Topic #3 Web Quest

It took me a while to think about how I could use a web quest in my program.  Most of the information that we teach comes from aerospace customer specifications that are not available online due to the proprietary nature of aerospace manufacturing.  I do  think that I could use it in more a a general way so that students could get a deeper general understanding of composites and why we use them in aerospace.

These would be some good sites for the students to do their research on composites.  The information here is about general composites basics but with connections to the aerospace industry and the advantages of using them

Blog

Blog 2

Aeropedia

Video

The questions that I would ask them to answer is we know that the data shows that composites have a better strength to weight ratio to metallic part and all new aircraft are using more composites in their manufacture.

1. Why are they stronger that metallics based on strength to weight ratio.
2. What will the new aircraft achieve by using composite materials
3. What are some of the downsides of composite structures?

These questions are just a matter of finding the information in the documents.  An exercise for deeper learning would be something like this.

Base on the video that you have watched and articles that you have read, design a composite part that would go on the the wing of an aircraft.

Your design must have

1. Type of Fabric
2. Type of Resin
3. Layout of ply orientation
4. Create a blueprint of the panel
5. Write a 200 word document explaining why you made the choices on materials and design that you created.

I can see how an assignment like this would force the students not to just memorize fact but actually apply what they have learned in the real world.

Topic Post #2

Flipping the classroom; changing where the learning is centered.  Rather than lecturing in class and sending the class home to do their homework the lectures can be recorded and watched at home and the hands on learning in moved to the classroom where the teacher takes on the roll of a coach with more time to help the individual.

The course that I teach was developed 18 years ago with about 20% of the time teacher centered and the remainder is hands on practical projects ( More Student centered).  It may sound like that is the good ratio but in teaching it for the last 2 years I know that some students are not getting the most out of the teacher centered lessons.

What I am planning to do during the  next session is to flip the way I do math.  I am going to use the amazing resource Khan Academy for students to watch the “lecture portions” at home and when they get to class they can do what would usually be assigned as homework.  I am currently finding that while I am teaching the math unit everyone’s head in bobbing up and down in understanding but come assessment time its clear that I left some students behind.

With using Khan Academy I can track students progress at home and then in the class time I can work with the individuals that are having difficulty and assign more challenging work to the students that are doing well.

It does take a small amount work on the teachers part to create the class in Khan Academy and to monitor progress and to assign additional tasks but for the most parts once you have it set up the web site runs itself.  I has also seen that some students love it and keep using Khan Academy in their spare time to improve their math skills.