Teacher Toolbox
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Using Think-Pair-Share
Advise students to think critically about the questions by engaging in think-pair-share. To do this, first have the students answer the questions themselves in their engineering notebook. The engineering notebook can be used as an assessment. Click one of the following links (Google Doc/.docx/.pdf) to view the engineering notebook rubric (individual reflections). Then after a few minutes, have the students turn to a partner or a group of three students to discuss what each student has written. Encourage them to reflect on different answers that their peers provide. Collaboration can also be a form of assessment. Click one of the following links (Google Doc/.docx/.pdf) to view the collaboration rubric. Finally, after another few minutes, open the class up for discussion to obtain a more critical analysis of the questions.
Now that you've finished the build, test what it does. Play with your build and then answer these questions in your engineering notebook.
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How do you think the Earthquake Platform will simulate an earthquake?
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Are there any parts of the Earthquake Platform that you think are weak or could be reinforced better?
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What other applications could a build like this be used for?
Teacher Toolbox
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Answers
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Answers may vary but explanations that include the turning of the Smart Motor and Tee Beam that consequently rocks the platform are ideal explanations.
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Answers may suggest that the 1x8 and 1x10 Beams connected with 2x1 Connector Pins are weak points in the build. A good follow-up is to ask students how they would change the build to make those points stronger.
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Answers will likely vary greatly depending, in part, on how students describe how the platform simulates an earthquake. Any answer related to shaking or bouncing an object on top of the platform is reasonable.