This project provided students with the opportunity to strengthen their Science and Engineering Practices as laid out by the Next Generation Science Standards.
Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
Working within a few parameters (they had to use a real egg, the contraptions would all be dropped from the same height with the same weather conditions, they had to work on their own to design, plan and ultimately create a contraption), students were challenged with the question
Students watched video of other egg drops before creation started and also used prior knowledge gained from watching past egg drops to help to create the best possible first version of an egg contraption that they could.
Building on their prior experience gained during the test drops, students used critical thinking to explain why their test drop was or was not successful. They then used that data as evidence of what they could re-design or strengthen in existing designs to produce their second version of the contraption for the official egg drop.
Finally students underwent a reflection process in which they took the outcomes of the final egg drop to explore the relationship between the contraption design and ensuing result for each of the students. They were engaged in discussions that moved from possible flaws in design to why people were successful. The discussion moved into talking about the generalities of gravity and why some of the contraptions fell at different rates.
Some of the questions couldn’t be readily answered such as “Why did the egg that fell out of the box and hit the concrete survive but mine that stayed in the box didn’t?” because the students felt that they had insufficient evidence to come to a satisfactory conclusion.
This type of discussion, reflection and questioning is what we strive for to further strengthen the critical thinking and communication skills of students.