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The idea of bridge building as design activity is wide spread: http://www.42explore.com/bridge.htm . Some of these activities posing as games are better than others. A lot can be learned about the physics of bridge design, the history of design (e.g., Greek: columns versus Roman: arches), disasters, etc. In many schools kids build bridges using materials such as wood or LEGOs. In cases were bridge design is using physical materials design can become frustrating because in order to learn about the forces of bridges the carefully assembled bridges need to be destroyed. Simulations can help. The AgentSheets Bride Builder at PBS, for example, has been used by a very large number of kids. On of the elements missing with all these designs is the social dimension. Goal: Build an extended version of the a Bridge Design simulation allowing kids to share their designs. If kids have built a bridge that is special in any sense, e.g. uses a record small number of bricks or is simply interesting they should be able to submit their design with a short description. A global bridge design Web site should present a catalog of designs. Other kids should be able to quickly browser these designs and to load them if interested.
Sponsor/Advisor: Alexander Repenning; Testsite: Centennial Middle School, Boulder; Potential publisher: Discovery.
The so called Three-Corner FactFlash Cards (addition, sutraction and multiplication, division) have become extremely popular for elementary school learning of math. Several curriculums include them. They are NCTM approved. Several companies sell them (e.g., TeachChildren) to parents. A fact flashcard represents FOUR facts. The card on the left represents:
8 * 6 = 48, 6 * 8 = 48, 48 / 8 = 6, 48 / 6 = 8
To further improve the effectiveness of these Flash cards one could design a Smart version taking some of the Anderson's learning theory into account and combining it through Flow into an adaptive learning experience. This system would assess the skills by measuring response time. In addition to time the system could track wrong answers. Based on all these bits of information the system would select the next "flash card" in accordance with an estimate of challenge. New, harder cards could be generated on the fly if the student is ready.
Advisors: Suzanne Alejandre and Alexander Repenning; Testsite: Heatherwood Elementary, Boulder, Potential publisher: Math Forum
A curriculum research and development group involving CU-Boulder, the Air Force Academy, SRI International and several international partners is starting an exciting new project under NSF funding that relies heavily on the TRAILS curriculum development model. We are looking for undergraduates interested in developing some initial applet tools following the TRAILS design process for use in an introductory computer science course taught at the Air Force Academy. This project is integrative, building pedagogical agents into a collaborative workspace platform in which course applets are suggested by agents, the class teacher, or other students. The project leader is a Computer Science faculty member of the Air Force Academy currently on a sabbatical in Japan, and participants would be furnished a desktop videoconferencing system for communicating both with him and with personnel at the Air Force Academy. The applet design would involve simple concepts from an easy-to-learn visual programming system developed at the Academy. There may be further opportunities to work on this project on a paid basis after this year. A brief description of the project and the integrative scenario that motivates it appears at http://www.erichamilton.net/reu/ALASKA-ICMI.doc. This is an opportunity to work on an interesting extension of the TRAILS model and see the use of applets in integrated software setting
Advisors: Eric Hamilton, Organization: Air Force Institute of Information Technology Applications
Simulations such as the Bridge Builder can strike a good balance between engagement and learning. However, sometimes critical events in simulations, e.g., a bridge collapsing, need to be detected by the system to help the learner to understand critical problems. Goal: create a simulation of a bridge in which the bridge cannot only collapse but it can also evaluate its own design through rules and, if necessary, make recommendations to a learner. These explanations could be just text or could be URLs pointing to relevant materials such as videos and stories showing the collapse of a certain bridge design matching the one being worked on by the learner.
Advisor: Repenning; Testsite: Centennial Middle School, Boulder; Potential publisher: Discovery.
The source of potentially many probjects: Suzanne Alejandre list of difficult Math concepts. To create a project you will need to select a difficult concept, and find an external project advisor interested in that concept. This advisor needs to be able to spend some time with you to advise the project and, in the end, assess your progress.