Michael Reigner

Everyday Engineering: Ain’t she sweet—Bats, rackets, golf clubs, and all

Thu, Jun 30, 2011 12:35 PM
Understanding energy

I cannot think of a better way to introduce the concept of transferring energy than the one described in this article. Many students are familiar with a sport in which you are required to hit an object (a ball) with another object (a bat). Anyone who has done this knows that there is a so called “sweet spot”, in which the swing feels the smoothest and the object tends flies the furthest. They also are familiar with the bad swings which result in a sore hand. This experience is a perfect way to help students understand how energy is transferred. The hurt wrist is a result of the energy, in the form of vibrations, not being completely transferred to the ball and consequentially, travels through the hand. The “sweet spot”, however, is the result of all the energy being transferred into the ball. In this 5 E learning module the students try to find the “sweet spot” of a meter stick. I specifically like this exploration because it demonstrates that the “sweet spot” doesn’t only exist in sporting equipment. It isn’t until the extension part of the lesson where the students investigate sports equipment. I definitely believe that this lesson will capture student’s interest. It is something that students can easily relate to, and also have experiences with.

Astronomical Scale of Stellar Distances Using 3-D Models

Wed, Jun 15, 2011 3:56 PM
Great concept

One of the challenges that teachers face when teaching astronomy is how to get students to conceptualize the size and scope of space. When looking up at the night sky, a student sees a two dimensional plane, where depth does not exist. That is why I enjoyed the article from Dotger and Fidler, who try to give their students a better understanding of space; by having them build a three dimensional model of the constellation Orion. This activity challenges some students’ misconceptions of astronomy, such as the distances of stars and their respective sizes. For instance, when looking up at the night sky, the stars on Orion’s belt look like next-door neighbors. In reality, however, those stars are light years apart. What the students learn form this activity is that star brightness does not determine the proximity of the star nor its size. They also get a firm grasp as to just how far apart stars are from each other. In another activity students compare the size of our sun to Betelgeuse. This was a great way to help students conceptualize the magnitudes of some of the stars in our universe. This particular activity might be perfect for an introduction to astronomy, because it presents many more questions that students might wonder about, such as: What makes stars brighter? Why are some stars red, white, blue or yellow? These are just a few of a countless number of opportunities for further discussions that this article provides.

S'COOL Science

Wed, Jun 15, 2011 3:48 PM
Great connection

What is more exciting for a student than helping NASA conduct research? This article demonstrates an effective way for students to learn about weather, while at the same time, assisting NASA in interpreting satellite images. The author, Linda Bryson, has her students pursue a year long investigation on cloud cover and recording surface measurements, such as temperature, humidity, and pressure. This year long project allows students to begin to recognize and understand weather patterns. Bryson also is able to integrate this into other subject areas. She has her students read The Big Storm by B. Hiscock to incorporate language arts. Bryson also includes mathematics by having students convert between Fahrenheit and Celsius; and read measurements. Finally, the students are required to do map reading, which ties into social studies. All in all, the best part of the unit is that it allows students to practice recording meaningful data that is used to assist actual scientist in their discoveries. This is well worth the read and can be incorporated into any grade level.