This particular lesson plan is implemented for both freshmen Foundations and senior Research.  The objectives are to ensure that students understand the scientific method and engineering design process, the modeling and abstractions of both, and how to apply the model to planning for their independent research and/or project.  In particular, the abstraction of background research is looked at for detail.  Also, in addition to comparing and contrasting the scientific method and engineering design process, these are also compared to the art design process.  The same can be extended to problem-based learning or any research and design. The lesson plan and PowerPoint that guide the lesson are below.  Also, the links to Today's Meet for each class is below.

​Today's Meet Senior Research

Today's Meet Freshmen Foundations

The second of two AP portfolio pieces in AP Computer Science Principles is called the Create Performance Task (PT.)  This lesson plan is designed to help students read for meaning in order to fully understand the expectations of College Board in this portfolio piece.  The lesson plan covers parts of several days.  First, using Padlet, the class share what they remember being challenging about the Explore PT.  Then as a whole class, we previewed 10 True/False questions about the directions and rubric for the Create PT.  Finally, the students were tasked with deciding if each of the 10 statements was true or false and with citing evidence from the directions or the rubric to back up their decision of true or false.  They entered their answers in an Office 365 survey so that I had easy access to the answers in a spreadsheet.  Using this formative information, I emphasized the questions students missed over the next few days and worked individually with any students who missed more than one question. We also viewed examples of good, medium and bad performance tasks on the College Board Website.

​The lesson plan is below.

A Socratic Seminar on the topic of whether computing, the internet and Google are changing the way we think was implemented with great success in freshmen Foundations.  First, as an activator on Monday, we as a class compared and contrasted dialog and debate using the handout below.  The students had Tuesday - Thursday to read the two articles linked below and to take notes citing the location of the evidence in their Abstraction Notebooks.  We held the Socratic Seminar on Friday, using the inner/outer circle method.  The students in the outer circle were tasked with tracking inner circle students participations.  The students were very thoughtful and articulate, noting positive and negative impacts of the internet on learning and homework, as well as differences in reading and comprehension on screen versus on paper.  

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

The Internet: Is it Changing the Way We Think?

A tiered lesson plan was created and implemented in the Fall of 2016 in Advanced Scientific Research.  After a series of pre-assessments, including summer work holistic rubric to assess their research knowledge and skill level, a multiple-choice pretest to pre-assess their APA and research feature knowledge, and an initial small group conference to pre-assess their research at internship type, students attend a second small group conference called the Research Map Conference.  Groups of 3-4 students are created based on the pre-assements of their research level (low, middle and high) and on the type of research at internship (science lab based, engineering, education, law, medicine, etc.)  

The resources for this lesson plan can be downloaded from the files below.

A choice strategy is being implement for the final Problem Based Learning unit for Magnet Foundations. which is the introductory course that all Magnet freshmen take.  This year, we are creating a new class through IE2 that is a combined AP Computer Science Principles with aspects of the old Magnet Foundations (science-based) and Foundations of Engineering.  As part of this, our objective was to have a final independent project that allows students to explore either science or engineering in depth through a Problem Based Learning Unit of student choice after the two AP CSP portfolio pieces are completed. 

​Other resources include: specific directions and holistic rubrics for each assessment listed in the lesson plan.  Georgia Tech Inventure has many resources on their blog, as does the Georgia Science Fair.  The Wheeler STEAM Symposium abstract directions and examples are also available to students.