Dennis Abruzzi's Portfolio Page
Navigation links: ETAP 623 Spring 2023 (Zhang) | Dennis Abruzzi's Mini-course -Engineering Better Learning
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About Me
Hello everyone. My name is Dennis Abruzzi. I teach 7th grade Technology Education. I am in my second year teaching and have been enjoying it so far. I live and work on Long Island where I have a house with my wife and 2 dogs. I look forward to working with you all this semester.
My Topic and Purpose
The main goal that I have for any student that enters my classroom is to help them develop critical thinking and problem solving skills. Everything that I teach, I try to relate it to how it will be useful to my students in their lives now, and after they graduate and move on to post secondary or a career. I discuss the Engineering Design Process in almost every unit that we cover because I want for my students to develop into self sufficient, independent thinkers that are capable of solving their own problems. 7th graders are at a very interesting age where many of them have gotten in the habit of having things done for them. I want them all to see problem solving thinking as a fun and rewarding experience that will benefit everyone regardless of their eventual career paths.
Scope of Learning Outcomes and Content
Students will learn the steps of the Engineering Design Process and will practice applying this concept to actual problems.
Middle School Students will also identify factors that may hinder or help their own learning.
Students will apply the Engineering Design Process to properly identify and solve a problem that interferes with effective learning, helping them become more efficient learners.
Teachers will learn how to implement this problem solving approach in their classrooms and help their students engineer better learning practices.
Needs Assessment
Teachers will need to identify student ability levels as well as initial motivation. Students should be questioned about problems that they have encountered in the past. This will help teachers identify how much of a gap there is between where students are now, and where we want them to be. Students should also be questioned on what their views and/or understanding is of how well they learn in different situations. Some may practice affective learning habits without actually understanding why. Conversely, some students may engage in ineffective or even self-destructive habits that contribute to frustration and prevent effective learning from taking place.
Teachers wishing to adapt and use this unit in their classroom must also determine the method of distributing and assessing student work. All students should have access to any required materials and have the knowledge to use any technology that is needed. Any accommodations for students who need materials or training should be identified before the unit begins so that the pace of instruction and activities remains steady and engaging.
The course will be aimed at 7th grade students. Teachers that wish to use this material on students of a different age will likely need to expand or condense certain areas to keep the difficulty level appropriate.
Analysis of the Learner and Context
Students in this class should be in a general education classroom between grades 6-8. They should have some basic prerequisite skills such as familiarity with google classroom, the ability to navigate and search using their Chromebooks, and a basic ability to engage in problem solving thinking.
Modifications can be made to simplify requirements for students with IEP's and 504'd
The units can also be adjusted so that the project is completed as a group with each member completing a specific part.
Performance-Based Objectives
Students will be able to:
Define what metacognition is.
Identify how metacognition can affect the way that we perceive information.
Explain how we can use this information to enhance our learning strategies.
Describe how the Engineering Design Process works and how it can be used to help solve any problem.
Task and Content Analysis
Prerequisite materials:
- Chromebook
- Internet access
- Google account
Prerequisite knowledge:
- Basic computer literacy skills, including the ability to navigate the internet, use search engines, and open and save files.
- Basic research skills, such as the ability to evaluate the reliability of sources, summarize information, and cite sources appropriately.
- Basic writing and presentation skills, such as the ability to organize information, create visual aids, and deliver a clear and engaging presentation.
Unit 1: The Engineering Design Process
- Lesson 1 - What is The Engineering Design Process?
- This lesson will teach students about the engineering design process and how it can be used to help identify and solve problems.
- Lesson 2 - Using the Engineering Design Process.
- Students will engage in an activity where they use the Engineering Design Process to break down a problem and identify each step they followed to solve it.
Unit 2: What is Metacognition?
- Lesson 1 - What is Metacognition?
- Students will engage in a webquest to identify and explain what metacognition means and answer questions about how it can be used to help us learn.
- Lesson 2 - Metacognition in action.
- In this lesson, students will answer some questions about their own educational history. Students will identify what their favorite subjects are and what their least favorite subjects are. We will then try to identify what makes certain subjects more interesting or easier for each individual and discuss how we can use this information to our advantage.
Unit 3: Putting it all together.
- Lesson 1 - Creating a Presentation.
- The class will be slipt into small groups (3-4 people per group) and they will create a Google Slides presentation explaining what Metacognition is and how we can apply it in our lives. Students will use the instruction sheet as a guide to explain matacognition using the Engineering Design Process.
- Lesson 2 - Presenting our findings.
- Groups will present their slideshow to the class. Viewers will follow along and come up with at least 1 thought provoking question or provide feedback to share at the end of the presentation.
Curriculum Map
File:Prerequisite Knowledge and Materials.pdf
References and Resources
Krajcik, J., & Blumenfeld, P. (2006). Project-Based Learning. In R. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences (Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology, pp. 317-334).
Darling-Hammond, L. et al. (2008). Powerful Learning: What We Know About Teaching forUnderstanding. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. (ISBN 978-0-470-27667-9)
Tanner, Kimberly D. “Promoting Student Metacognition.” CBE life sciences education 11.2 (2012): 113–120. Web.
Lin, Kuen-Yi et al. “Effects of Infusing the Engineering Design Process into STEM Project-Based Learning to Develop Preservice Technology Teachers’ Engineering Design Thinking.” International journal of STEM education 8.1 (2021): 1–15. Web.
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