Ever Wonder?: Episode 2

Ever Wonder?

Episode Two

Geography and Early Civilizations of North America

      

Experiment, Fail, Learn, Repeat

                                                                     

Fourth-grade students in The Hive have been learning about plant and animal structures and functions and how their internal and external structures function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. We took the topic a step further and asked students to explore its meaning and relevancy as it pertains to humans and the world around them.

Learning about the basic structures, functions, and adaptations of the human body (like opposable thumbs, skin, and the heart for example) was the perfect introduction to this topic. Students learned about the functions of these structures and how they support our growth and survival.

Students also participated in a honeybee exploratory lab to learn more about the structures of honeybees and how they function to support survival, growth, and reproduction. There was so much to see and understand about the internal structures of these important organisms. This activity lent itself perfectly to building a basic foundation of knowledge about the importance of bees in our ecosystem and how the pollination process is an essential part of plant reproduction.

The relevancy of this topic rested on our next exploration which was a deep dive into biomimicry (using the structure, systems, and elements that exist in nature for the purpose of solving complex human problems). Students took some time investigating the construction of basic garden bird nests. They studied the characteristics and use of these types of nests and the various materials birds use to build them. Ultimately, students determined that they were sturdy but flexible, camouflaged to hide from predators, bowl-shaped to hold the eggs and babies safely in the nest, and shock-absorbing - after all, those eggs need a soft place to land. So, what can we learn from bird nests? Probably more than you thought! We offered students an opportunity to practice the design engineering-build process by presenting them with a real-world problem that our friends at 'NASA' needed help solving. Enter Hive-X. 

Students learned about the Orion space capsule mission and the need for space engineers to design a landing pad that future shuttle explorations could land on upon their return (rather than landing in the ocean). Our Hive-X space engineers put their knowledge and understanding of biomimicry to the test as they used the design of bird nests as the inspiration for their plans and prototypes. Design-build teams utilized a variety of materials, constraints, and the engineering design-build process to construct their landing pads. Their small-scale, fully functional prototypes were put to the test during a Hive-X Shuttle Landing Test Experiment (the shuttle being an egg).  RESULTS: Fifteen of the test landings were successful and four were "not successful... YET". The experience reminded us that failure always offers us an opportunity to grow and when we take advantage of those moments and look at a problem differently, are patient with ourselves, and lean into the challenge, we can do anything.

This week's guest bloggers reflect on our biomimicry engineering design-build challenge experience. Enjoy.

When my partner and I designed our landing pad, we used our knowledge of bird nest construction to inspire us. For example, we used two layers: an outer layer made of cotton balls and packing peanuts; an inner layer of just cotton balls and cloth for padding. This resembled a bird's nest because many birds build nests with more than one layer for warmth, structure, and support.    @ Seafoam-da-Seawing

Biomimicry is important because before there were cars, trains, and McDonald's, there was only nature. If there weren't inspiring ideas from nature, we wouldn't have a lot of things we now have. Take a plane for example. Did the idea of an airplane just pop into someone's head? Of course not. Someone was inspired by the flight of birds. Biomimicry solves many human problems and challenges.   @WritingGod

I would improve the design of our landing pad in two ways. First, I would improve the "final slowing stage" by adding pine needles to help slow the descent. Second, I would have finished the parachute system which would have helped slow the re-entry module and kept it in place without moving it. I would have built one main chute and two side chutes.    @TheScienceGeek

If we had more time to design our landing pads, I would have changed a few things. One thing would be to make the landing pad have sides because we noticed that the "shuttle" fell off our pad and having sides would have kept it on the pad. Another thing I would have changed is some of the materials we used.    @Burt

I used my knowledge of bird nest construction to design our landing pad. We made our structure soft on the inside and sturdy and strong on the outside. The soft layer helped to cushion the impact so that the "shuttle" wouldn't break. The round, sturdy structure helped make sure that the shuttle didn't fall off the landing pad. The strong outside of the structure helped it stay together.    @PotatoMonitor

If I had more time to work on our landing pad, I would have managed my time differently and would have spent more time on the plan. I had to start over at one point because my original plan did not work well and I did not think it would be a success. I had a ton of fun with this project and hope to do another engineering challenge like this again.    @SoftballPiggy

If we had more time to improve the design of our landing pad, I would have made a parachute because it would have helped slow down the shuttle's landing so that it wouldn't have cracked. I would also like to have added a little more cushion to the pad. And finally, I would have liked to add some walls so that the shuttle stayed on the pad.     @ChickenNugget

I used my knowledge of bird nest construction to design and build my landing pad by using cotton balls to make "underwear" (a basket-like cushion) to keep the shuttle safe on landing. ☺   @SoccerPro1 

Credits: Song: The Final Countdown; Artist: Europe; Release Date: 1986

Deeper Learning With Hexagonal Thinking

Speaking of hives, honeycombs, and hexagons... 

