How Are Grants Selected? Important! Read Carefully

Teachers Network

PROJECT GRANT

Application

DEADLINE: November 16, 2012

Who is eligible?

Any Santa Barbara County public school teacher or non-management certificated employee in grades K-12 in any subject or specialization may apply for Project Grants.

How are grants selected? Important! Read carefully.

Advisory Council members,comprised of teachers, administrators, and business partners, read and select the grants. Funding levels will determine the number of grants awarded. The selection committee is looking for a complete, polished unit with fully developed lessons. There must be a minimum of three comprehensive lesson plans included in this application. Applicants are notified approximately two to three weeks after the deadline.

Project Grant Recipients will:

Be honored and recognized at the Grant Recognition Dinner.

Prepare a display to be presented at upcoming events.

Application Instructions:Important! Read carefully.

1. Save this form to your computer using a new file name.

2. Please read Project Grants on the Teachers Network website:

3. Complete all pages of the application using this form.

4. When application is complete, obtain required signatures on page 3.

5. Submit electronically by the deadline to Courtney Taylor:

**NOTE: The application must be in our office by the deadline. No exceptions will be made.

Questions? Contact: Courtney Taylor (805) 964-4711 ext. 5277

A. Applicant Information

Certificated Teachers (only) may apply.If you are applying as a team (limit three teachers), please select a Lead Teacher who will serve as the primary contact for all grant matters and correspondence from the County Education Office.

Lead Teacher Information

Last Name / Ladwig
First Name / Chris
Home Address
(Street, city, zip) / 325 W. Burton Mesa Blvd. #214, Lompoc CA 93436
Home or cell phone / (805) 264-4683
E-mail address /
Current Position / Full-Time Science Teacher
School / Vandenberg Middle School
District / Lompoc Unified School District
Grade Level/s / 7th & 8th grade
Subject/s / Aerospace Modeling

2nd Teacher Information

Last Name
First Name
Home Address
(Street, city, zip)
Home or cell phone
E-mail address
Current Position
School
District
Grade Level/s
Subject/s

3rd Teacher Information

Last Name
First Name
Home Address
(Street, city, zip)
Home or cell phone
E-mail address
Current Position
School
District
Grade Level/s
Subject/s

Required Signatures

NOTE: You may scan the signatures and submit electronically to , fax to 805 683-6529, or truck/mail to Courtney Taylor, Teacher Programs and Support, SBCEO, 4400 Cathedral Oaks Road, Santa Barbara, 93110.

___(SEE ATTACHED)______

Lead TeacherPrincipal

B. Project Information

Project Title (please be creative): / Building a Bionic Arm
For what grade level is this project designed? / 7th and 8th grade
Number of students impacted by this project: / 96 students
Subject area: / Aerospace Modeling
Please create a 5-7 sentence mini-description that fully explains and advertises your project idea: / This engineering project introduces students to several concepts important throughout the Aerospace industry: hydraulics, pneumatics, and electronic circuits. Students first use syringes to explore the differences between compressing water and air, and then apply that to exerting force over a distance. They will then construct a hydraulic-controlled wooden arm in a competitive setting. The aim of the competition is to see which team can build an arm with the greatest range of motion. After the competition, teams are introduced to basic electronics in assembling a simple buzzer circuit. Finally, students use everyday materials and their buzzer circuit to construct an electronic touch sensor that is installed on their hydraulic arm.

C. Project Text

Paste your text into the appropriate sections after typing and editing it in a separate Word document (allows more editing flexibility). Use Times 12-point font.

1. Introduction:

a. Describe your project and explain how and why it works.

b. What is the educational value of the project?

a. The Bionic Arm Project is an integrated STEM project that exposes students to several aspects of engineering, physics, hydraulics, and electronics. It will take approximately 7 days to complete and is comprised of 4 main activities: Gases & Liquids, Making the Arm, Prototype Buzzer Circuit, and Design a Touch Sensor. Students first explore the value in using fluids instead of gases to transfer motion. Students then utilize this knowledge with their basic experience in physics to construct an arm in a competitive setting, rewarding the team whose arm has the largest range of motion. The second half of the project introduces students to electronics, in which they first assemble a simple buzzer circuit, and then design a touch sensor for their arm using everyday items and electrical components. An advantage of this project is that, although students are provided with particular specifications they must meet, the manner in which they accomplish those tasks is completely open-ended. This allows students to explore various ways to achieve a similar goal, thereby encouraging creativity in the engineering.
b. The educational value of this project is found in the fact that students will be utilizing several units of study in an integrated manner. The activities begin immediately after the class has studied Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion, so students should have some knowledge of basic physics that will be reinforced throughout the project. However, we will not yet have studied hydraulics or electronics, so this project serves as an introductory activity and a prime example of “just in time” learning. It will provide students with the tools to then be successful in our more advanced studies of electronics and robotics.

