Abstract
The goal of this mission-based lesson is to intrigue and engage students while building a deeper understanding of functional relationships in a real-life setting. Students will work in teams to explore mathematical functional relations involving everyday situations found on the International Space Station (ISS). First, students will prepare for their mathematical mission on board the ISS by learning about the laboratory in space from the online, highly engaging NASA materials and videos. Next, students will discover linear and nonlinear relationships and how scientists and astronauts utilize these relationships on the station. The teams of students then will be given a mock mission from NASA in which provided data needs to be analyzed and organized. Students will receive data sets which include food and water supplies, distance traveled by the station, exercise routines, and more. Lastly, students will complete a mission debrief in which they will solidify and share their findings.
Courtesty of NASA
Alignment
This lesson was created and implemented to address the following Common Core State Standards:
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.FA.1 - Understand that a function is a rule that assigns to each input exactly one output. The graph of a function is the set of ordered pairs consisting of an input and the corresponding output
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.FA.3* - Interpret the equation y = mx + b as defining a linear function, whose graph is a straight line; give examples of functions that are not linear.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.FB.4 - Construct a function to model a linear relationship between two quantities. Determine the rate of change and initial value of the function from a description of a relationship or from two (x, y) values, including reading these from a table or from a graph. Interpret the rate of change and initial value of a linear function in terms of the situation it models, and in terms of its graph or a table of values.
* In this lesson, nonlinear examples were not explored due to time constraints. Note though, the lesson can be easily adapted to incorporate them.
Learning Theory
This inquiry-based lesson was developed using BSCS’s 5E Instructional Model, which breaks down the learning cycle into five stages. In the first stage, Engage, the teacher accesses the students’ prior knowledge and promotes curiosity in order to build connections to students’ new knowledge. In the Explore stage of the lesson, students are provided an opportunity to develop common experiences. This usually occurs in the form of a lab or activity. In the next stage, Explain, the teacher helps students formalize their experiences from the previous stage, Explore, by connecting content specific vocabulary to those experiences. The teacher also can use modeling and scaffolding techniques to build these connections. In the Elaborate stage of the lesson, students are to extend their knowledge of the concept to a new application or scenario. The Evaluate stage, unlike the others and although listed last, can occur anywhere throughout the lesson. During this stage, students assess their understanding and teachers evaluate student progress.
This particular lesson also utilized social constructivism in the form of collaborative groups. The class was placed into groups of four and each student was given a role, i.e., project manager, engineer, scientist, and logistics. The project manager was tasked with leading the group, and was the only one allowed to report findings and ask the instructor questions. The engineer was given the task of ensuring all group members were able to utilize the technology, Galaxy Tablets. The scientist possessed the role of making lists and taking notes during small group discussions. He or she was also responsible for ensuring all group members were working together on worksheets and group activities. Lastly, the logistics role entailed retrieving and returning materials when directed by the teacher.
Resources Required
Collaborative Groups.docx
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