Students get excited when they explore new frameworks for discussion and critical thinking. Learning becomes so much more engaging when you're presented with new opportunities to share your knowledge and understanding of various topics with your peers. We introduced a new critical thinking and discussion framework to students this week called Hexagonal Thinking, with the goal of inspiring students to think deeper about their learning related to the structures and functions of plants and animals. 

Hexagonal thinking is a flexible, tactile approach to getting students thinking about connections they might never otherwise make while making a conceptual understanding of ideas visible. Here's the gist. In small groups, students are provided with a set of hexagonal tiles, each tile containing different ideas or words written on them. They work collaboratively to arrange so that related tiles are next to each other - essentially building a web of connections. This strategy is designed to get students engaged in discussion and negotiation of the tile placements. As they move the tiles around, it prompts them to consider connections that they hadn't previously discovered. This approach challenges students to demonstrate higher levels of understanding by explaining the relationships between ideas using evidence. 

The Hive was BUZZING with curiosity and excitement. We observed groups of students making deep connections to their learning and asking each other relevant and meaningful questions during their discoveries, while others grappled with complex ideas and questions. In a debrief, we shared our community experience and discussed ways to make this type of thinking work even better. Regardless of the successes or failures experienced, we all agreed that hexagonal thinking can be a very powerful thinking tool. They're looking forward to using this framework again with other units of study. 

This week's guest bloggers reflect on their experience. Enjoy! 

Something that my group and I found challenging about this experience was choosing the first hexagon because there were so many possible starting points. Trying to find one keyword that connected with 6 other words was difficult. Even though this activity started out challenging, we found a way to make it work and connect our thinking in the process.   @Seafoam-da-Seawing

One of my "AHA!" moments was when we were trying to connect the hexagons and my group came across the word "robot". I was so confused because I couldn't figure out what that word had to do with honeybees. Someone in our group said that if we don't protect bees that they may have to have robots help pollinate flowers and collect nectar because the pollination process can't stop.   @cheerqueen

The hexagonal thinking experience helped me make deeper connections about honeybees. I could see what others learned and we could talk about what we didn't know. One of my group members explained something that the rest of us didn't understand and it made sense.   @LightningDragon

I loved the hexagonal thinking activity because it was like solving a verbal puzzle, which is a new type of puzzle for me that was challenging, but fun.   @Potato. 

My favorite part of the hexagonal thinking activity was how we got to use what we know about honeybees and stretch our thinking. One example was when I was puzzled about how robots connect with honeybees. My group talked and we shared what we knew with each other and I knew how to solve my question.   @puppyonline

An "AHA!" moment that I had during the hexagonal thinking experience was when we came across the word "waggle". Our group had trouble figuring out what it meant and we were almost going to give up and just not use the word. We decided to go back to our resources and see if we missed something that we didn't catch the first time. It turned out that we missed the fact that 'waggle' is a certain type of dance that bees do to communicate! It was great that we were able to overcome a challenge and learn something new at the same time!    @WritingGod

I really enjoyed working with my team during the hexagonal thinking activity. They helped me understand a lot more about honeybees. Some of the connections we were trying to make were hard for me. My group members really listened to me and my ideas (even if I was wrong). I want to give a shout-out to @hockeykitty and @soccerqueen6 for being really helpful and for making this a fun experience.   @SoftballPiggy

What I enjoyed most about the hexagonal thinking activity was when we were talking together and helping each other understand how the words were connected. Some connections I could not understand, but @Seafoam-da-Seawing and @ChickenNugget would share their thinking with me so that I could understand it better. When we got to do a gallery walk of the other groups' connections, we got to see how differently how the other groups thought about what they knew and the different connections they made. This activity definitely helped me learn more about this topic.    @Burt

I enjoyed quite a few things about this experience. First, a shout out to @SoccerPro1 for always trying to find different places to connect words and experiment with where our group could place each word. This was very helpful. Also, when the time was up, we got to do a gallery walk around the room to see the results of the other groups' hexagonal thinking displays. Overall, I think hexagonal thinking is a great way to show your learning.   @writingmachine

Hexagonal thinking helps you make deeper connections to what you are learning. When you have a chance to explain your thinking, you are teaching someone else in your group what you know and how you understand it. Someone else can do the same for you.    @Sunflower