2. Lesson Plans:

a. Include at least threecomprehensive lesson plans that make up your unit.

b. Include any/all relevant worksheets, student work samples, resource lists, etc.

after each lesson.

Activity #1: Gases & Liquids
DURATION: 1-2 days (47 minute periods)
STANDARDS: 8th Grade: Forces 2. d. Students know how to identify separately the two or more forces that are acting on a single static object, including gravity, elastic forces due to tension or compression in matter, and friction. e. Students know that when the forces on an object are unbalanced, the object will change its velocity.
OBJECTIVES: Students will demonstrate the difference in compressing gases versus compressing liquids.
INTENDED OUTCOME: Students will find that since gas is compressible, it is not suitable for transferring motion whereas liquids are not compressible and therefore work well when transferring motion efficiently.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE: This activity will take place immediately after the classes have studied Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion. They will be implementing some of this knowledge in learning how to efficiently transfer motion across a distance.
ACTIVITY: Students will first connect two syringes with a length of tubing between them, leaving the system filled with air. They will explore how moving the plunger on one syringe affects the movement of the other syringe, first with no resistance and then with the second plunger against a book, attempting to move it. Next, students will assemble the system again, except they will first fill the tubing and one syringe with water, leaving the other syringe closed entirely. Once all of the air has been bled out of the system, students will again experiment with how the movement of one syringe affects the other, including when the second syringe is placed against a book. The air (pneumatic) and water (hydraulic) systems are then compared in their effectiveness at transferring motion over a distance.
EXTENSION: After learning that the water-filled hydraulic system more efficiently transfers motion, students will save these systems to be installed on the arms they build in the next activity.
MATERIALS: (per team)
Four 10mL syringes
Two 1.5-foot lengths of ¼” clear plastic tubing
Textbook (for pushing)
Activity #2: Making the Arm
DURATION: 2 days (47 minute periods)
STANDARDS: 8th Grade: Forces 2. b. Students know when an object is subject to two or more forces at once, the result is the cumulative effect of all the forces. e. Students know that when the forces on an object are unbalanced, the object will change its velocity.
OBJECTIVES: Students will construct a simple arm using balsa wood, and then attach a simple hydraulic system in a way that will maximize the arm’s range of motion.
INTENDED OUTCOME: Teams of students will have a wide variety of hydraulic system placements on their arms in a competitive setting to examine which design allows the largest range of motion.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE: This activity will implement our recent studies of Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion. This knowledge plus their experience with hydraulic systems from the prior activity will be tools the students will use to construct their arms.
ACTIVITY: Students will use balsa wood to first construct a simple hinged arm. They will then determine where on the arm they should install their hydraulic system to create the largest possible range of motion. The placement of the system will be left entirely up to the students. A competition will then be held in which students demonstrate their arms and see whose has the largest range of motion. They will need to provide reasoning for their designs.
EXTENSION: These arms will be preserved for use again once students are ready to install their touch sensors.
MATERIALS: (per team)
Hydraulic system from prior activity
Four rubber bands
Masking tape
Scissors
Protractor / Ruler
Paper Clip
Four balsa wood strips ¼” x ½” x 18”
Activity #3: Prototype Buzzer Circuit
DURATION: 1 day (47 minute periods)
STANDARDS: 9th-12th Grade: Electric and Magnetic Phenomena 5. a. Students know how to predict the voltage or current in simple DC electric circuits constructed from batteries, wires, resistors, and capacitors.
OBJECTIVES: Students will use basic electrical components to demonstrate how a simple buzzer circuit is constructed.
INTENDED OUTCOME: Students will learn how basic circuits are constructed, which they will then apply in the next activity.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE: Most students will have had very little prior experience with electrical circuits. They will learn the basics as they move through this activity, in an example of “just in time” learning.
ACTIVITY: Students will utilize electrical components such as a push-button switch, alligator wires, battery pack, and buzzer. I will first present them with a pre-constructed example of the circuit for their reference. They will then work in groups of 2-3 students with a copy of the circuit diagram. If their circuit does not function correctly, they will have to troubleshoot the problem with minimal intervention by myself.
EXTENSION: The students’ basic knowledge of circuits will be applied in the next activity, where they construct their own circuits.
MATERIALS: (per team)
Three wires with alligator clips
One 9V battery
One 9V battery snap
One buzzer
Push-button momentary switch
Circuit diagram
Activity #4: Design a Touch Sensor
DURATION: 2 days (47 minute periods)
STANDARDS: 8th Grade: Forces 2. b. Students know when an object is subject to two or more forces at once, the result is the cumulative effect of all the forces. e. Students know that when the forces on an object are unbalanced, the object will change its velocity. 9th-12th Grade: Electric and Magnetic Phenomena 5. a. Students know how to predict the voltage or current in simple DC electric circuits constructed from batteries, wires, resistors, and capacitors.
OBJECTIVES: Students will use their experience from the past three activities and use it to create an integrated arm with touch sensor that demonstrates hydraulic systems, basic physics, and simple electrical circuits.
INTENDED OUTCOME: Students will develop hydraulic arms that use an electronic touch sensor to sound a buzzer when the arm contacts another object.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE: This activity builds on the three previous activities, which explored hydraulics and pneumatics, basic physics, and simple electrical circuits. All of these areas will be integrated within their finished product.
ACTIVITY: Students will first create a buzzer circuit using the components from the prior activity along with several other random household objects. They will then replace the push-button switch with a custom-made touch switch that will make a connection when pressed and disengage when released. They will use the household objects to construct this. Their custom switch will need to be integrated with the end of their hydraulic arm, so that when the arm is extended the touch sensor will switch on the buzzer when the arm contacts an object. They will then present their final product and answer several questions about the process and results.
EXTENSION: This project will lead into more developed exploration of electrical components and robotics through the use of BOE-Bots.
MATERIALS: (per team)
Three wires with alligator clips
One 9V battery
One 9V battery snap
One buzzer
Push-button momentary switch
Small paper cup
10 Paper clips
5 Rubber bands
Masking tape
Aluminum foil (2 sq.ft.)
Four 3x5 index cards
One 2-inch foam ball
Prior constructed hydraulic arms

