.  Students will also describe the requirements of becoming an engineer.  In order to obtain the information, students may use the following website for their research.  The paper is to be word processed with few or no spelling or grammatical errors.

Teachers may choose to allow students to present their projects in a different format.  This determination may be made in order to accommodate various learning styles of the students.  Alternate presentation methods may include a poster presentation or a formal report.

Collaboration

During the presentation, each group member should be contributing to the presentation in a significant way.

In this lesson, each group is to present their findings to the whole class.  One of the most important aspects of the presentation is the student analysis of the feasibility of the mission.  After each individual presentation, engage students in a discussion of the problems of the mission that still need to be addressed.  These issues should at least include the parameters from the original scenario that were not addressed including oxygen production and waste removal.  Other concerns include transport of materials, water acquisition and even psychological issues of the crew dealing with isolation.  Students should also realize that in this low gravity environment, the crew will need to engage in resistance training to avoid the loss of muscle mass.  During the discussion, keep a list of the additional problems.  At the end of the presentation, you can engage the students in a discussion that evaluates the overall feasibility of the mission.  Students should realize there are many components of the mission that are left unresolved and will require the input of many other groups to ensure the success of the mission.  At this time assign the independent research project where each student investigates the areas of engineering used in this unit and additional areas which will be required for the remaining concerns.

The final project presentation will be evaluated using a rubric.  Students will be evaluated based on a scale of 1 to 4 in a variety of areas.