Applied Science is a class that is taken by 7th and 8th grade students at
Spring Wood Middle School. Students take this course for one quarter (9
weeks). Throughout their time at Spring Wood, they will probably experience
somewhere between 8 and 5 of the following modules. It is impossible for
each student to complete all 16 modules, and it is not a classroom
requirement. Students are randomly placed at each module workstation and
work with a different partner for each module. Our goal for Applied Science
is to allow students to explore many of the different technologies and
fields of work that they might not otherwise have the chance to experience.
The following are summaries of the 15 classroom modules we currently have in
Applied Science:
Applied Physics -
In this module, students learn about the wonderful forces of nature that they
must learn to live with and to control to make their lives more enjoyable.
There are many mysterious and exciting things in nature that cannot always be
explained. Many of these things, however, can be used even though everything
about them is not known. Physics is a very broad subject area and this
module provides a sample of the areas where basic physical principles have
been applied to some specific situations. These areas include heat, sound,
air and light. Students learn about sound waves and frequency. They learn
how hear affects materials and how light can carry things.
Audio Broadcasting -
It takes a little imagination and a lot of planning to make a good broadcast,
but it can be a very interesting experience. Maybe students would like to be
weather broadcasters, or news anchors, or sports announcers, or talk show
hosts or disc jockeys. In this module, students receive an opportunity to
experience the important medium of radio and produce their own radio
broadcast. Students learn how to operate all of the equipment in the studio
and record several announcements and stories on tape. Students then assemble
them into a broadcast. They learn about radio waves and how they send sound
from the station to people’s radios in their homes and automobiles many miles
away.
CADD -
Students use computer aided drafting (CAD) software to explore the
fundamentals of drafting. Students use CAD software to create multi-view,
architectural, and engineering drawings. Students create a three dimensional
model using one of their drawings. They will also evaluate their floor plan
based on standards for architectural drawings and use 3-D software for a
“walk-through” of their plan.
CNC Manufacturing -
Students learn about the concepts of computers controlling a machine; in this
module a dremel is used as the example. Students use a VR/CAD program to
design and communicate with the dremel to machine stock into a functional
object. Practical applications of this technology are also incorporated into
the content.
Digital Video -
Students enter the world of digital editing and step into the creative role
of editor in this module. After being introduced to the pre-production
phases of video, they learn the importance of computing power in the digital
editing process. Students are exposed to elements that include good editing
principles, special effect and manipulation of data, such as audio, as well
as video. While learning the process, they put selected segments of video
together that result in a fluid motion of video.
Entrepreneurship: Child Care -
Babysitting is the first job many teenagers ever take. Since as a babysitter
students are in charge of caring for someone who is not old enough to care
for themselves, it is extremely important that they are prepared for this
responsibility. In Child Care, students explore the basics of the business of
babysitting and childcare. They learn how to find a job and what is expected
of them and their employer. They also examine important aspects of child
care, such as first aid, safety, and activities for the development stage of
the child for whom they are caring. Throughout the module, students build a
portfolio that will be a great help to them, whether they are beginning or
experienced sitters.
Light and Lasers -
In this module, students will explore various aspects of light and lasers.
Students will also perform activities that provide examples as to how laser
technology can be used. Students will use geometric concepts to divide and
reflect the laser beam into desired paths. Non-laser light will be explored
and manipulated through experiments that use of lenses, prisms, filter and
intensity meters. The data from these experiments will be gathered, analyzed
and interpreted to provide a clearer picture of the nature of light.
Package Design -
In this module, students design and construct a package for a specified
product. They explore spatial relationships as well as transformations and
use rotations, reflections, and translations to create tessellations used as
graphics for their packages. They select a shape for their packages based on
appearance and practicality and design their packages to conserve as much
material and space as possible.
Personal Finance -
Poor money management has been the cause of a great deal of problems for
individuals, companies, and governments. Likewise, wise money management has
allowed others to experience great prosperity. In this module, students
explore several different aspects of money management—from how to open a
checking account to managing the finances for a business. They will also
see the effects that compound and simple interest can have on savings and
debt. Furthermore, they develop a budget and explore how choices about
their lifestyles can affect the type of careers they choose. The goal is
for the wise financial decisions made in this module to be repeated in real
life.
Plastics and Polymers -
In this module, students learn about monomers, polymers, atoms, molecules,
elements and compounds. Then they create and learn the characteristics of
polymers. In the final sessions, students learn about diffent methods for
shaping polymers. In the first method, they learn to soften a clear polymer
and use vacuum shaping to mold it into a shape. In the second method, they
learn injection molding and create their own golf tees and then recycle the
original plastics and make recycled golf tees.
Practical Skills -
A person who possesses the skills to perform small "fix-it" jobs around the
house not only saves money, but also enjoys a sense of self-satisfaction.
Being able to troubleshoot a situation, develop a solution, and then
implement that solution can be very rewarding. In Practical Skills, students
will learn about common tools and their uses. Students will measure, repair
faulty systems, follow directions to assemble prefabricated furniture, and
recognize situations that are best left to the professionals.
Research & Design -
In this module students learn some of the principles of design that are used
by industry to produce a marketable product. Students learn and use these
design principles as they design and build a CO2 powered racing car. A
specially designed computer controlled racetrack has been built to let them
test their design skills. Students design their car to meet certain
specifications and limitations so that it qualifies as a legal car on race
day. After they finish their car, students test it in several ways and
predict its performance. Students enjoy the experience of trying to build
the fastest car in school.
Robots -
In this module, students learn about the fascinating role that robots play in
their lives. More and more, this technology is helping to improve the way we
live and manufacture things. Robots are mechanical devices that are
programmed to do a job. There are many different types of robots that are
designed to perform many different tasks. They are especially good at doing
repetitive jobs and jobs in hostile environments. For example, the space
shuttle has a robotic arm that works in the vacuum of space but is operated
from inside the shuttle. Students learn how to operate, program and use
robots in different environments. Initially each student learns to
manipulate the robot and program it to conduct repeatable tasks.
Ultimately, they operate a robot located in a remote location away from
direct view via a televised image of the work task.
Webmaster -
In the Webmaster module students will explore the various aspects of
creating, maintaining, and managing a Web site. Students will explore design
and performance issues including file size and file format considerations for
users with various types of Internet connections. They also examine security
issues concerning both users and the site. Different concerns related to Web
sites and their uses are explored to further educate students. For example,
they will learn the capacity requirements for a Web site depending upon the
number of hits the site receives over a given period of time.