3. Student Impact:

a. What will students learn or be able to do as a result of this project?

b. How will students benefit from this project?

a. The completion of this project will both reinforce my students’ knowledge of the Newton unit, while also helping them understand some basic aspects of the upcoming Electricity and Robotics units. They will see Newton’s laws put to work and be able to demonstrate how, for example, that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The usefulness of this project is also demonstrated in how it introduces some basic concepts of both electricity and robotics. Students will understand some of the components required to build a circuit and in what order they should be placed to accomplish a specific task. Finally, my students should be able to demonstrate how physics, hydraulics, and electronics can work together in building a simple robotic mechanism.
b. This project is innovative within the Aerospace Modeling program because it will nicely bridge two very different units of study. The project will take place immediately after we finish studying Newton’s Three Laws of Motion, and just prior to beginning our unit on Electricity and Robotics. The Bionic Arm project will allow students to apply their knowledge of Newton as they are developing their hydraulic systems and creating an arm with the largest possible range of motion. The project also nicely introduces some basic electrical concepts right before we begin to study the area in greater depth. Hydraulics and electricity are also commonly utilized in robotics as well, so the project should recap one unit while integrating it with the next two units of study as well. I enjoy the creativity involved in this project as it teaches some very basic concepts while allowing students to work in an open-ended fashion with very little specific instructions. As long as they can meet a few specifications, very different arms may all be successful.

4. Student Assessment:

a. What evaluation tools will you use to assess the impact on student learning, and

how will it inform your instruction?

a. I will assess how this project met its intended goals both directly and indirectly. During the Making the Arm activity, students will be competing to see who can build the arm with the largest range of motion. The results of this competition will help me to assess how successfully they understood the physics and hydraulics behind building a simple arm. Students who achieved the larger ranges of motion will have likely grasped the overall concepts better as well. In the electronics and touch sensor activities, the assessment will simply be in whether or not their prototypes can complete the task successfully (When you push the switch, does the buzzer go off? When the arm touches an object, does the buzzer go off?). The methods in which they arrived at these goals will be explained when the teams present their completed projects to rest of the class. They will have to discuss what went well, where they struggled, and how they might work differently if given a similar task again. Indirectly, the success of the project will be measured as we move into the Electricity and Robotics units. In areas where they struggle, after each activity I may need to spend additional time pointing out the prototypes that were most successful and have students explore what made them particularly successful while their own work may not have worked as well. If the students quickly understand the basic concepts that we had explored during the project, then the Bionic Arm will have been successful in achieving its goals.

5. Standards:

a. List 4 to 5 main California Content and/or Common Core Standards you seek to